Creating citizens interested in science and able to participate in science discourse and decisions is one of the goals of science education. Science hobbyists embody this goal through their life-long leisure interests and engagement in science. This study compared the motivations, perceived hobby benefits, and factors that influenced their hobby…

STEM hobbies are free-choice activities through which participating individuals may develop sophisticated STEM knowledge and expertise. To date, research into STEM hobbies and hobbyists has examined hobby groups by subject area. Missing from this body of work is research that examines the development and participation in different types of hobbies…

This research examined lifelong science learning reported by amateur astronomers and birders. One hundred seven adults who reported engaging in an informal (out-of-school) science interest were interviewed as part of an ongoing series of studies of lifelong science learners. The goal of the study was to gain insight into how and why amateur…

Science hobbyists engage in self-directed, free-choice science learning and many have considerable expertise in their hobby area. This study focused on astronomy and birding hobbyists and examined how they used organizations to support their hobby engagement. Interviews were conducted with 58 amateur astronomers and 49 birders from the midwestern…