Received: 22 August 2016 Revised: 7 April 2017 Accepted: 27 May 2017 DOI: 10.1002/sce.21293 LEARNING “But the science we do here matters”: Youth-authored cases of consequential learning Daniel Birmingham 1 Angela Calabrese Barton 2 Autumn McDaniel 3 Jalah Jones 4 Camryn Turner 5 Angel Rogers 6 1 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA 2 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA 3 Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA 4 Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA 5 Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA 6 Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA Correspondence Daniel Birmingham, School of Education, Col- orado State University, 105l Education Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523. Email: Daniel.Birmingham@colostate.edu Abstract In this paper, we use the concept of consequential learning to frame our exploration of what makes learning and doing science matter for youth from nondominant communities, as well as the barriers these youth must confront in working toward consequential ends. Data are derived from multimodal cases authored by four females from non- dominant communities that present an account of “science that mat- ters” from their work during their middle school years. We argue that consequential learning in science for these girls involves engaging science with a commitment to their community. This form of engage- ment required the girls to develop bridging practices that allowed them to transform existing relationships among science and com- munity for themselves and others despite normative barriers expe- rienced in science. Our study expands upon current understandings of consequential learning through highlighting the vital role of socio- historically constructed understandings of community in determin- ing when, how, and why science learning and doing matters for youth. This view opens up new ways to understand how youth can and do contribute to the changing contexts in which science takes place, and toward the ways in which youth contributions alter what gets counted as learning, as being expert, and as meaningful participation. KEYWORDS consequential learning, Community science, youth participatory action research, Equity, Hope Green Club 1 (informal science club) is different from school science because you don’t sit in your seat and listen. You listen, then start letting your community hear you. Get your point across to the world. You are saving the world and it’s power. Think about it. I am a 12-year-old sixth grade girl saving the world and its people. – Maya 1 INTRODUCTION Despite multiple national reform efforts in the United States, achievement and interest gaps continue to persist in school science, disproportionately impacting youth from nondominant communities. A growing body of research Science Education. 2017;101:818–844. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/sce c  2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 818