By Beth Murphy, editor of Connected Science Learning Journal, a joint initiative of ASTC and the National Science Teaching Association For most of my career in science and STEM education, I’ve worked at the interface between museums or other educational institutions and schools, finding synergies in their efforts to improve science learning experiences for kids and […]
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Several members of the science center community have been elected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as AAAS Fellows. Beginning in 1874, AAAS has been electing Fellows in recognition of diverse accomplishments, including research, leadership, teaching, mentoring, fostering collaborations, and advancing public understanding of science. While some of the new Fellows
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Are you thinking about session ideas for ASTC 2020? The Call for Proposals, with details about the conference theme, New Frontiers, is available now. This document describes the elements your proposal should contain and the broad issues the theme covers. We are seeking session proposals that address one or more of the goals listed below and
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IN THIS ISSUE November/December 2019 Our theme for this issue is “engaging in education.” Read inspiring examples of science and technology centers and classroom educators working together to share resources and build on each other’s successes. Get inspired to take on a new partnership with your local school system, or use ideas in these articles
Dimensions, November/December 2019—Engaging in Education Read More »
By Cristin Dorgelo Science and technology centers and museums engage in education and engagement with myriad individuals and groups in many different ways. It is essential that we pause and examine some of the relationships that help us make the greatest impact in this education and engagement work. This issue will explore the different ways
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From original videos to free admission days to special family activities, museums marked International Science Center and Science Museum Day in a wide variety of ways: Domus, Museos Científicos Coruñeses in A Coruña, Spain, opened a new exhibit, Bocados, with several activities on water, equality, and health: preparing meals, an interactive screen display, and origami. Mid-Hudson
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By Jenni Martin, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose Success for museums in the 21st century depends on embracing organizational change to meaningfully connect with new and diverse audiences. But how do we do this? What strategies will be most helpful to ensure that our museums have the capacity and the know-how to effectively practice
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Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. Talia Milgrom-Elcott, founded 100Kin10, the network devoted to tackling systemic challenges and getting 100,000 excellent STEM teachers into classrooms nationwide. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, Milgrom-Elcott decided not to practice law and instead focused on educational
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As we approach International Science Center and Science Museum Day (ISCSMD), read about how The Franklin Institute is marking the occasion. Tell us how you plan to observe ISCSMD by emailing ASTC’s Walter Staveloz at wstaveloz@astc.org. This year for International Science Center and Science Museum Day (ISCSMD), The Franklin Institute is crafting our celebration around
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As we reflect on the 2019 ASTC Annual Conference, we are once again grateful for the passion, knowledge, and collaborative spirit of our field. Thank you to everyone who joined us in Toronto! This year, we recorded several plenary and concurrent sessions. Follow the links below to view these sessions. Keynote and Plenary Sessions Opening Keynote
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By Cristin Dorgelo This issue of Dimensions takes a close look at “moonshots”—ambitious yet achievable goals to address significant challenges for the public good. Later this month, the ASTC community will gather for the 2019 ASTC Annual Conference, hosted by the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. I’m grateful to all of you who are traveling
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Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft Corporation’s first chief technology officer, is an inventor, an entrepreneur, a mathematician, a scientist, and a chef. According to the New Yorker, Bill Gates once said, “I don’t know anyone I would say is smarter than Nathan.” Myhrvold holds
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Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. Nicole Small, the former chief executive officer of Dallas’ Perot Museum of Nature and Science, is now president of the Lyda Hill Philanthropies, a Dallas-based foundation devoted to advancements in nature and science. Small’s most recent achievement with Lyda Hill
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By John W. Jacobsen Excerpted from Dimensions May/June 2019 A museum aspires to impact its community, audiences, and supporters. In turn, the community, audiences, and supporters receive benefits from the museum. Impacts are the effects desired by the museum; benefits are what matter to the beneficiaries. The distinction is important. Both are end results, or
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IN THIS ISSUE May/June 2019 We all know the invaluable worth of a science center or museum. But how do we convey that value to donors, elected officials, and others? Glowing adjectives often aren’t enough. Because of our wide-ranging activities—providing informal STEM education, partnering with the formal education process, supporting healthy community development, and making
Dimensions, May/June 2019—Making the Case Read More »
The Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is breathing new life into some of Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest ideas in honor of the 500th anniversary of his death (it is believed that da Vinci died of a stroke on May 2, 1519). The Science Center is offering special, themed activities the weekend of May 3-5, in addition
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So you want to be a 2019 Diversity and Leadership Development Fellow? You’ve talked with your supervisor, considered your professional goals, built a passion for making change in the science center field, and you are now ready to apply to the 2019 ASTC Diversity and Leadership Development Fellows Program. Below are some tips and advice
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This coming July 5 is LGBTSTEM Day, an international day celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Science centers and museums that would like to plan events for the day, work with LGBTQIA organizations in their communities, or introduce inclusive practices in their institutions
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By Emma Sussman Starr From Dimensions March/April 2019 KID Museum is a creative learning space dedicated to empowering the next generation to invent the future with creativity and compassion. Our prototype site on the first floor of a Montgomery County, Maryland, public library is a step toward the museum’s vision of a larger, permanent home. Founded seven
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By Renata Moretti and Ennio Candotti From Dimensions March/April 2019 The idea of setting up a museum in the greatest forest on Earth—the Amazon rainforest—brought along with it some questions: How could the visitors really engage in exploration, make the visit their own, and have a transformative experience they would take away with them? With an annual budget of
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