Science center professionals from across the globe will gather in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 18–21, for the 2008 ASTC Annual Conference. ASTC 2008, “In the Public Eye: Science Centers at the Crossroads of Science and Culture,” is being hosted by the Franklin Institute.

Highlights include conference sessions on topics like learning in informal environments, covering current science, and addressing public policy issues. Saturday’s keynote speaker will be Steven Berlin Johnson, a journalist, cultural critic, and Web developer, who has examined and experimented with ways that communities of many kinds organize themselves and create new forms of social engagement. Joe Palca, science correspondent for National Public Radio, will moderate Sunday’s plenary session, “The Global Discussion on Global Sustainability: Where Do Science Centers Fit In?” with panelists Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change, Lynne Cherry, author of numerous science books for young readers, and Philip C. Myrick, vice president of the New York-based Project for Public Spaces.

Preregistration for ASTC 2008 ends on September 12. (more…)

Who stole the theater tickets out of the school dressing room? And what dastardly villain drank that cream soda? Over the past three summers, 160 girls, ages 10 to 14, have used science and advanced technology to solve such mysteries at Click!, a camp designed by the Girls, Math & Science Partnership (GMSP), a program of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center. The camp aims to engage young women in science, math, and technology at a critical stage when they frequently lose interest in these fields.

During the six-day camp, girls take on secret agent personas and tackle a variety of cases. For example, in the Case of the Tossed Treasures, the girls use global positioning systems to find “gemstones” looted from a local museum. On the last day, the girls piece together clues they’ve gathered all week to solve a final mystery. Campers also have several opportunities to work with women scientists throughout the week.

There are currently two levels of Click!—one focusing on biomedical science and the other on environmental science. A third level will debut in 2009.

Organizations that would like to implement the program can purchase it from GMSP. For more information, visit GMSP’s web site or contact Jennifer Stancil, executive director of GMSP.

About the image: Girls participating in Click! investigate water quality on the confluence of Pittsburgh’s rivers to solve an environmental mystery. Photo courtesy the Girls, Math & Science Partnership

How do technology and media impact modern life? Keynote speaker Steven Berlin Johnson, an award-winning writer who examines the intersection of science, technology, and personal experience, will address the ASTC Annual Conference on Saturday, October 18 in Philadelphia. Working in print and online media, Johnson has both examined and experimented with ways that communities of many kinds organize themselves and create new forms of social engagement.

Johnson is a distinguished writer in residence at New York University’s Department of Journalism and the co-creator of three web sites. While writing 1997’s Interface Culture: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate, he launched the pioneering Web magazine Feed. Johnson’s research for the 2001 Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software inspired the Webby Award–winning community site Plastic.com, where users discuss politics, pop culture, and technology. His most recent book, The Ghost Map, examines the 1854 London cholera epidemic as a case study in how scientific and social change occurs. Insights arising from The Ghost Map led him to collaborate on outside.in, a new site that gathers online conversations and information about U.S. communities into one place by Zip codes.

Visit our online conference planner for a complete listing of conference events and sessions.

How can science centers better catalyze public understanding and local action on climate change? Join us Sunday, October 19 for The Global Discussion on Global Sustainability: Where Do Science Centers Fit In? , a plenary moderated by Joe Palca, science correspondent for National Public Radio. Our panel of speakers will present findings from other fields of science communication that may have implications for this work.

Research scientist Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change will talk about how people make up their minds about climate change, what the barriers to free discussion and new learning are, and how public opinion is likely to change in the next two years.

Author/illustrator Lynne Cherry, author of numerous science books for young readers, will consider what children know, want to know, and are able to comprehend about climate change at different levels, and offer suggestions on how science centers might engage young audiences on this topic.

Urban planner Philip C. Myrick, vice president of the New York-based Project for Public Spaces and author of Public Parks, Private Partners, will explore how cultural institutions are fitting into community efforts to prosper sustainably and discuss potential leverage points and likely partners for science centers and other nonprofit organizations.

Visit our online conference planner for a complete listing of conference events and sessions.

Video cameras in hand, members of the YouTube online community will converge at the Ontario Science Centre, August 8-9, for “888torontomeetup,” a massive party for fans and participants of the three-year-old video-sharing platform. Over 550 people have already registered, some from as far away as Argentina and South Africa. Activities will include bottle rockets, an open mic for acoustic performers, solar observing, and videotaping opportunities.

Meetups are a growing phenomenon among YouTubers. Small gatherings have been cropping up, but larger events, such as last year’s 777 (July 7, 2007) at New York City’s Washington Square Park, have attracted hundreds of participants. Members who have come to know each other via video get to meet in person, many for the first time.

This type of collaboration and innovation is part of the Ontario Science Centre’s philosophy of extending its reach to a broader audience. Through podcasts, polls, and science updates on www.redshiftnow.ca, as well as videos on YouTube and Yahoo, the Science Centre has been helping the public engage with scientists, learn about issues of the day, and participate in discussion and debate.

Visit http://www.youtube.com/user/888torontomeetup for details.