Several science centers feature miniature golf courses with science themes. On June 20, New York Hall of Science, Queens, opened their new Rocket Park Mini Golf course, inviting visitors to explore space science concepts such as propulsion, gravity, escape velocity, and launch window as they putt their way through nine holes. Galaxy Golf at Sciencenter, Ithaca, New York, demonstrates a different math or science principle at each hole, and Science Museum of Minnesota’s EarthScapes course demonstrates how rivers, like the nearby Mississippi, transport sediment to the ocean.

About the image: New York Hall of Science’s new Rocket Park Mini Golf opened June 20. Image courtesy New York Hall of Science

As part of the initiative, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, published Emboldened Capacity: Science Education and the Infrastructure of Science-Rich Cultural Institutions, summarizing the outcomes of two meetings convened by AMNH in December 2008 in association with the Carnegie-IAS Commission: a “national summit on science education” and a follow-up meeting with leading museum directors and scientists. The paper also explores the role of museums in successful school partnerships and describes promising models at AMNH; Brooklyn Botanic Garden; the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; COSI, Columbus, Ohio; Museum of Science, Boston; North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh; and Pacific Science Center, Seattle.

About the image: As a partner in New York City’s Urban Advantage Middle School Science Initiative, the American Museum of Natural History showcased 650 students’ research projects on June 6. Photo courtesy AMNH

After three years of planning, Around the Americas, an ocean voyage organized by Pacific Science Center, Seattle, and Sailors for the Sea, is underway. On May 31, Ocean Watch, the project’s scientifically equipped sailboat, launched from Seattle to begin its 24,000-mile circumnavigation of the North and South American continents. During the 13-month journey, the boat will stop at 31 ports to draw attention to the changing condition of the oceans.

Pacific Science Center is staffing Ocean Watch with a teacher to lead outreach activities in each port and developing curricular materials on ocean health. Scientists also will be on board during various legs of the voyage. Planned research projects include the deployment of buoys in the Arctic to measure air pressure and sea surface temperatures, a survey of jellyfish populations along the route, and daily observations of cloud cover as part of the NASA Students’ Cloud Observations On-Line (S’COOL) project. People around the world can follow the expedition on the Around the Americas web site, which features daily crew reports, photographs, and a tracking program that updates the boat’s position every two hours.

About the image: Ocean Watch moored in Seattle before beginning its voyage. Photo courtesy Around the Americas

In a rapidly changing world, science centers must be agile and ready to innovate even in the most challenging times. In fact, demanding circumstances can be the catalysts that inspire centers to serve their communities in new ways while preserving a consistent vision. In this issue, we look at instances in which science centers have responded quickly to challenging situations, including economic difficulties and natural disasters.

Contents
• Agility and the Rapid Pace of Change, by Nancy Stueber
• Creating Our Future, by John Swanson
• Outreach that Empowers, by Megan Dickerson
• Discounted Prices, Increased Attendance, by Kristin Priscella
• What’s the Buzz? Bringing Breaking News into the Science Museum, by Liza Pryor
• Managing Organizational Change, by Chris Wallace, Joe Hastings, Marcelo Knobel, and David E. Chesebrough
• The Balancing Act Between Focus and Flexibility, by Jennifer Martin

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The National Weather Service said, “We anticipate flood cresting at 24 1/2 feet.” That’s what was going through my head as I studied the flood wall, built for a 24-foot crest, and the Cedar River beyond. That flood wall stood just 50 feet from the back wall of the Cedar Rapids Science Station in Iowa. It was 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. We had spent the day moving servers, tools, and the more valued exhibits out of our two basements. I knew our ground floor was at about the same level as the flood wall, so I thought, “The worst will be two flooded basements and maybe some water on the first floor.” Almost as an afterthought, I told everyone to move their computers to the tops of their desks.

Late Friday night into early Saturday morning, the river crested at 31 feet, seven feet higher than that flood wall—and 11 feet above the previous flood record, set in 1929. On Sunday, officials announced that the waters were starting to recede. We were allowed back into our three-building complex on Tuesday, June 17, although workers would still be pumping water out of the basements for four days.

I wasn’t prepared for what I found inside. As we opened the door, the humidity and musty aroma overwhelmed us. Every horizontal surface had a fine coating of what I later learned was the best part of Iowa’s marvelous topsoil, which will take many, many years to restore—one of the lesser known, but sinister, consequences of a flood. Until we left footprints, the carpeted floor looked like an ice rink, smooth and glistening with a skim-coat of mud.

But what struck us most was that nothing was where it belonged. Cases and counters had either collapsed or moved. You could probably produce an acceptable Ph.D. dissertation on the currents and whirlpools created inside a building by swirling flood waters. Entering our offices, we found 50-pound wooden tables hanging from partition walls and file cabinets tipped over. And those computers on the desks—well, that only meant they had been under three feet of water rather than seven.

As we worked through the Science Station, making quick decisions on what was salvageable, I came across a walnut plaque. Badly warped and lying in the muck, the inscribed words caught my eye:

The Best Way To Predict Your Future Is To Create It.

I have no idea how the plaque came to hang on our wall, but I immediately recognized the power in the words of management consultant Peter Drucker. We had the quote made into a banner for the front wall of our building, where it remains, a reminder to a devastated city that even disasters can have silver linings.

It took two weeks and $200,000 to clean out, dry out, and disinfect the building and its contents. Although 90 percent of our exhibits were ruined, there was no structural damage and only minimal exterior damage to the building. When we’re ready to rebuild, it will take nearly $2 million to repair walls, air handling, plumbing, and electrical damage.

The building is now tight, safe, and dry, but we won’t rebuild until we complete a visioning process and know more about how the city will deal with future flood threats. It will take between 7 and 12 years for the city to complete flood prevention planning and build new floodwalls and levees. In our own master planning, we will need to determine whether we will rebuild in our original location or relocate to another site. In addition, we are considering whether to share space or resources with another institution. One possibility is to partner with a local education agency to provide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education for students and training for teachers in our building.

Science Camp and perseverance

Even before we re-entered the buildings, we realized we had another challenge. We were three days into our eight-week summer Science Camp program when the evacuation order went out. The camp is very popular and is one of our most important revenue sources.

At such a time, the inherent good in people emerges and a spirit arises that I can’t properly express. My church graciously allowed us to use its multiclassroom addition for the camp. They also provided a kitchen, where we stored supplies and parceled out snacks. Four days after the flood emergency was declared “over,” we resumed our Science Camp program.

Still, I was worried. We lost all our files, so we couldn’t verify who had already paid their camp registration fees. Publicly, I was saying, “We’re not in the business of disappointing kids. Science Camp is still on!” But inwardly, I was thinking, “What if they all demand a refund, or dozens show up claiming they already paid and expect a reserved spot for their child?”

However, my fears were unfounded. To a person, parents understood our circumstances, and “The Honor System” worked. When it was all over, nearly 800 campers had participated (a new record for the Science Station), refunds were minimal, and we even managed to make up the two lost days from that flood-affected first week.

An off-site presence

By late August, we had three other examples of how people rise to the occasion in times of need. First I received an e-mail from Mark Kirby of Eureka Exhibits. He wrote, “We have not scheduled our interactive computer simulation, Be the Dinosaur, for the fall, due to taking part of it to the ASTC Conference in October. If it can help, 75 percent of it is yours through the end of the year at no charge.” It took me all of two seconds to hit the Reply key and accept that most generous offer.

Then the reality set in. I thought, “OK, I‘ve got an exhibition, but no place to put it…and what about other exhibition expenses that don’t go away, like staffing, advertising, and insurance?” Once again, something gratifying occurred when a new-to-the-region company, ITC Midwest, approached us and said, “We’re a technology-driven organization and your mission matches ours. How can we help?” They agreed to cover all costs related to staging and presenting the exhibition, totaling more than $30,000. So, with our budget sponsored, the final step was to secure a place to stage the exhibition. A local shopping mall had 3,500 square feet of vacant space and was extremely accommodating with the rent.

Be the Dinosaur opened October 1, 2008, ran seven days a week, and closed on January 4, 2009. We had 5,803 visitors, plus several hundred who attended free Sunday afternoon lectures with local experts and amateur paleontologists. It was, to say the least, a financial success, since the full sponsorship allowed our ticket income to assist with other financial needs.

A shopping mall operation taught us other lessons, too. People go to malls for many reasons other than shopping. Seniors use them for exercise, moms see them as a way to get out of the house, and young people treat them as gathering places. These are all audiences we would like to have at the Science Station. Another benefit is that mall parking is plentiful—and free.

From this new knowledge, we created Science Station@Lindale Mall. We moved to a more visible location on the main floor, opening with an Early Childhood area, a small exhibit called Antarctica’s Climate Secrets, and the few exhibits we managed to salvage and rebuild. We’re keeping the space we used for Be the Dinosaur, too, and will hold our 2009 summer camp there.

Natural disasters happen. No one anywhere is immune from the possibility of a flood, hurricane, tornado, or fire. My advice to other museums: Take plenty of pictures, before, during, and after. They are invaluable when estimating or proving loss. Most of all, take heart from the basic goodness of the human spirit. People will surprise you with their sincere desire to help out.

John Swanson is executive director of the Cedar Rapids Science Station, Iowa.

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

The garden, developed in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, covers one-seventh of an acre and will feature a crushed stone walking path and explanatory signs for visitors. The garden’s native plants were chosen to allow the museum to cut back on watering and their use of chemical pesticides and fertilizer and will not require mowing by gas-powered equipment. The plants also will reduce runoff into the nearby James River watershed that feeds the Chesapeake Bay.

About the image: Volunteers and staff plant the new BayScapes Garden. Photo courtesy Science Museum of Virginia

To sign up, you’ll need an ASTC Connect account. Go to connect.astc.org to sign up. Then contact Margaret Glass at mglass [at] astc.org for the enrollment key that will give you access to the “Working with Scientists and Engineers” forum. Once you’re in this forum area, you can also read archived records of earlier discussions.

Adventure Science Center, Nashville, Tennessee, and the Exploratorium, San Francisco, are hosting on-site public programs on May 1 and May 3, respectively, where microbiologists will present information and answer questions about the “swine flu.”

Science Buzz, the website of the Science Museum of Minnesota’s “current science” initiative, focuses on science in the news, emerging research, and seasonal science. The web site is designed to be a source of science information, but also encourages users to respond to the stories they find and even contribute their own.

ScienceNetwork WA, a web site developed and hosted by Scitech, Perth,  in partnership with the Government of Western Australia, is a source for science news, as well as information about events and career opportunities in the region.

About the image: Users have contributed information about the H1N1 virus, including links to official disease control web sites, on the Science Buzz blog. Image courtesy Science Museum of Minnesota

The intiative was announced in celebration of the fifth anniversary of PNC Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million investment in early childhood education. The PNC Foundation has pledged up to $6 million in grants over three years to fund the program and conduct an independent evaluation of its success. Second- and third-year funding is contingent upon science centers’ successful completion of the prior year’s project goals.

ASTC grant recipients are: Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh; Cincinnati Museum Center, Ohio; Delaware Museum of Natural History, Wilmington; the EcoTarium (as part of the Worcester Collaborative), Massachusetts; the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia; Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, New Jersey; Louisville Science Center, Kentucky; Maryland Science Center, Baltimore; and Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

About the image: At a Grow Up Great with Science kickoff event, preschoolers learn about slugs at the Delaware Museum of Natural History’s “Slug Races” station. Photo courtesy the Delaware Museum of Natural History