The digital publication of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
The ASTC Dimensions Resource Library provides peer-reviewed guides, articles, and insights written by science engagement colleagues about topics relevant to science centers and museums and other organizations committed to engaging the public in science and technology. Interested in contributing to the resource library? Learn more about our quarterly submission cycle and our submission guidelines.
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The organizational and contributor characteristics reflect the ways that ASTC classifies member organizations and individuals in our data collection and reflect categorization at the time the article was originally published.
IN THIS ISSUE July/August 2009 As science centers and museums welcome increasingly diverse audiences, many of them are working to accommodate the linguistic needs of their visitors and to foster a sense of ownership and belonging. Immigrants, indigenous populations, and visitors who are Deaf bring a variety of languages with them to science centers around […]
By Carlos Plaza From ASTC Dimensions July/August 2009 Over the course of 10 years, the exhibit team at the Miami Science Museum, Florida, has developed general guidelines and strategies for writing and designing bilingual exhibitions. These guidelines result from our experience producing Spanish-language interpretation for more than 40 bilingual exhibitions, and from much trial and […]
By Susie Wilkening From ASTC Dimensions January/February 2009 Go to any science museum on a Saturday morning, and a sight awaits you. Children, in particular, are exploring science while having a great time. But what is going on in the heads of the adults, especially the parents, at the science museum? Are they equally engaged, […]
By Jim Spadaccini From ASTC Dimensions July/August 2008 As the Internet continues to evolve, it seems like I hear about a new web site or software service just about every day. The vast majority of these are free to use. Many of these sites or software packages are produced by start-ups looking to gain first-time […]
By Randi Korn From ASTC Dimensions May/June 2008 At museum conferences these days, people are talking about accountability, public impact, and relevance. These ideas are not new. A decade ago, in a 1997 keynote address for the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums’ 50th anniversary, the late Smithsonian scholar Stephen Weil spoke of the “in-your-face, bottom-line, hard-nosed […]
By Paul Tatter and Kristin Leigh From ASTC Dimensions March/April 2008 “This is a wonderful atmosphere. Can I live here?” (Visitor comment card) At Explora we think of membership as a sense of belonging. “Belonging” comes from an old English word meaning a close and secure relationship. Relationships of belonging are personal. They are about […]
By Wendy Pollock and J. Shipley Newlin Sound in an exhibition? Most of the time, exhibition planners think of sound as something to be dampened, controlled, or contained. The very term “sound bleed” suggests exhibits battling for attention in an atmosphere of cacophony. In planning Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life, the exhibition team—an […]
IN THIS ISSUE May/June 2006 What have science centers learned in the past decade about the effect of blockbusters, those wildly popular traveling exhibitions and large-format films that drive attendance and inspire media “buzz”? Do blockbusters help museums reach broader audiences, increase visibility in the community, grow membership? Is the boost in income and attendance […]
IN THIS ISSUE September/October 2005 At the 4th Science Centre World Congress, held April 11—15, in Rio de Janeiro, attendees considered how science centers might succeed in “breaking barriers [and] engaging citizens” by providing the public with interactive, informal, capacity-building access to science and technology education. In this issue, we have chosen to continue some […]
IN THIS ISSUE November/December 2000 CONTENTS • After School Hours: A Time for Children and Science Centers, by DeAnna Banks Beane • Students Teaching Students: Applying the YouthALIVE! Model in a School-Based Program, by Jane Finkenbine • Science Centers and the 21st CCLC Initiative: A View from the Mott Foundation, by Marianne Kugler • A […]