Interested in strategies for building repeat visitation? During the week of September 17, David Chesebrough, President & CEO of COSI Columbus, will be hosting a conversation and idea-sharing session in the ASTC Connect New Models Forum. ASTC members are invited to join.

For many years, attendance has been seen as an indicator of the success of museums. Increasingly, museums are looking for alternatives to this focus on the “gate” and exploring ways to deepen their relationships with current visitors. Strategies for building these relationships are the focus of this discussion, which will be continued during an October 14 session at the ASTC Annual Conference, Los Angeles.

To sign up for the New Models Forum, staff of ASTC-member institutions should have an ASTC Connect account and contact connect[at]astc.org for an enrollment key.

Science centers and museums worldwide are invited to join a discussion Forum on ASTC Connect, August 6-10, in preparation for the October 4 National Conversation on Climate Action. Led by Andrea Bandelli, project manager for the European project Decide, the forum will give participants an opportunity to try out a global warming “game” designed to foster and support public discussions about climate policy. To sign up, contact connect@astc.org. If you can’t participate actively this week, you’re still welcome to join the forum.

Discussion starts Monday, July 23, in ASTC Connect’s New Science Center Models Forum about how science centers can respond to new possibilities for customizing user experiences. As moderator Beverly Sheppard notes, many science centers are moving from an “attraction model” to an “engagement model.” Participants will share experiences and reflections about personal customization and user-generated content. Beverly Sheppard is president of the Institute for Learning Innovation, Annapolis, Maryland, and former acting director and deputy director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a U.S. federal agency.