The goal of this project is to support K-12 students in coming to appreciate the "making of science" as a social experience in which they can participate, and not simply as a set of ready-made facts discovered by an adult scientist. To this end, we are developing a series of modules in collaboration with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. At the core of this project is a series of science adventures involving on-site and virtual participants (fourth through sixth graders), who, led by scientists, do authentic science in the authentic contexts. Specifically, we seek funding to develop one and, possibly, two adventures in which 15 on-site participants and over 1000 virtual participants will study either a coral reef and local watersheds to develop an in-depth understanding of pollution, erosion, and watershed management or to study erupting volcanoes to develop an in-depth understanding of continental drift, the mechanics and power of internal forces on/in the Earth, heat flow and movement of material within the Earth, and the process of the rock cycle. Central to our research program, will be to clarify the impact of direct and virtual experiences on students' appreciation of the making of science and their role as scientists in this process. In understanding this potential, we draw on and examine simulation and participation models for establishing authenticity.