Christine Cunningham

Museum of Science, Boston

Senior Vice President, STEM Learning

Christine M. Cunningham is the Senior Vice President of STEM Learning at the Museum of Science in Boston. She aims make engineering, science, and computational science education more equitable and accessible, especially for populations that are underserved and underrepresented in STEM. Her research focuses on articulating frameworks for precollege engineering education and exploring affordances of engineering for learners. Christine is the founding director of Youth Engineering Solutions (YES) and Engineering is Elementary (EiE), which develop equity-oriented, research-based, field-tested STEM curricula and professional learning resources for preK-8 youth and their educators. Previously, Christine was a Professor of Practice in Education and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. Christine serves on a number of advisory boards that currently include the National Assessment Governing Board. She has enjoyed working as a member of six National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committees. She is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and has received numerous awards including the American Society of Engineering Education K-12 and Pre-College Division Lifetime Achievement Award, the IEEE Pre-University Educator Award, and the International Society for Design and Development in Education Prize. In 2017 her work was recognized with the prestigious Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education. Christine holds joint B.A. and M.A. degrees in biology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Education from Cornell University.