Anniversaries endow significance. The 50th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) provides a wonderful opportunity to look back at how the field of science museums and science centers has evolved and grown. Formally incorporated by a group of 23 passionate leaders of science engagement organizations in 1973, ASTC really got off the ground the following year with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Public Understanding of Science program and an unprecedented invitation from National Academy of Sciences to conduct business from their offices on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

ASTC’s genesis coincided with a turning point in the 1960s, when new museums and centers burst on the scene with interactive exhibits and programs that were a far cry from the objects- and collections-based natural history institutions that dominated the landscape at the turn of the twentieth century. This revolution followed an era of “science and industry”-type museums that inherited the technical museum model from the nineteenth century but with new, rapidly developing technologies to display and demonstrate. While these twentieth-century museums also contained collections, the field was beginning to undergo a shift in emphasis from curation to education. The Cold War and the Sputnik era further spurred the emergence of institutions that offered direct interaction with natural, physical, and technological phenomena and learning experiences in support of the growing U.S. science education reform movement. Science centers and museums were no longer places to only observe and contemplate the results of scientists’ work but had become laboratories of their own where visitors could also engage in scientific processes themselves. Today, our field includes a diverse array of organizations that often mix interactive exhibits, collections, objects, models, experiences, and innovative programming. (For a concise summary of the field’s history read Dave Ucko’s 2019 Looking Back to Look Ahead article in ASTC’s Dimensions magazine).

This was the era into which ASTC was born, and we hit the ground running by creating resources and opportunities, while advocating for the value for what was then mostly referred to as “hands-on science.” Our first official annual conference took place in 1982 in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted by Discovery Place, where the community is returning again this year in a “full circle” moment. (Previously, ASTC hosted biannual workshops on specific topics, as well as co-convened the International Conference of Science and Technology Museums in 1976 alongside the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the International Association of Transport Museums.) By 1982, ASTC had 144 institutional members, a number that steadily grew as cities and towns of all sizes saw the value of creating informal STEM learning institutions in their communities. ASTC now boasts a thriving international membership of more than 600 institutions and organizations in over 40 countries, and dynamic, collaborative relationships with other professional associations of science centers in museums representing five regions and continents. 

Over the past 50 years, ASTC has worked to keep the field connected, and through that connection, learning and evolving through collaboration. ASTC Annual Conferences enable science center and museum professionals to come together to share innovations, grapple with common issues and challenges, and explore and initiate new partnerships. Our General Forum and other ASTC Communities of Practice evolved from the informal science education network listserv first launched in 1996. They facilitate online dialogue by providing a platform for staff, volunteers, and board members from across our membership to post queries, exchange tips, and engage with each other about resources, as well as announce news of funding and professional learning opportunities. ASTC publications, beginning in 1974 with the ASTC Newsletter, now the Informer since 2014, and via print and electronic versions of Dimensions magazine since 1999, have kept the community informed with news and opportunities, as well as with field-contributed articles on what educators, exhibit developers, and experience designers are learning from practice.

We invite all attendees at the ASTC 2023 Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 7-10 to help us reflect on the significance of the science museum and science center field’s history, its current priorities, and its future directions. Among the many professional learning and networking activities taking place at this year’s conference, we will invite attendees to collaborate on the co-creation of a visual “timeline” by sharing the organizations, collaborations, exhibits, programs, publications, and events that have been inspiring and important for their own interests and career trajectories. We also invite attendees to reflect on our shared struggles, on who and what is missing, and to share ideas about how to cultivate a more inclusive and impactful future for all.

ASTC also looks forward to sharing some of the many insightful and meaningful stories contributed by the field on the impact of science centers and science engagement on their careers, their communities, and society. See www.astc.org/astc50 to view these stories and to add your own to our growing collection.

Come and join us in Charlotte to participate, learn, meet with long-time and new colleagues, and to celebrate and reflect on the significance of our field.