One year ago, at the 2009 ASTC Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, attendees had the opportunity to experience the beta version of howtosmile.org, an online collection of hands-on science and math activities developed by educators. Now, after incorporating user feedback from the ASTC 2009 session, the howtosmile.org team will unveil the final web site at the 2010 ASTC Annual Conference in Honolulu. The new site will showcase 1,000 activities, new partners, and improved community features.

Among the site’s new features are enhanced user lists. These lists make it easier for users to create a mini-collection of favorite hands-on activities from howtosmile.org and other web sites to share with friends and colleagues. Users will now also be able to track their participation on the web site with a new badge system. Badges are virtual rewards that can be earned through community actions such as leaving a comment, filling out a bio, or submitting a video. To encourage further community participation on the web site, the howtosmile.org team will showcase active users on the front page and occasionally will run contests connected to conference badges.

ASTC 2010 attendees can meet the web site’s team members at the ASTC Resource Center in the Exhibit Hall and at the “SMILE’s Single-Serve Buffet: Taste the Many Fun STEM Activities!” session on Monday, October 4, 10:30 a.m.–11:45 a.m., in Convention Center/Room 317AB. At the session, attendees can learn more about the new web site features, and sample the expanded activity collection with a Hawaii-themed tinkering session. They can also sign up for user profiles in the Exhibit Hall or at the session, and get a chance to win an Apple iPad.

Howtosmile.org is funded by NSF and is a project of the National Science Digital Library (NSDL.org), the United States’ online library for education and research in STEM. Howtosmile.org’s partners include Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley; Exploratorium, San Francisco; Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul; Children’s Museum of Houston, Texas; New York Hall of Science, Queens; ASTC; Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland; COSI, Columbus, Ohio; TERC; NASA; DragonflyTV; the Astronomy Society of the Pacific; the BRIDGE: Online Ocean Science Education Teacher Resource Center; Perkins School for the Blind; and 4-H.

Guest blogger Darrell Porcello is director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley.

The Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards are presented annually to ASTC members and/or their employees in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments that not only enhance the performance of their own institutions, but also significantly advance the mission of science-technology centers and museums. This following awards were presented on October 2, 2010.

Leading Edge Award for Business Practice
Partnering with others @COSI: Creating a Center of Science in the community, COSI, Columbus, Ohio

Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience (small center)
Construction Zone, Omaha Children’s Museum, Nebraska

Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience (large center)
Expedition Health, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Colorado,
and Portal to the Public, Pacific Science Center, Seatlle, Washington

Leading Edge Award for Experienced Leadership in the Field
Ann Fumarolo, president and CEO, Sci-Port, Louisiana’s Science Center, Shreveport

To see all the Leading Edge Award nominees, please visit the ASTC YouTube channel.

About the image: Ann Fumarolo (right) accepts the Leading Edge Award for Experienced Leadership in the Field from Marti Cortez.

Nearly 50 science center and museum professionals, climate scientists, and educators spent Friday, October 1, on the grounds of the Bishop Museum, exploring new and exciting strategies, techniques, and tools for communicating climate change as part of the “Showcasing Innovation in Climate Change Programming: Spherical Display Systems and the C3 Project” workshop. Participants heard from NOAA communicators and scientists, ASTC staff, and leaders in the science center field. They saw the latest in climate science, experienced new techniques in visualization, and heard best practices in citizen science.

The workshop was a partnership between NOAA’s Office of Education and the NSF-funded, ASTC-led Communicating Climate Change (C3) project. Office of Education director Christos Michalopoulos kicked off the event, making it clear why this partnership was formed: “Understanding climate change, and making it real—connecting it to people—is paramount to a successful mission.” Michalopoulos outlined his office’s commitment to creating an environmentally literate public through a variety of education options, including lifelong learning in ISE settings. Walter Staveloz, ASTC’s director of international relations, echoed this commitment on the part of the science center field.

Richard Feely, senior scientist at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, provided the scientific backdrop for the day, introducing “the other CO2 problem,” ocean acidification (PDF). This was followed by a series of presentations on the activities and partnerships developed as part of the C3 project and a demonstration of NOAA’s Science on a Sphere. Participants broke into C3 and Science on a Sphere discussion groups during the latter part of the day.

As the groups reconvened at the end of the day, discussion turned to how to move forward. Ned Gardiner from NOAA’s Climatic Data Center closed the day by emphasizing the importance of cultivating a community of practice around the issue of climate change. Discussions launched during this workshop will continue online. If you would like to participate in these discussions, contact Kate Crawford at kcrawford@astc.org.

The 11th cohort of ASTC’s Diversity and Leadership Development Fellows Program began arriving at the ASTC Annual Conference in Honolulu on September 29.  Designed to support people of color in the science center field and to increase the diversity of delegates at the ASTC Annual Conference, the program offers a number of intensive personal and professional development experiences, including a full-day workshop on October 1 facilitated by ASTC staff, alumni Fellows, and members of the ASTC Equity and Diversity Committee. The Fellows experience will continue throughout the conference, with regular lunchtime meetings to discuss conference experiences and brainstorm session ideas for future ASTC conferences.

There are a number of opportunities for conference attendees to support the Fellowship program. Attendees can stop by the ASTC Resource Center in the Exhibit Hall to watch In Their Own Voices, a video chronicling the impact of the Fellows experience, and to pick up an “Equity & Diversity Advocate” badge ribbon. Also, they can meet other advocates at the Advocates for Diversity Networking Reception on the evening of October 3.

Perhaps the best (and most fun) way to support the program is by attending the “Dive In! Poolside Opening Reception” on October 1, in the pool area of the Paoakalani Tower at the Marriott. Attendees can meet up with friends old and new while enjoying food and music. All proceeds from this event directly support future ASTC Fellows. Tickets for the party will be available at registration and at the door ($35).

Attendees are arriving in Honolulu, and the 2010 ASTC Annual Conference will soon be underway. The theme of ASTC 2010, Ho‘okele–To Navigate: Science Centers as Wayfinders to New Horizons, encourages science center professionals to look to new horizons through the wayfinding vision of the ASTC strategy adopted by the Board of Directors in October 2008: “Proactively address critical societal issues locally and globally where science understanding and public engagement are essential.” When science centers act as good navigators for the public, they are valued by their communities as essential, and people come aboard.

Whether on-site or from afar, ASTC invites you to follow the 2010 Annual Conference online. The conference blog will be updated regularly through Tuesday. Announcements will be posted on Twitter (ASTCCon), and attendees can join in discussions using hash tag #astc10. Photos and videos will also be posted in our Flickr pool and on our YouTube channel.

Thank you for joining us for what promises to be a fantastic conference. Mahalo.

About the image: Rainbow over the Hawaii Convention Center. Photo by Christine Ruffo