In January, Bonnie VanDorn, ASTC’s executive director for 27 years, announced her retirement, saying: “Since its founding in 1973, ASTC and its members have been instrumental in laying the foundation and advancing the capacity of science centers to engage millions of curious minds globally. The next great step forward for our association responds to changing needs and builds on this history of incredible success. Science centers as a collective force, through ASTC, are now primed to learn together, develop new partnerships, act together, and communicate their impact in ways that will make them even more relevant and significant in their communities.”

Bonnie will continue to lead ASTC through this year’s Annual Conference, and she looks forward to welcoming a new chief executive officer who shares her enthusiasm about ASTC’s new strategic direction.

ASTC’s search committee has selected DHR International to lead the search process. The job description is available here.

Photo by Wendy Hancock

ASTC and Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, jointly organized an international seminar of science and museum professionals on Science Engagement in Action, held March 20 at Heureka and webcast live. The panel debated the following questions: What are the most challenging issues facing humanity today and into the future? What is the role of science in helping to solve these challenges? What can science centers do to engage citizens in the debate and action needed?

One challenge identified was that society is changing, partly due to networking technologies, and these changes will fundamentally affect the ways in which people behave. The panel discussed the need for science centers to be on top of these trends towards a decentralized, empowered, participatory, and knowledgeable society, engaging citizens by providing a forum where the general public, scientists, and policy makers can meet. Additionally, science centers, now existing mainly in the industrial world, are particularly needed in the developing world and in countries where fundamentalist ideologies impair scientific advancement. It was concluded that science centers play a role in building a sustainable knowledge base in our societies by providing forums for debate and dialogue while fostering a passion for science.

Video of the conference is available here.

About the image: SEA panelists and moderators from left to right:
Rosalia Vargas, Charlie Trautmann, John Falk, Ford W. Bell, Claudie Haigneré, Per-Edvin Persson, Stig Gustavson, Alan Leshner, Lesley Lewis, Anthony Townsend, Marja Makarow. Photo courtesy Saila Puranen/Heureka

Public understanding of climate science got an infusion of energy with the December launch of a major national collaborative designed to engage citizens of all ages directly in investigations of local indicators of climate change.

Communicating Climate Change, a project of ASTC’s IGLO (International Action on Global Warming) Initiative, pairs 12 science centers with research institutions to observe and document indicators of climate change, from bark beetle infestations to changing patterns of bird migration. Also supporting the project are the American Geophysical Union, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies will study effects of participation in educational activities on public attitudes and behavior.

Yale’s Anthony Leiserowitz, a Co-Principal Investigator for the project, notes that his research suggests that most people believe that “climate change is something that takes place somewhere else far away, not in your own backyard.” Communicating Climate Change is designed to change that understanding. In addition to educational programs and research activities, the project will produce a series of videos for broadcast on American television’s ABC network and a web-based interactive map where science centers worldwide can contribute climate indicator data.

Science centers participating in the project are: Arizona Science Center, Phoenix; Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii; Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, California; EdVenture Children’s Museum, Columbia, South Carolina; the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Maryland Science Center, Baltimore; Museum of Discovery & Science, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque; New York Hall of Science, Queens (where the launch event took place); Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego, California; Sciencenter, Ithaca, New York; and Saint Louis Science Center, Missouri.

Communicating Climate Change is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Informal Science Education program.

Photo: Chabot Space & Science Center teen volunteer Connie Phu and college environmental intern Marie VanZandt explore atmospheric models with science center public visitors. Photo courtesy of Chabot Space & Science Center

How can science centers better catalyze public understanding and local action on climate change? At a plenary session October 19, ASTC conference participants joined in an animated, action-oriented discussion moderated by Joe Palca, science correspondent for National Public Radio.

Providing background for the discussion were Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change and principal investigator for Columbia University’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions; Lynne Cherry, author of the children’s book How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming; and Philip C. Myrick, urban planner and vice president of Project for Public Spaces.

Citing results of a series of empirical assessments of worldwide public values, attitudes, and behaviors regarding global sustainability, Leiserowitz reported that while awareness of global warming is high in the United States, it is commonly seen as a distant problem. Raising awareness in countries where it is now low, helping to make local connections, and providing the understanding required for informed action are educational challenges science centers can help to address, he said.

Cherry spoke about the power of children to catalyze action among older people and shared stories she has collected of young people engaged in local research and educational activities. Myrick said that science centers should “put the knowledge and power of science into the hands of communities.” Science centers and museums can provide much-needed places where people can come together, make connections, and help each other to move from denial and grief to action, he said.

ASTC has already put a number of initiatives into motion, including a coordinated day of National Conversation on Climate Action, the Albedo Project, and the recently funded project Communicating Climate Change. Conversations among those participating in today’s session will continue online, led by a task force that includes Sheila Grinell of Phoenix, Arizona; Charlie Trautmann of Sciencenter, Ithaca, New York; Emlyn Koster of the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, New Jersey; and Kim Cavendish of the Museum of Discovery and Science, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

ASTC presented its highest award today to Dennis Wint, president and chief executive officer of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wint has served the Franklin Institute since 1995, but the museum community overall for over 35 years.

Prior to his work at the Franklin Institute, Wint served as president of the Saint Louis Science Center, Missouri; director of the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; and vice president of Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences. He is an active member of ASTC and has served the organization in a variety of capacities, including as co-chair of the Governance Committee, co-chair of the International Advisory Board, member of the Board of Directors, and president.

“ASTC is a far better, far stronger organization because of Dennis’ leadership and involvement over the years,” said ASTC executive director Bonnie VanDorn. “Dennis has always found a way to make sure that his institutions, ASTC, and the science center field as a whole stayed true to our roots and our mission. In many ways, I think of him as this organization’s ‘compass.’ If we start to lose our way, we can always turn to Dennis to get us pointed in the right direction again. We owe him a lot.”

The ASTC Fellow Award for Outstanding Contribution, first presented in 1974, is bestowed upon individuals who merit special recognition for their significant contributions to the advancement of public understanding and appreciation of science and technology or of ASTC itself.

About the image: Dennis Wint accepts the ASTC Fellow Award. Photo by Christine Ruffo