This page features resources related to the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Looking for ideas and resources to help support your own eclipse programming? We’ve curated some popular favorites below. We’ll be adding to this list! Are we missing something? Email totaleclipse@astc.org to let us know about it. National Groups NASA Solar System Exploration This …
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With support from the Simons Foundation, ASTC is pleased to offer a new funding opportunity to support science education and engagement around the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. Overview Total Eclipse 2024 will award fifty (50) gifts of $10,000 each to U.S.-based science centers and science-focused institutions situated directly within the path of totality …
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On April 8, 2024, a solar eclipse will sweep across North America. Observers within its path of totality—a 115-mile-wide strip where the moon will completely obscure the sun—will experience brief, total darkness in midafternoon. Those outside of the path will experience a partial eclipse, with a portion of the sun remaining visible. The Association of …
Total Solar Eclipse 2024: Get Ready for a Celestial Spectacle! Read More »
ASTC New Leaders Fellowship Program Alumni ASTC’s New Leaders Fellowship Program develops future leaders from backgrounds underrepresented in science and technology centers and museums by offering skill-based leadership training in a diversity, accessibility, inclusion, and equity (DAIE)-centered curriculum. It evolved from the two-decades long ASTC Diversity and Leadership Development Fellows Program. 2022-2023 Cohort This year’s …
Fellows at the 2019 ASTC Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario. Application and Participation Timeline Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort of ASTC’s New Leaders Fellowship Program will open in Spring 2024. The New Leaders Fellowship is a 9-month hybrid program that includes monthly virtual workshops and in-person participation in ASTC’s Annual Conference. The 2024-2025 cohort will …
ASTC is a proud partner of ee360+, an initiative led by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other partner organizations. This initiative seeks to grow, strengthen, and diversify the field of environmental education by spreading best practices and providing opportunities for collaboration. Goals …
This online convening, which took place on April 26 and 28, 2022, was an opportunity for ASTC members to hear inspiring stories of successes in museum digital engagement, learn from their peers, and have discussions about developing their own organizations’ digital strategies. Discussions focused on four key areas of sustainable digital engagement: Reflecting on 2020-2021, …
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While many museums have been designing digital engagement programs for years, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the field to quickly create or expand their online offerings. This rapid proliferation of digital museum content is a testament to the field’s ability to efficiently pivot in response to changing circumstances. The rise in digital content has also allowed …
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ASTC’s Community Science Dialogue & Deliberation Fellowship Program is focused on nurturing a corps of science engagement professionals as they partner with community organizations to address community priorities. Ten Fellows, each based at an ASTC-member science and technology center or museum, are working collaboratively with community partners to implement a community discussion event to address a local issue at the intersection of science, technology, society, and policy. This program is a part of ASTC’s Community Science Initiative, which aims to build …
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ASTC is proud to launch a pilot fellowship program to nurture a corps of science engagement professionals to partner with a community organization to address community priorities related to science and technology. Ten Fellows, each based at an ASTC-member science and technology center or museum, will implement a Dialogue & Deliberation event in their community, …
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The Leadership Learning Labs (L3) is an online professional learning opportunity for science-engagement practitioners. This opportunity is a collaboration between the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Informal Leadership Learning Collaborative (ILLC). L3 was created to provide effective leadership training and discussion among science-engagement and civic-science leaders, as those leaders navigate the …
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About CCLI (Cultural Competence Learning Institute) CCLI (Cultural Competence Learning Institute) helps museums of all types and sizes activate their efforts around diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Made possible through funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, CCLI is a partnership among Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, the Association of Children’s Museums, …
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ASTC represents the interests of its members before the United States Congress and Federal agencies that provide support to science and technology centers and museums across the country. To communicate the needs and positions of ASTC members, we issue statements, sign onto coalition letters, and submit Congressional testimony. Here are several of our recent actions. Date …
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Strong relationships with your Members of Congress can help ensure that science and technology centers and museums are included favorably in any Federal legislation. This includes the annual Federal appropriations process that provides funding for the many Federal agencies who support our community—as well as during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, new national investments …
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The Leaders in Science and Technology Engagement Networks, or LISTEN Network, connects and supports perspectives from across the science-engagement ecosystem, including informal science education, public engagement, journalism and science writing, live events, community science, and science-communication training. LISTEN network participants work to nurture relationships among all people and science, and together envision a world where everyone …
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The Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experiences Studies, or COVES, is an exciting example of how museums are working together toward more data-informed decision-making. Starting with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, COVES has evolved into a membership-based initiative supporting 37 science centers, children’s museums, natural history museums, and—most recently—art museums, of diverse size and …
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Leveraging Science to Advance Community Priorities The Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), in partnership with the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Thriving Earth Exchange, sponsors a collaborative opportunity for staff at ASTC-member museums in the United States to each work with a community and scientists to advance the community’s priorities. These projects are contributing to a …
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The Work of Our Members At the heart of ASTC’s strategic direction is a commitment to work inclusively, collaboratively, humbly, and effectively with members and partners. Click on the images below to read ASTC member tell their stories about supporting lifelong science learning, connecting science and society, engaging diverse communities, and/or partnering to tackle global …
During the International Year of the Reef in 2018, ASTC partnered with the BNP Paribas Foundation to increase awareness of the value of and threats to coral reefs, and ways that scientists—with the help of the public—are working to save them. We collaborated to produce the Corals Matter website, which houses tools to support action toward protecting coral reefs. A …
The International Science Center & Science Museum Day (ISCSMD) is a yearly, global event illustrating the impact and reach of all the world’s science centers and science museums. It demonstrates the role these institutions play with their millions of visitors in raising awareness of—and engagement in—sustainable development and the solutions to worldwide challenges such as …
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