On Saturday, October 15, Colin Johnson became the newest recipient of ASTC’s highest honor, the ASTC Fellow Award for Outstanding Contribution. At the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference in Baltimore, ASTC immediate past president Lesley Lewis presented the award to Johnson, former director and CEO of Techniquest in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, “for his distinguished career as a chemist and educator, from the classroom to the museum. Colin’s determined advocacy, tactful diplomacy, and persuasive compositions have helped build bridges within the field and between science centers and the people they serve. His generosity and dedication know no limits.”

As he accepted the award, Johnson urged science centers to stay true to their missions, citing the Saint Louis Science Center’s mission statement to “open every mind to science.” He also stressed the importance of science center networks and collaborations, saying “We are truly a global family, grasping similar opportunities and meeting similar challenges.” Johnson concluded by reminding attendees that “the [staff] in your science center will always be your greatest asset. Look after them well.”

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.

Photo by Wayne MacPhail

U.S.-based ASTC member institutions are encouraged to participate in an exciting program with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) gives teams of 25 or more high school students the chance to work alongside professional engineers to build and program a robot to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. More than 50 regional events across the United States will take place in March and April 2012.

ASTC partner jcpenney is making available $6,500 grants to cover the full cost of registration and initial materials for the FRC program. Additionally, jcpenney FRC grant recipients are paired with a jcpenney store, providing a source of support and partnership.

Dubbed a “varsity sport for the mind,” FRC combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. It’s as close to “real world” engineering that a student can get, and volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. Check out FIRST live on its YouTube channel.

The deadline for applications is October 15.

Interested institutions should contact their local FIRST regional director (www.usfirst.org/regionalcontact.aspx) for details. And for more information on this exciting program, visit www.usfirst.org and click on “FRC” at the top of the page.

Offered as a part of ASTC’s Youth Inspired Challenge, Engaging Youth in STEM Outside the Classroom is a three-part webinar series devoted to an in-depth analysis of the field of STEM out-of-school-time education. Led by Jamie Alonzo of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and Irene Porro of the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, the first webinar in the series took place on Wednesday, July 27, and engaged participants in an interactive discussion on the field of STEM education in out-of-school-time and its role within the broader educational landscape, as well as the need and potential for unification of the field. The recording of the webinar is now available online at www.anymeeting.com/astc/E950D8858149. Please note that due to bandwidth issues, some slides in the presentation may be slightly blurred. Handouts of the slides are available.

The next two webinars in the series will explore the relationship between formal and informal education sectors and the relationship between STEM in out-of-school time and workforce development. Please contact Laura Huerta Migus at lhuertamigus@astc.org for presentation handouts and to register for the remaining webinars in this series.

Three ASTC-member institutions were among those museums awarded grants as part of the 2011 Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad (MCCA) program by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Recipients of the nine grants included California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA; Maloka in Bogota, Colombia; and Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center in Shreveport, LA. The MCCA initiative pairs museums in the U.S. with museums abroad for a cross-cultural exchange that brings people, especially youth, together to open a dialogue through community projects, partnerships with local or tribal governments and schools, and local events.

“The open dialogue that is established by this museum exchange initiative strengthens people-to-people relationships,” said Ann Stock, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “With stronger relationships and greater collaboration, the Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad initiative will achieve shared goals for the benefit of the global community.”

Further details about the 2011 museum-based exchanges can be found after the break.

Rainforest Leadership Academy: Cross-Cultural Teacher Training and Mentoring (California Science Center and Maloka)
To empower teachers with the resources, skills, knowledge, and the confidence to deliver inquiry-based science lessons to their classes, the California Science Center and Maloka will enlist mentor teachers from local public schools to collaboratively develop materials for teacher professional-development trainings and student activities. Teachers will be selected from urban-based school districts in both countries as well as from the Yurok Reservation in the temperate rainforests of Northern California and the Amazon in the tropical rainforest of Southern Colombia. As the mentor teachers train their colleagues to implement the lessons in the classroom, cross-cultural teams of students will communicate via email and Skype to share the information they are learning about the diversity of the rainforests and cultures in their regions.

Not Just Another Building on the Street (Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center and Infini.to, Pino Torinese, Italy)
In 2009, after struggling to attract a teen audience, planetariums in Shreveport, LA and Pino Torinese, Italy, decided to try a different approach. The planetariums empowered gifted high school students in each country to create their own planetarium dome show, and the planetariums benefited from increased audience engagement. As teens developed skills in technology use and project management, friendships were also forged between the two countries. Now, the institutions are reconnecting to engage new audiences of local astronomy teachers in developing a planetarium program that addresses educational needs in their high school classrooms and provides students with formal and informal learning opportunities related to science and culture. The students, who are from a variety of different schools, will once again work together to create a planetarium show that reflects their values, cultures, and priorities.

For more information about the MCCA program, visit www.aam-us.org/mcca/ or follow MCCA on Facebook. To be added to the emailing list for the next cycle, contact MCCA staff at mcca@aam-us.org.

Application guidelines are now available online for the Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums project (www.imls.gov/about/macarthur.shtm), funded jointly by IMLS and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ASTC has partnered with the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) to manage this grant program that will support the planning and design of up to 30 Learning Labs in libraries and museums, based on current research about how young people learn through new media.

The full program announcement and application guidelines are now available online on the IMLS web site, at www.imls.gov/about/macarthur.shtm, and through www.grants.gov, Funding Opportunity Number LLP-FY11.

Proposals must be submitted no later than August 15, 2011. Awards will be announced in November 2011.

You can learn more about the Grants for Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums during one of the upcoming webinars for prospective applicants. IMLS and partnership program staff will be available to discuss the purpose of the grants and the grant application process, as well as answer participants’ questions.

Webinars are scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and Tuesday, July 12 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here for webinar instructions. (PDF; 301 KB.)

Interested organizations can also check out the project web site at www.youmedia.org, or click here for Frequently Asked Questions.