About Project T.R.I.P.S.

Project T.R.I.P.S. stands for: Teaching Revitalized through Informal Programs in Science

T.R.I.P.S., funded by the National Science Foundation, was a five year project aimed at revolutionizing the way informal science institutions such as zoos, natural history museums, nature centers, aquariums, and botanical gardens interact with each other and with school systems. Although there are currently 59 T.R.I.P.S.teams at 53 ISIs in 30 states, the project is larger than the sum of its parts and ever growing.

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Although the T.R.I.P.S. grant concludes in 2005, the project continues to show a high degree of success. We hope visitors to this web site will use T.R.I.P.S. as a model which has been honed through the participation of more than 150 outstanding educators.

Why "Common Ground"?
An essential goal of Project T.R.I.P.S.was to build awareness on the part of informal science institution staff about issues affecting school classrooms and how they need to be taken into account in developing ISI programs. Equally important, was the goal of building awareness on the part of schools about the application of rich ISI resources to instruction and professional development. This Website is one step toward facilitating that awareness by providing a "common ground" where Project T.R.I.P.S. information is available from both ISI and Educator perspectives.