IN THIS ISSUE
May/June 2018
As science centers and institutions, we embrace a certain level of risk in the name of discovery and innovation, and we encourage visitors to do the same. But we also must handle the risk that would lead to negative outcomes. The ways in which we manage risk vary greatly, according to our training, backgrounds, experience, roles in the organization, necessity, environment, and even our general outlook on the world. As we undertake business risks, programming risks, public risks, and career risks, we must weigh the consequences of failure versus the benefits of payoff.
In this issue, the feature stories cover a wide range of risk: preparing for devastating natural disasters; managing potential injuries in an epic festival; encouraging audiences to stretch beyond their social and intellectual comfort zones; facilitating scientific learning in unconventional ways; understanding the role of information, experience, and trust in our approach to handling risk; and more.
FEATURES
- Risky Business, by Charlie Trautmann and Dean Briere
- A Different Approach: The Hazard Experience Curve, by Mamoru Mohri
- Risky Tinkering: Extreme Heat, Sharp Needles, Live Wires, and 7,440 Guests, by Clint Stone
- Guerilla Science, by Mark Rosin
- Tinkering and Drinkering: Taking Making to the Bar, by Molly Brown
- To Risk or Not to Risk, by Maya Halevy, Tal Bar-Lev, Michèle Antoine, and Caroline Turré
- Uncertain Times: Living with Risk in the 21st Century, by Alexandre Quintanilha
ONLINE DEPARTMENTS
- From the CEO—Risk and Reward, by Cristin Dorgelo
- Q&A with Ellen Stofan, former chief scientist of NASA and recently appointed director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum