Science center professionals are beginning to arrive in Texas for the 2009 ASTC Annual Conference, “The Art of Science: Creating a Better Future/El Arte de la Ciencia: Hacia un Futuro Mejor,” hosted by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Over the next four days, over 100 conference sessions will challenge participants to explore how the blending of art and science can engage people of all cultures and provide powerful learning experiences, and how science centers can become valuable and essential partners in addressing key local, national, and global issues.

Other highlights of this year’s conference will include:

• The ASTC Exhibit Hall, featuring more than 122 exhibitors in nearly 150 booths

• A keynote address by Anousheh Ansari, a technology innovator, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the world’s first female private space explorer

• A chance to meet—and see live in concert—Grammy Award–winning duo They Might Be Giants

• The presentation of the ASTC Fellow Award for Outstanding Contribution and the 2009 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards.

Reports will be posted here throughout the conference, so check back for updates.

About the image: Fort Worth Water Gardens adjacent to the convention center. Photo by Christine Ruffo

Join Johnny Fraser of the Institute of Learning Innovation and other researchers for this online discussion in the CAISE Forum, November 2-6. The discussion will build on results of a recent survey about “science identity”—how learners view themselves with respect to science and become comfortable with, knowledgeable about, or interested in science. “Identity” was one of six “strand of learning” described in the 2009 National Research Council report Learning Science in Informal Environments. To join the discussion, set up an account in ASTC Connect and enroll in the CAISE Forum (keyword “informal”).

On September 26, the Museum of Science, Boston, was one of hundreds of sites in 40 countries that participated in the Danish Board of Technology’s World Wide Views on Global Warming (WWViews). Each site hosted a group of citizens who spent the day responding to questions about global warming and outlining what they expect global leaders to do about it at this year’s Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Framework on Climate Change (COP15).

To make sure that the results from WWViews reach both the broader public and decision-makers, the Museum of Science planned two follow-up events. The first brought participants back the day after WWViews to share their experience with the public alongside scientists and government officials who helped interpret the day’s results.

The second event will be a joint transatlantic conference with La Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris, the only other science center to participate in WWViews. Science center staff will be joined by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientists and French and American policy experts, including the COP 15 negotiator for France and the Director of the US Climate Change Science Program Office.

The museums’ involvement in WWViews illustrates the central role science centers can play in addressing global issues. “There are a lot of people working in public engagement who have considered global engagement on this scale, but this is proof that it can happen,” said David Sittenfeld, project manager at the Museum of Science. “ASTC and the science center field have a part to play, creating the chance for results to reach more people and to have more power when presented to policy makers.”

About the image: Museum of Science, Boston, was one of hundreds of host sites for WWViews. Photo by David Rabkin, Museum of Science

Join Russell Morgan of the SPRY Foundation, October 5-8, for an online discussion in the CAISE Forum, The Longevity Revolution: Opportunities for Informal Science Education.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans 65 and older is projected to increase from 40 million in 2010 to 55 million a decade later—and the prospects are similar in many other countries. As more people live longer, with higher levels of education, there is both an opportunity and a need to develop creative approaches for engaging older adults in a range of informal science learning activities.

Taking as a starting point the recent publication A Lifetime of Curiosity: Science Centers and Older Adults, and an earlier NSF-funded conference, The Longevity Revolution, the discussion will touch on what’s known about adult audiences’ interests and capacities and examples of successful programming for older adults. Russell Morgan, organizer of the 2006 conference, will offer background and moderate the discussion about the potential for expanding informal science learning opportunities for the growing population of older adults.

To participate in the discussion, go to connect.astc.org, set up an account, then sign yourself into the “CAISE Forum” area by entering the keyword “informal.” You’ll receive an email from Russell as we get started on Monday. The discussion is asynchronous. You can set your own schedule for when you join the discussion. Relevant reading material is available on the CAISE Forum site.

If you can’t join this discussion, keep an eye on the CAISE website. We are setting up more online discussions for November and December.

On September 17, the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, unveiled a new permanent sculpture by world-renowned artist Maya Lin. The sculpture is one component of Lin’s last memorial, “What is Missing?”—a multi-sited, multimedia artwork dedicated to raising awareness about the current crisis surrounding biodiversity and habitat loss. Rethinking the traditional stationary monument, “What is Missing?” will exist in several media and in multiple places simultaneously.

The sculpture consists of a bronze “Listening Cone” lined with reclaimed wood. A screen, located within the cone, features more than 20 minutes of video footage that links extinct as well as threatened and endangered species to the habitats and ecosystems that are vital to their survival. “Underscoring the Academy’s drive to protect the natural world through education and research, the work shows what is being done by research and conservation organizations to address the crisis, as well as what individuals can do in their everyday lives to make a difference,” Lin says. “I believe that art, at times, can look at a subject differently, and in doing so can get people to pay closer attention.”

How science centers can tap into the rich artistic, cultural, and creative resources of their communities is one focus of the 2009 ASTC Annual Conference, “The Art of Science: Creating a Better Future/El Arte de la Ciencia: Hacia un Futuro Mejor.” Click here for more information.

Image courtesy California Academy of Sciences