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In the summer of 2020, NSTA received the exciting news that it had received a grant from the National Science Foundation to engage in a project to help advance the field of connected STEM learning. The goal of this project was to publish resources in Connected Science Learning (CSL) that would support STEM educators in applying the latest research to the design and delivery of connected STEM learning experiences. This ebook is a culmination of this work. 

A key form of scientific literacy is being able to leverage the knowledge, practices, and commitments of ethical science to everyday civic matters of social consequence. Learning how to engage in civic life in equity-focused ways needs to be intertwined with learning disciplinary—or transdisciplinary—knowledge and practices. In this article we discuss how an art-science learning program at Science Gallery Dublin in Ireland supported subsequent civic participation by adolescent youth. Using longitudinal case studies of young people, we document how they became agents of change in their homes, schools, and wider communities over several years after participating in the program. This work provides insight into how specific design features of informal learning environments help launch or expand the science-linked identities of youth interested in participation in civic life and social action. These cases also illustrate how to develop educational models that support young people to take informed action toward matters of community and environmental consequence, a key aspect of building a more sustainable and thriving future.