Science Education and Citizenship: Fairs, Clubs, and Talent Searches for American Youth, 1918-1958

Object Details

Category: Smithsonian History Bibliography
Citation information: Historical Studies in Education Series
Summary: Science fairs, clubs, and talent searches are familiar fixtures in American education, yet little is known about why they began and grew in popularity. In Science Education and Citizenship, Sevan G. Terzian traces the civic purposes of these extracurricular programs for youth over four decades in the early to mid-twentieth century. He argues that Americans' mobilization for World War Two reoriented these educational activities from scientific literacy to national defense - a shift that persisted in the ensuing atomic age and has left a lasting legacy in American science education.
Contact information: Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Topic: Science fairs; Science; Military readiness; World War, 1939-1945; Education; Science clubs; Science--History; American science; Science and state