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.
By John Fraser, Martin Weiss, Beverly Sheppard, and Kate Flinner From Dimensions July/August 2013 Educators at science centers, zoos, and other informal science education institutions (ISE) work in distinct traditions. Yet, funders often lump them into a single class of ISE environments. Even science centers and zoos themselves may imagine
By Laura Huerta Migus From Dimensions July/August 2013 “It is diversity that drives innovation: a diversity of perspectives, of industries, of cultures. When we bring together these different perspectives, we have a far better chance of breaking new ground.” —Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect Over the past two
IN THIS ISSUE May/June 2013 Free-choice learning is the hallmark of science centers and interactive museums. But many institutions are taking this idea a step further by exploring strategies for personalizing the visitor experience—before, during, or after the visit. Some approaches are high tech, like compiling a visitor’s on-site experiences
By Jennifer Jenkins From Dimensions May/June 2013 WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology in Bloomington, Indiana, strives to be not just a destination, but also a valuable community asset. Open since 2003 in its current downtown location, WonderLab is a small museum—7,600 square feet (700 square meters) of gallery
By Keith Ostfeld From Dimensions May/June 2013 Society has reached a point where everyone desires customized services and products—from coffee to computers to museum experiences—that meet their needs, expectations, and aesthetics. With today’s easy access to phenomenal computational power through personal mobile technologies (PMTs) like smartphones and tablets, we have
This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the May/June 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. Scitech has been running adults-only nights twice a year since 2009, the year we turned 21. We started doing these evenings as we realized that there must be
This is an extended version of an article that appeared in the May/June 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. Science center and museum professionals from around the world share their experiences using technology—including smartphones, barcodes, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags—to personalize the visitor experience. The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) opened
By Margaret Glass From Dimensions March/April 2013 Today’s youth grow up in a digitally networked world. With cell phones, laptops, and tablets, via social media platforms, videos, and podcasts, they connect to each other and to their world like never before. Yet with only a few exceptions, the digital signal
Interviewed by Joelle Seligson This interview appeared in the March/April 2013 issue of Dimensions magazine. Whether it’s the world’s biggest wardrobe malfunction or MacGyver meets Survivor, Ainissa Ramirez knows that generating interest in science requires a hook. A professor at Yale University, Ramirez prefers the title “science evangelist”—in her words,
By Lucilla Minelli From Dimensions January/February 2013 Water is critical for sustainable development and indispensable for human health and well-being. With this in mind, and to accelerate the implementation of internationally agreed goals relating to water, the UN General Assembly declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC). The