During a day trip to New York City on March 29, U.S. President Barack Obama made an unscheduled stop at the American Museum of Natural History to tour the New York Science and Engineering Fair—his third science fair visit in recent weeks. As he examined projects including a bamboo bicycle and an exhibit on human-robot speech interaction, Obama told students, “There’s going to be a great demand for people with the skills you’re developing.”

In addition to his science fair drop-ins, the president has hosted several events, including a White House science fair, Astronomy on the South Lawn, and a meeting with Intel Science Talent student finalists, to encourage young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). ASTC, through its network of local science centers and museums and its Youth Inspired Challenge, is committed to doing its part to meet the president’s goal of strengthening STEM education. To learn more about the Youth Inspired Challenge, visit www.youthinspiredchallenge.org.

About the image: President Obama greets students at the New York Science and Engineering Fair. Official White House photo by Lawrence Jackson

Communities around the world are starting to notice climate changes that may affect their cultures, lifestyles, and economies. This year, Heureka, The Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, and The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, New York, have brought members of their communities together to exchange experiences and discuss community learning and action on energy saving, climate issues, and “green” practices that support the regions’ commitment to sustainable tourism.

The project is supported by AAM’s Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad grant program. In November 2010, a team from Finland traveled to New York’s Tri-Lakes area to participate in two forums—the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, where Heureka experience director Mikko Myllykoski was a presenter, and Wintergreen: A Conversation about the Future of Winter Recreation, Sports and Culture in the Adirondacks. On February 24, The Wild Center sent a team that included three high school students to Finland, where they met with the deputy mayor of Helsinki to discuss experiences developing low-carbon economies and a representative of the Ministry of Labour to discuss how to create jobs in rural areas. (Read more about the participants’ experiences in their blog.)

About the images: Finnish and U.S. community teams in the Adirondacks (top) and Finland. Photos courtesy the Wild Center

On March 1, the Noyce Foundation, in collaboration ASTC and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), announced the fourth cohort of Noyce Leadership Fellows.

Through their Fellowships, 18 senior level managers from science centers and related institutions will increase their capacity to lead effectively; to advance innovation in their institutions and communities; and to act as change agents at the crossroads of societal trends, global issues, and informal science. The Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI) provides access to knowledge, tools, best practices, and professional networks through a mix of face-to-face sessions, executive coaching, peer learning, and audio conferencing over a year, followed by ongoing Fellow alumni activities.

Primary funding for NLI comes from the Noyce Foundation, with additional support to date from IMLS, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation.

Congratulations to the 2011–2012 Fellows (in bold) and their Strategic Initiative Sponsors:

• Jeff Barnhart, Lindy Hoyer, Omaha Children’s Museum, Nebraska
• Marcie Benne, Ray Vandiver, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland
• Dan Bird, Goéry Delacôte, At-Bristol, England, United Kingdom
• Scott Carter, Ron Kagan, Detroit Zoological Society, Michigan
• Greg DeFrancis, David Goudy, Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, Vermont
• Sean Duran, Gillian Thomas, Miami Science Museum, Florida
• Andrea Durham, Paul Fontaine, Anne Cademenos, Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts
• Amito Haarhuis, Michiel Buchel, Science Center NEMO, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Joan Hoge-North, Geoff Halfpenny, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware
• Eva Jonsson, Olle Nordberg, Teknikens Hus, Luleå, Sweden
• Diane Perlov, Jeffrey Rudolph, California Science Center, Los Angeles
• Gail Ringel, Carole Charnow, Boston Children’s Museum, Massachusetts
• Tom Rockwell, Rob Semper, Exploratorium, San Francisco
• Patricia Verheyden, Eric Jacquemyn, Technopolis, Mechelen, Belgium
• Johannes Vogel, Sharon Ament, Natural History Museum, London, England, United Kingdom
• Stacy Wakeford, Denise Amyot, Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation, Ottawa, Ontario
• Shari Werb, Cristián Samper, Claudine Brown, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
• Karen Wise, Jane Pisano, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California.

On February 21, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand—the second major earthquake to hit the city in six months. ASTC-member Science Alive, damaged in the first quake on September 4, 2010, suffered additional damage to its building, but all staff and visitors were evacuated safely.

CEO Neville Petrie reports: “Science Alive withstood the quake with damage obvious under the steel framing and plywood that encased our clock tower after the first quake, but very little other damage. All staff were able to evacuate the tenants and visitors. We had no injuries, for which we are very grateful. It will be a long healing process. Financially this will be very hard for us. We were only just starting to return to our normal visitor numbers after six months of hard work, and we had some major exhibitions planned for later in the year and these plans will have to be reconsidered.

“We are encountering some severe aftershocks, some up to 5.7, making it very unnerving, and there was very little sleep last night. Geologists are saying this will continue for a while, so I anticipate that Science Alive is going to be closed for a while so that staff can clean up their homes, and then we will look at where we go from there.”

About the image: Following the September 4 earthquake, Science Alive’s damaged clocktower was encased in steel and plywood. The clock stopped when that first quake hit at 4:35 a.m. Photo by Flickr user Cafe Cecil

Thousands of scientists, educators, and decision-makers from around the world have converged on the U.S. capital this week for the 177th American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting. In honor of the conference, which explores “Science Without Borders” with representatives from more than 50 countries, ASTC invited participants to spend yesterday evening at the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences.

The crowd included representatives from diverse organizations interested in the role of science centers and museums in engaging the public in science, from the National Science Teachers Association to the Embassy of Sweden. After a welcome by Koshland Science Museum director Patrice Legro, ASTC CEO Bud Rock and Martin Storksdieck, director of the Board on Science Education at the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, led participants in a dialog on how science centers support the integration of informal learning into our lifelong learning paths.

The science center community aren’t the only ones celebrating science this week, though. AAAS will host its Family Science Days February 19 and 20 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. This community science showcase features a broad range of educators, including several ASTC members, working to promote an interest in science among the general public. The event is free and open to the public.

About the image: Bud Rock, Francis Eberle, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, and Martin Storksdieck attend the ASTC reception at the Koshland Science Museum.