This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the July/August 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Groupon and LivingSocial are neither good nor bad for museums. However, they are a tool that must be used with great care. As museum professionals, we must ask: What is the value to the museum for each patron generated by a deal of the day promotion over the life of that patron’s relationship with the museum? Will the patron spend money on food and retail? Will they become members and renew? Will they return for more visits once they have experienced our offerings? Will they send their children to summer camps? Will they make philanthropic gifts to the museum? Ultimately, these services deliver new patrons to our doors. We must be prepared to deepen the relationship once they arrive. If we can do that effectively, these services are a boon. Otherwise, we’ve just had a deeply discounted transaction with a one-time visitor, and that is a bust.

Jeff Hill, director of external relations, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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IN THIS ISSUE
May/June 2012

The field of media is rapidly changing along with new technologies and ever-evolving audience expectations. Many science centers and museums are at the forefront of these changes, whether they are partnering with local public broadcasting stations or producing their own media offerings in house. In this issue, we examine how science centers and museums are using media (including TV, radio, planetarium shows, and internet platforms) to increase science literacy, deepen engagement, and empower their communities.

Contents

• Supporting Innovation in a Changing Media Landscape, by Marti Louw
• Partners on a Science QUEST, by Sue Ellen McCann
• Influencing Change: Community Initiatives Are not Museum Projects, by Ayesha Rowe and Hooley McLaughlin
• Science Centers as Science Media Centers, by Morten Busch
• “Ideas Worth Spreading”: TEDxColumbus at COSI, by Andy Aichele
• Engaging Latino Families in Informal Science, by Lisa Chappa, Melissa R. Cigarroa, Jennifer Correa, Derlly González, Lisa Regalla, and Alicia Santiago
• The Worldviews Network: Planetariums for Ecological Literacy, by Ka Chun Yu, Healy Hamilton, Rachel Connolly, David McConville, and Ned Gardiner

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By Andy Aichele
From Dimensions
May/June 2012

Last November, hundreds of people attended two TEDx events at COSI in Columbus, Ohio. They listened to and engaged with speakers exploring topics ranging from modern urban violence to the future of architecture, from hospice care in South Africa to the habits of wasps in California. And with provocative titles like “Eat the Eyeball,” the topics were definitely engaging! The audiences were also treated to dynamic performances by dancers, poets, and a band offering up “musical gumbo.” They even experienced COSI’s own demonstration of exploding hydrogen balloons, synchronized to the cannon fire of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

TEDx events are independently organized by communities, organizations, and individuals to stimulate dialogue at the local level. These events are licensed by TED, whose conferences highlight presenters from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. TED talks feature “ideas worth spreading” and are widely watched around the world through online broadcasts. (more…)

“There are no bad questions, only bad answers.”

Implicit in this well-worn expression is the purity of inquiry, the virtue of asking, and the excitement of self-initiated discovery.

The adage comes to mind as I reflect on an interesting workshop on inquiry-based learning (IBL) that convened just prior to the start of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, held in February in Vancouver, Canada. My thanks to AAAS and to Science World British Columbia, TELUS World of Science (our ASTC-member science center in Vancouver) for organizing and hosting this workshop. (more…)

Interviewed by Joelle Seligson

This interview appeared in the May/June 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Transmedia, or storytelling across multiple platforms, is the biggest trend in media today, according to Jennifer Stancil—which would make her a trendsetter. Before signing on as executive director of education at the Pittsburgh public television station WQED in 2010, Stancil had already experimented with an array of media over nearly 15 years in the museum field, including five years as executive director of the Girls, Math & Science Partnership at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center. Her goal: to engage youth, especially girls, with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Here, Stancil discusses media’s fast-paced path and how museums and science centers can keep up to speed.

Read the full transcript, or listen to the podcast.

Photo by Sharon Ellman