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.
Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the January/February 2020 issue of Dimensions magazine. Nalini Nadkarni is an ecologist and professor at the University of Utah, a pioneer of treetop canopy research, a National Geographic Explorer, and an adviser for Mattel’s new line of Explorer Barbies. She has won
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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