Four Science Vermont: Collaboration During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Even in the best of times, developing authentic, multi-museum collaborations is a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic, and its unique environment for rapid change, has served as a catalyst for deep multi-museum, multi-department collaboration for four science museums in Vermont. Through combined efforts, ECHO: The Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, Montshire Museum of Science, and Vermont Institute of Natural Science formed the consortium Four Science Vermont. The consortium works toaddress both the science education needs of families and schools, and the institutional needs for knowledge acquisition and interpretation of new policies during the ever-changing context of the pandemic.

As museums in Vermont began to rapidly close in March 2020, each organization’s executive director maintained an open line of communication to collaboratively solve the myriad issues related to the pandemic. These included navigating Federal grant programs, Vermont State health regulations, operating buildings with living collections during “stay-at-home” orders, and adjustments to business models and budgets. As public visitation to each museum halted due to public health mandates, each director noted how their programmatic teams were adapting their service to various communities through digital engagement. The consortium was initially born out of an initiative to promote the various digital science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning activities each organization was producing to a broad audience which consists of communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Greater New York.

A larger team of staff from each institution gathered to brainstorm goals for the consortium, and a strategy that would provide a portal to the various synchronous and asynchronous STEM learning opportunities that each organization was developing for both students and families. The shared goals for the consortium that emerged were:

• Address the STEM education access disparity inherent in a rural, low resource state by integrating educational content, programs, and resources from four trusted science museums. 
• Provide a curated platform for families and schools to access Vermont-centric STEM interactive curriculum and experiences through the launch of a collaborative web resource.  
• Meet the social and emotional needs of struggling families during this time of great uncertainty through an integrated online and in-person learning space. 

The website (FourScienceVT.org) was developed as a space for community members to be introduced to the offerings of digital STEM experiences happening around Vermont. As each individual organization rapidly expanded their own capacity to share digital content, the collaborative website was a tool to point STEM- interested individuals to new activities that were still being produced in Vermont. As the website launched, the marketing departments of each organization regularly met to continue sharing communications strategies about reopening and health and safety for the general population. They also coordinated a number of social media initiatives to help promote thematic science topics that featured content from each of the four museums.

Once the marketing team began a practice of regular communication, each of the museum’s education heads met with the executive directors to discuss what other types of collaborations could happen. The education departments began meeting regularly to discuss digital learning strategies, working with teachers in remote environments, and how to address new State regulations for teaching and learning in summer camps. When emergency federal grants for museums were  released, the executive, education, and development directors of each organization met to discuss collaborative grant-making, utilizing the relationships formed in Four Science Vermont to expedite large grant proposals in record time (shrinking what would normally be a three month process to three weeks). The education departments of each organization continue to meet on a regular basis to share their findings on activating digital, family, teacher, and camp programming through the pandemic.

The executive directors then convened the facilities and visitor services departments of each museum to begin discussing new public health protocols, sourcing for materials and personal protective equipment, and reopening strategies. The Vermont Governor’s office reached out to the Four Science Vermont Team to discuss developing a reopening plan for science museums. The group developed a proposal to the Governor’s office that showcased how each organization was planning to operate with the greatest interest to public health. This proposal was discussed with the Agency of Commerce and helped to inform the regulations regarding which Vermont museums were able to reopen.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a tremendous amount of new unknowns that require a deft understanding of public health, Federal and State resources, and new policy regulations. In this new scenario, success requires the capacity of many organizations working together to navigate the overwhelming nature of our current existence. By establishing various collaborative working groups within the four institutions, the museums are able to share knowledge as well as receive feedback on new initiatives from colleagues who understand the shared goal of lifelong science engagement.

Looking forward, the Four Science Vermont consortium may be emblematic of how cultural institutions will need to collaborate or partner to thrive in an overwhelming environment. The challenges ahead are bigger than any one institution can handle, and leaning into a shared understanding of operations, community, and program offers both opportunity and solace in turbulent times. At the time of this writing, it is important to note that this consortium is barely three months old, yet it has yielded a collaborative website, a collective grant application, shared policies and protocols for various departments, and thousands of ideas. The future holds possible collaborations with media partners to expand the service area of collective digital STEM content, new partners to grow the collective knowledge base, and future projects that help lift up STEM learning for families and teachers during this turbulent time. The pandemic has shifted the mindset regarding collaboration from nice to necessary–and all partners may be better for the change.