NEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, NO. 97, SPRING 2003 © WILEY PERIODICALS, INC. 75 Free-choice learning, a new paradigm for the learning that youth and their families engage in outside school, can play an important role in the healthy development of youth, their families, and communities. 5 Optimizing out-of-school time: The role of free-choice learning Lynn D. Dierking, John H. Falk ON A RECENT spring Saturday, Rawanda Collins, an eleven-year-old girl from Dayton, Ohio, woke up early, too excited to sleep. 1 This morning, she, her grandmother, and her cousin Tashika were going to participate in a Girls at the Center (GAC) program at the local science museum. GAC is a collaborative effort between the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., with financial support from the National Science Foun- dation. The program provides science experiences for girls and an adult partner (a parent, guardian, or other significant adult) in eco- nomically disadvantaged communities across the country. Partici- pants attend a series of Discovery Days at the local museum or science center on a particular topic such as “Electricity” or “Water” and also enjoy a full day of other activities, such as attending an IMAX film and having free time to explore. At the culminating Family ScienceFest event, girls and their adult partners share their science experiences with friends and family members.