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INFORMAL SCIENCE AND  LATINOS CONFERENCE 

MAY  2008:  Albuquerque, New  Mexico 

The  Self-Reliance Foundation is organizing a conference that has the 
overarching  goal of laying the groundwork for the development of strategic 
partnerships for  involving Latino audiences in informal science learning, led by 
informal science  institutions nationwide.  Numbering  over 44  million, Latinos 
are now  the largest ethnic/racial minority group in America; in recent years, 1 
of every  2 new Americans has been Latino.  Educational opportunities, formal 
and informal, are not keeping  pace.  Latino students score lower  on math 
and science achievement tests than national averages, enroll at  
disproportionately lower levels, and are underrepresented in undergraduate and  graduate 
science and engineering programs.  Latino families visit science centers and other 
like institutions less  often. Latino students are underenrolled in 
afterschool programs.   

The  conference will bring together informal science institutions and science 
 research organizations together with Hispanic organizations, media, and  
educational projects to review current ISE resources, identify needs and gaps,  
learn about best practices in designing culturally effective programs and  
resources, and develop new strategies and resources to enrich the informal  
science learning environment for Hispanics.  

The  3-day conference is tentatively scheduled to be held in Albuquerque, NM 
in May 2008.  Conference activities will be held at  Hotel Albuquerque and at 
nearby museums, including the New Mexico Museum of  Natural History and 
others, such as Explora, the Atomic Museum, and the  Albuquerque Museum of Art and 
History.   

For  more information on the conference, proposing sessions, and 
registration, please  contact: 

Bob  Russell, Science Advisor 
Self-Reliance  Foundation 
1126 16th  St.., NW, Suite  350 
Washington, DC 20015 

(202)  360-4117; (202) 997-5539 (cell) 
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