Lesley Lewis, CEO of the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, was elected president of ASTC in October during the 2007 ASTC Annual Conference in Los Angeles. The first Canadian to serve in this role, Lewis succeeds Wit Ostrenko, president of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Florida.

Lewis was named CEO of the Ontario Science Centre in 1998. Under her leadership, the ambitious Agents of Change initiative has transformed the center’s public spaces and begun to extend its reach and relevance beyond its traditional audience of families and children to include teens and adults.

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“The Ontario Science Centre was a founding member of ASTC in 1973 and has been an active participant ever since,” Lewis said. “ASTC is a vibrant association whose members from around the world offer rich resources for lifelong learning. Science centers provide meeting places for citizens and the research community, support schools, inspire youth, and contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of their communities. I look forward to working with, and learning from, ASTC member science centers and museums during my term as president.”In addition to her role with ASTC, Ms. Lewis chairs the International Programme Committee for the 5th Science Centre World Congress, which will be hosted by the Ontario Science Centre, June 15–19, 2008. At the invitation of the China Association for Science and Technology, she serves as a member of the International Advisory Committee for a new science and technology museum in Beijing.

Photo by Christine Ruffo

ASTC presented its highest award October 13 to Per-Edvin “Pelle” Persson, director of Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland. A limnologist and former director of the Federation of Finnish Scientific Societies, Persson moved to the science center field in 1987 as Heureka’s director of science. Since 1991, he has served as the center’s director. Persson was recognized for his global vision and the inspiration he has offered to science center colleagues worldwide. Under his leadership, Heureka hosted the First Science Centre World Congress, in 1996. Persson also served as ASTC president from 2004 to 2005 and earlier served as president of Ecsite, the European science center network.

In accepting the ASTC Fellow Award for Outstanding Contribution, Persson spoke of science centers’ capacity to touch minds and inspire learning. Scientific knowledge is needed, he said, to help build a better world: “We need to spread the voice of reason—to advance knowledge for the good of humankind, for a healthier planet, for a more prosperous future for our children…. Only by working together can we succeed.”

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