Presented at Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Reaching out to STEM Students beyond the one-shot requested instruction sessions is challenging. Creating faculty buy-in for non-traditional STEM instruction is doubly challenging. This poster will highlight a recent activity designed to draw STEM participation in utilizing a unique set of resources from the institution’s Archival Collections. Normally viewed as primarily relevant to history and humanities students, this collection provides the backbone for a fully immersive Escape Room Activity and exposure to primary sources normally not considered part of the normal STEM course work. The hands-on activity provides an opportunity for critical thinking, reflection, and teamwork. The poster will highlight the archival collection, the challenges of designing instruction for cross-disciplinary work, building faculty buy-in and support, and assessment options addressing the ACRL Framework; specifically Scholarship as Conversation, and Information has Value. A handout with URL links will provide participants the opportunity to evaluate their collections and best practices tips for designing a similar activity.