This interview appeared in the March/April 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Whether it’s the world’s biggest wardrobe malfunction or MacGyver meets Survivor, Ainissa Ramirez knows that generating interest in science requires a hook. A professor at Yale University, Ramirez prefers the title “science evangelist”—in her words, a person who “takes the call” to ignite curiosity in kids of all ages. She spoke with Dimensions about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education—the topic of her TED Talk last year—and how to put science in unexpected places.

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This interview appeared in the January/February 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Watt’s Up? is both an exhibition and a question that Denise Amyot, president and CEO of the Canadian Science and Technology Museums Corporation in Ottawa, Ontario, is trying to answer through a cross-Canada initiative. Amyot spearheaded Let’s Talk Energy: Engaging Ideas for Canada’s Future, a six-year public engagement program launched in 2010. Her work earned her ASTC’s Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for New Leadership in the Field, which she accepted at the 2012 ASTC Annual Conference last October. Amyot spoke with Dimensions about how she’s energizing Canada about energy.

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This interview appeared in the November/December 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Laddie and Jim Elwell grew up in the Eastern United States with ready access to museums. When they noticed a lack of such resources near Bemidji, the small Minnesota town they now call home, the couple took action. This year Laddie and Jim are retiring as executive director and financial officer, respectively, of Headwaters Science Center (HSC), which they opened 18 years ago. They spoke with Dimensions about their grassroots effort and how ASTC has helped them along the way.

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This interview appeared in the September/October 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

The Greek philosopher Plato is quoted as saying that you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. It’s a philosophy Nicole Lazzaro—president of XEODesign, Inc., the world’s first Player Experience Design consulting company—subscribes to today. Players’ emotions are at the core of gaming, says Lazzaro, and they are the reason why games can be so compelling. She chatted with Dimensions in anticipation of the 2012 ASTC Annual Conference this October in Columbus, Ohio, where she’ll share how science centers and museums can implement the power of play.

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This interview appeared in the July/August 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

The child running around your exhibit floor may someday become a driving force for forward-thinking. That was the course for Brian David Johnson, futurist at Intel, whose job entails envisioning what’s next for science and technology. To gear up for the near future—when he will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2012 ASTC Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, in October—Johnson talked with Dimensions about getting rid of technological “boogeymen” and how our imaginations are the most critical tools of all.

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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.

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Photo by Sharon Ellman

This interview appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Picture a steaming air hockey puck spinning in a circle while floating in midair. This strange vision resembles a phenomenon demonstrated by Tel Aviv University’s Superconductivity Group at the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference in Baltimore last October. The “floating puck” was in fact a crystal wafer coated with a thin layer of ceramic material and cooled to -301˚ F (-185˚ C). At that point it becomes a superconductor, conducting electricity without resistance or energy loss—unlike the copper wires often used in electrical devices, which inefficiently cast off some electricity as it flows through.

Although superconductivity was discovered a century ago by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, the researchers at Tel Aviv University were the first to create a thin superconductor using high-quality materials. They also discovered that the improved features of this new applied superconductor enabled it to levitate.

The result, called quantum levitation, looks like a scene in a futuristic film, perhaps explaining why a video of the demonstration went viral, earning 5 million views within a week. Tel Aviv University physicist Boaz Almog, who is heard explaining the phenomenon in the video, talked with Dimensions about superconductivity’s past, present, and future.

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About the image: Members of Tel Aviv University’s Superconductivity Group (from left to right: Guy Deutscher, Barak Deutscher, Mishael Azoulay, and Boaz Almog) demonstrate quantum levitation. Photo courtesy Boaz Almog

This interview appeared in the January/February 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

From collaborations to chopped-up mannequins, Clarence Sirisena, assistant chief executive in projects and exhibitions at Science Centre Singapore (SCS), finds innovative approaches to traveling exhibitions. His research on this topic—and his efforts to share knowledge with other science centers—earned him ASTC’s 2011 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Experienced Leadership in the Field. Between his work at SCS and with institutions worldwide, Sirisena found time to discuss his discoveries.

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About the image: Clarence Sirisena (far right) with Lim Tit Meng (left), chief executive of Science Centre Singapore, and Christoph Rahofer, president and CEO of EMS Exhibits, at the opening of Dinosaurs—Live!, on display at SCS through February 26, 2012. Photo courtesy SCS

This interview appeared in the November/December 2011 issue of Dimensions magazine.

The director of the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center on traditional knowledge, Western science, and understanding our place in the world

In high school, she took an interest in science; at the University of Montana, she pursued business. Today, Helen Augare utilizes her modern studies while staying true to her roots. As director of the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center in Browning, Montana, she helps youth learn both Western science and traditional knowledge while connecting to the natural world. As a Native American, she emphasizes respecting the land and beings around us, recognizing that—even as we continue to pursue knowledge—humans can’t control everything.

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Image courtesy the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center

Interviewed by Joelle Seligson

This interview appeared in the September/October 2011 issue of Dimensions magazine.

The deputy director of the Library of Alexandria’s Planetarium Science Center on global partners, local heroes, and surviving a revolution

Egypt’s cultural and educational institutions were not spared the chaos in the country early this year. Looters broke into Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and other sites during the revolution, stealing and smashing ancient treasures. Yet, thanks to an inspiring demonstration, the Planetarium Science Center (PSC) at the Library of Alexandria came out unharmed.

Ayman Elsayed, deputy director of the center and ASTC’s 2010 Lee Kimche McGrath Worldwide Fellow, will attend the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference in Baltimore, October 15–18. He tells his institution’s story, and discusses how working together benefits science centers worldwide.

Read the full transcript, or listen to the podcast.