Parks in Process: Creating Learning Landscapes That Have Educational, Social, and Civic Impact

Join Shawn Lani, Director of The Studio for Public Spaces at San Francisco's Exploratorium, as he explores the work of combining place-making and public education. Utilizing a unique blend of art, whimsical exhibits, STEM learning, local knowledge, and a commitment to fostering community discourse, Lani will walk through projects he and his community partners have created to inspire engagement with the natural and built environment, all with a focus on science-based learning and discovery. 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Understand how interactive and thought provoking permanent and temporary exhibits can change how people interact with our public spaces and each other. 
  2. Understand how STEM/STEAM-based learning can be incorporated into our public spaces as a way of bolstering public support and investment. 
  3. Gain ideas for inspiring community engagement that is long lasting and broadly impactful.

Tyrone Mullins

Green Streets

Phil Ginsburg (he/him)

General Manager

San Francisco Recreation and Park Department | City & County of San Francisco

Phil Ginsburg is the general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. With more than 4,100 acres and over 220 parks under its jurisdiction, the Recreation and Park Department stewards some of the most spectacular public spaces in the world, including Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower and the Palace of Fine Arts. Under Phil’s leadership, San Francisco became the first City in the United States where 100% of its residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park. Phil has led his organization through transformational improvements to the public realm and he has made equity and increasing access to public recreation and to nature, the department’s primary objective. Phil has built a financially sustainable model for San Francisco’s park system through ballot advocacy, the strategic use of public-private partnerships and philanthropy, creative revenue strategies, technology and administrative efficiencies. During his tenure, San Francisco has been consistently ranked one of the nation’s top five park systems. In 2019, Phil was appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Shawn Lani (he/him)

Director of The Studio for Public Spaces

San Francisco Exploratorium

Shawn Lani Directs The Studio for Public Spaces at San Francisco's renowned Exploratorium science museum. The Studio for Public Spaces creates educational and inclusive public spaces that utilize interactive site instruments and relevant S.T.E.A.M content. These site-specific installations combine the practices of placemaking and interactive site interpretation to create a wide array of whimsical, unexpected, and wholly unique tools that enhance a visitors understanding of a place and even of themselves. Shawn partners with his colleague, Dr. Joshua Gutwill, Director of Visitor Research and Evaluation at the Exploratorium to confirm and refine this works educational and psychological impacts. The team works closely with communities to explore not only the physical landscape but the cultural, historical, ecological, social, and emotional landscapes as well. Shawn is the recipient of a National AIA award and the Principal Investigator for multiple place-based NSF Informal Science Education grants including the recently completed Middle Ground: Experiments in Urban Social Science which featured 14 interactive exhibits installed in San Francisco's Civic Center. The project earned multiple design accolades including SF Design Weeks Civic Design award for transforming culture within government organizations benefiting the residents who live in the community. This past July, the Middle Ground team received an additional three year broad implementation NSF award which funds an installation at  San Francisco Rec and Parks India Basin (Lani PI, Dr. Gutwill Co-PI). This will be the fifth time the Studio has partnered with Phil Ginsberg's team at SF Rec and Park. Before founding the Studio for Public Spaces in 2013, Shawn earned a Masters Degree in Museum Studies focused on design and education in 1995. He has worked at the Exploratorium for over 26 years and has created numerous exhibits and artworks which are now located in over sixty museums worldwide.

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Knowledge Check
5 Questions  |  Unlimited attempts  |  5/7 points to pass
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NRPA Learning Experience Survey 2022
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CEU
0.100 CEU credits  |  No certificate available
0.100 CEU credits  |  No certificate available