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Bimonthly News Journal of the Association of Science-Technology Centers November/December 2008

Year of Science 2009: Communicating, Collaborating,and Celebrating Science

From the Origin to the Future of Species:Celebrating Darwin’s Legacy

Stars Align for the International Year of Astronomy 2009Challenging and Changing Minds:

Emotional Learning and Physics CompetitionsWe Threw a Party and Everybody Came:

A Science Celebration Sampler

ScienceCelebrationsScienceCelebrations

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IN TH IS I SSUE November/December 2008

In 2009, science centers and museums will celebrate the Year of Science, CharlesDarwin’s 200th birthday, and the International Year of Astronomy. Every year,many institutions plan programs around global initiatives like Earth Science Weekand international holidays like World Environment Day. New celebrations such asNanoDays and the Cambridge Science Festival, Massachusetts, are introducingthousands of people to science. In this issue, we examine how science celebrationsare advancing public engagement with science, changing attitudes, bringing innew audiences, and strengthening links among science centers.

FeaturesYear of Science 2009: Communicating, Collaborating, and Celebrating Science . . . . . 3From the Origin to the Future of Species: Celebrating Darwin’s Legacy . . . . . . . . . 4Stars Align for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6ASTC and the International Year of Astronomy 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Challenging and Changing Minds: Emotional Learning and Physics Competitions. . .8We Threw a Party and Everybody Came: A Science Celebration Sampler. . . . . . . 10

DepartmentsASTC Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Spotlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Grants & Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Cover: Science celebrations can make science accessible to broad audiences. Photos, clockwisefrom top left: A student enjoys the Wave Swinger during the BC’s Brightest Minds physicscompetition at an amusement park in Vancouver, Canada (photo by Rachel Moll); the Muse-um of Science, Boston, launches NanoDays, a celebration of nanoscale science, engineering,and technology, with the world premiere of the Amazing Nano Brothers Juggling Show(photo by Eric Workman, Museum of Science); at the NanoDays celebration, Museum of Sci-ence staff member Vrylena Olney explains the structure of a carbon nanotube to a visitor,with the help of a balloon model (photo courtesy Museum of Science).

Bimonthly News Journal of the Association of Science-Technology CentersBonnie VanDornExecutive Director

Wendy PollockDirector of Research, Publications,and Exhibitions

Emily SchusterEditor

Christine RuffoPhoto Editor

Brendan CartwrightPublications Assistant

Editorial Advisors

Elsa BaileyNational Science Teachers AssociationSan Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Rita DeedrickCOSIColumbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

Colin JohnsonThe BALondon, U.K.

Ronen MirMadaTechIsrael National Museum of ScienceHaifa, Israel

Mikko MyllykoskiHeureka, the Finnish Science CentreVantaa, Finland

Vishnu RamcharanOntario Science CentreToronto, Ontario, Canada

Elizabeth StageLawrence Hall of ScienceUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeley, California, U.S.A.

Contributors

Adrienne BarnettGeoff CamphireP.A. d’ArbeloffJohn DurantKatie EdwardsRachel MollVrylena OlneyKaren PollardSheri PotterNarottam SahooJudy ScotchmoorWalter StavelozKat Stein

ASTC Dimensions (ISSN 1528-820X) is published six times a year by the Associationof Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, 1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500,Washington, DC 20005-6310, U.S.A. Copyright © 2008 the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated. All rights reserved. ASTC Dimensions is printed on45 percent recycled paper with environmentally friendly inks.

ASTC Dimensions is intended to keep member institutions apprised of trends, practices,perspectives, and news of significance to the science center field. All ASTC membersreceive five free copies of each issue as a benefit of membership. Individual subscriptionsare also available: For employees of ASTC-member institutions, the annual rate isU.S.$40; $50 outside the United States. For all others, the price is $55; $65 outside theUnited States. Send name, address, name of institution, and payment in U.S. dollars toASTC, 1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005-6310, U.S.A., Attn:ASTC Dimensions. For more information or to order bulk subscriptions, call 202/783-7200x140, or e-mail [email protected]. ALTERNATE FORMATS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

To submit news items and ideas for articles, contact Emily Schuster, editor, 202/783-7200 x130; e-mail [email protected]. For editorial guidelines, visit www.astc.org.

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By Sheri Potter and Judy Scotchmoor

ASTC Dimensions • November/December 2008 3

Year of Science 2009:

A scientist is sitting on a bar.That’s right, on a bar, talkingabout science.

A state science teachers’ associationis holding a “process of science” party,complete with custom-built versionsof Twister and Bingo games thatreinforce key process-of-scienceconcepts.Science communicators in New York

are hosting a blog-a-thon to teachlocal researchers how to talk about sci-ence in the blogosphere.Museums are holding public partic-

ipation in research events, where visi-tors collect data on everything frombee distribution to precipitation.What do all these events have in

common? They all focus on celebrat-ing science during the Year of Science2009 (YoS09), a year-long, U.S.-based initiative hosted by the grow-ing grassroots Coalition on the Pub-lic Understanding of Science(COPUS, www.copusproject.org).Sponsored by the American Instituteof Biological Sciences, the GeologicalSociety of America, the National Sci-ence Teachers Association, and theUniversity of California Museum ofPaleontology, COPUS forms a com-munication and collaboration net-work of U.S. science centers and mu-seums, universities, scientific soci-eties, government agencies, advocacygroups, media organizations, schools,and businesses—basically, anyonewho cares about science and is con-cerned about national scientific liter-acy. Over 300 organizations in 44states and Washington, D.C., arenow part of the COPUS networkand are asking themselves, “Whatcan we do in 2009 to engage thepublic with science?”

Why celebrate science?

A 2004 National Science Board pollsuggests that two-thirds of U.S. citi-zens do not have a firm grasp of thescientific process. According to a2001 Gallup poll, belief in pseudo-science is relatively widespread in theUnited States and may be on the rise.Public understanding of science iscrucial if the United States is to main-tain an economic position as a worldleader in science.COPUS recognizes that the public

sector is a diverse entity that cannotbe positively engaged through a singleeffort or activity. To re-engage thepublic in science will take a collabora-tive and multifaceted set of programsand strategies at local, regional, andnational levels. In light of today’s per-sistent controversies over stem cell re-search, nanotechnology, climatechange policy, and the teaching ofevolution, there has never been amore important time to remind thepublic how science works, who scien-tists are, and why science matters.And there has never been a more op-portune moment to leverage web-based technologies in support ofdoing so collectively.

Why 2009?

Numerous seminal events in sciencecan be associated with 2009. Plans arealready underway to observe Darwin’s200th birthday, the 150th anniversaryof the publication of On the Origin ofSpecies, the 400th anniversary ofGalileo Galelei’s first use of an astro-nomical telescope, and the 400th an-niversary of the publication of Jo-hannes Kepler’s first two laws of plan-

etary motion, to name a few.With the stage set for recognizing

each of these events, 2009 becomes anideal time for celebrating all scienceand scientists—those who have mademajor contributions in the past, thosewho are working on key issues today,and those who will become the scien-tists of tomorrow.

How can we participate inthe celebration?

Museums and science centers havelong been at the heart of the public ex-perience with science, translating sci-entific research into something peoplecan touch and experience. They havesuccessfully communicated science tovisitors of all ages and will be essentialpartners in the success of the YoS09endeavor.Participation can be as simple as

adding the YoS09 logo to your center’sweb site or promotional materials andcontinuing to do what you are alreadydoing, but as part of a larger nationalinitiative. COPUS is also encouraginglocal and regional collaborations to en-gage in new activities that might ex-pand your audience. Each month ofthe year is associated with a theme onwhich to focus activities. (See the charton page 4.)Science cafés (www.sciencecafes.org/

copus.html) are an outstanding mecha-nism for communicating science to thegeneral public. The café brings scienceto the public in places where they al-ready are, such as bars, coffeehouses,and restaurants. As participants enjoy acup of coffee or a glass of wine, theyalso enjoy a conversation with a scien-tist about his or her research. By mov-ing science dialogue out of traditional

Communicating, Collaborating, andCelebrating Science

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From the OrigiCelebrating D

4 November/December 2008 • ASTC Dimensions

venues, cafés demonstrate the culturalrelevancy of science. National evalua-tions show that cafés contribute toparticipants’ interest in science andmotivate them to share their enthusi-asm with others. Scientists report thatthe experience enhances their ability tocommunicate their work to the public.Also, science cafés are easy, fun, and agreat solution for limited time and re-sources. As an added bonus, the pressoften covers these events.

Many museums and science centersare looking at how to better portraythe process of science in their exhibitsand programs. The overarching themeof YoS09 is “How do we know whatwe know?” In other words, who arescientists and how do they do theirwork? Many people think that scienceamounts to learning facts from a text-book, following the simple steps of thescientific method, and working in anisolated lab. The true nature of scienceis far more complex, creative, and ex-citing. We have an opportunity toshare how science really works as wekick off YoS09 with January’s theme,the “process and nature of science,”and the launch of a new collaborativeweb resource, Understanding Science(www.understandingscience.org).This site, a project of the Universityof California–Berkeley, portrays sci-ence as a dynamic and nonlinearprocess.Collaborations that include science

centers have been at the heart of a new

phenomenon popping up in severalcities across the United States—sciencefestivals. Long popular in Europe,these festivals combine traditional andnontraditional activities in order toreach large and diverse audiences. Forexample, one might have the opportu-nity to attend a lecture, enjoy a musi-cal composition, visit a laboratory, orlisten to a storyteller—all with thefocus on celebrating science. Severalfestivals, including the Cambridge Sci-ence Festival in Massachusetts (see thearticle on pages 12–14) and the SanDiego Science Festival in California,are part of the COPUS initiative.While COPUS is localized to the

United States at this time, we areexcited to hear about and share whatothers in the world are doing tocelebrate and promote the public un-derstanding of science. The interna-tional colleague registration form(www.copusproject.org/yearofscience2009/international.php) invites anyone in theworld to register as a participant in thecelebration.

Museums and science centers arecritical to the public under-

standing of science. ASTC has alreadytaken a lead in the COPUS network,serving as one of the original thematichubs (peer communities that buildbridges between their members and thenational COPUS coalition). We en-courage you to register your organiza-tion on our web site (www.copusproject.org/register) and to leverage the workyou are already doing to make sciencemore accessible, personally meaningful,and locally relevant. �

Sheri Potter is manager of the Member-ship and Community Programs Depart-ment at the American Institute of Biolog-ical Sciences and serves as the COPUSProject network manager. Judy Scotch-moor is director of education and publicprograms at the University of CaliforniaMuseum of Paleontology and serves onthe COPUS Steering Committee. Foradditional information on COPUS andthe Year of Science 2009, contact SheriPotter at [email protected] or941/923-6320.

Themes for Year of Science 2009

January Process and Nature of Science;Communicating Science

February EvolutionMarch Physics and TechnologyApril Energy ResourcesMay Sustainability and the

EnvironmentJune Oceans and WaterJuly AstronomyAugust Weather and ClimateSeptember Biodiversity and ConservationOctober Geosciences and Planet EarthNovember ChemistryDecember Science and Health

This photograph of Charles Darwin, taken in 1874,is bound with Darwin’s letters in the Natural HistoryMuseum General Library in London. Photo courtesy theNatural History Museum, London

Between July 2008 and November2009, the world will celebrate thelife of Charles Robert Darwin

(1809–82) and the continuing impactof his discoveries, which have funda-mentally changed the way we perceivenature and our place in it. Three majoranniversaries fall within this time period:the 150th anniversary of the reading ofDarwin’s paper on natural selection(July 1, 2008); Darwin’s 200th birthday(February 12, 2009); and the 150thanniversary of the publication of On theOrigin of Species (November 24, 2009).

Three anniversaries

July 1 marked 150 years since thereading of Darwin’s and Alfred RusselWallace’s papers at the Linnean Society

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gin to the Future of Species:g Darwin’s Legacy

Darwin200

In addition, a small team at the NaturalHistory Museum, London, is leadingan initiative called Darwin200. Theinitiative brings together all the U.K.organizations that are planning Darwin’sbicentennial celebrations to share ideasand to endorse and publicize events.The museum is well placed to coordi-nate this project, due to our mission toaddress big issues in science, as well asour role as guardian of much of Dar-win’s physical legacy. We hold manyspecimens from the Beagle voyage, in-cluding the finches and mockingbirdsfrom the Galapagos Islands that helpedto crystallize Darwin’s ideas. We havethe corals he used to help prove histheory on the formation of atolls, thebarnacle collection he studied to demon-strate his ability as a senior systematicscientist, and many other specimens heused in his research. The museum hasalso recently acquired the Kohler Dar-win Collection, the world’s largest col-lection of works by and about CharlesDarwin. The collection includes a firstedition of On the Origin of Species,which Darwin sent, along with a signedletter, to William Bernhard Tegetmeier,

of London. The original, hastilyarranged meeting first announced themechanism of evolution by natural se-lection to fellow scientists, and was thecatalyst for Darwin to write On theOrigin of Species—the book thatrocked society when it was publishedin 1859.To celebrate this anniversary, the

Linnean Society hosted a contempo-rary reading of new papers on advancesin the science of evolution. Simultane-ously, we at the Natural History Muse-um, London, along with the BritishCouncil, organized the 2008 Interna-tional Youth Summit on Darwin andContemporary Science. Over threedays, 190 young delegates from morethan 20 countries learned about cur-rent evolution science, genetic tech-nologies for understanding biodiversi-ty, and the future of genetic modifica-tion. The accord from the summit,containing the delegates’ views, will beshared with government science andeducation departments from the par-ticipating countries.As we look forward to the two up-

coming Darwin anniversaries, the Nat-ural History Museum, London, willcontinue the celebration by hostingDarwin, a large touring exhibition,from November 2008 until April2009. Originally developed by theAmerican Museum of Natural Historyin New York City with the NaturalHistory Museum and Down House(Darwin’s former home in Kent), thisexhibition offers a rare opportunity tosee many specimens Darwin collectedon the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle.There is also a re-creation of his studyat Down House with a display of per-sonal items. The exhibition will besupported by a series of lunchtime andevening events and discussion sessionsto explore current issues around Dar-win’s work and evolutionary science.


a pigeon fancier and poultry expertwith whom Darwin correspondedabout his research.So far we have over 70 partners in-

cluding the British Association, Well-come Trust, and Cambridge University.But academic organizations and sci-ence centers are not the only onesplanning events. Many heritage sites,theater companies, educational chari-ties, arts and crafts groups, poets, andcomposers are developing arts- andperformance-based projects.The range of activities planned for

next year is astounding. Participants willbe able to visit the Darwin Memorial &Geo Garden in Shrewsbury, e-mail abirthday message to Darwin, go to aconcert of Darwin-inspired music, taketheir children to a family show aboutDarwin’s observations and experiments,record the banded snails in their gar-dens for an online experiment, read acomic about Darwin’s adventures, ormaybe even see a keel being laid for anew replica of the Beagle. Many of theprojects will have legacies that persistbeyond the anniversary period, includ-ing educational resources to enhancethe teaching of evolution in schools.The Darwin200 logo has been cre-

ated to endorse events, and a web site,www.darwin200.org, promotes theseevents and (continued on page 6)

ry

How the Giraffe Got its Neck, produced by TallStories Theatre Company, has been touring schoolsand theaters in the United Kingdom since May.On Darwin’s 200th birthday on February 12,2009, the show will be performed at the NaturalHistory Museum, London, for an audience ofschoolchildren. Photo courtesy Tall Stories

A student asks a question after a session onDNA bar coding at the 2008 InternationalYouth Summit on Darwin and ContemporaryScience, organized by the Natural History Mu-seum, London, and the British Council.Photo courtesy the Natural History Museum, London

By Katie Edwards

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shows, ensemble music programsthemed around celestial bodies,and a birthday party for the FelsPlanetarium.

IYA2009 promises to be a uniqueglobal scientific effort. The Franklin

ASTC and members of the 100HA taskgroup to launch 100HA and the Galileoexhibition with a “big bang.” Already onthe agenda is a web cast that willconnect science centers throughout theworld, from Italy to South Africa. Weare also planning a major lecture onGalileo, a public observatory event,and a special 75th anniversary show inthe Franklin’s historic Fels Planetarium.

More celebrations at theFranklin

To continue the Franklin’s celebrationof IYA2009 and Galileo, an ongoinglecture series is planned, with topicsranging from modern-day astronomicaldiscoveries to conflicts between Galileoand the Catholic Church. TheFranklin also plans to expand itspopular monthly Night Skies observa-tory events. In late April, the presti-gious Franklin Awards, which honorscientists who have made extraordinarycontributions to their fields, will awardthe Bower Award and Prize forAchievement in Science to a researcherworking in astronomy or a relatedfield. In addition, the Franklin isplanning a series of monthly astrono-my events throughout 2009, includingfilm screenings, special planetarium

The Franklin Institute will host the kick-off of100 Hours of Astronomy in April 2009. Eventswill include an international web cast, and anevent in the Franklin’s Joel N. Bloom Observa-tory (shown). Photo courtesy the Franklin Institute

During the quadricentennial ofGalileo Galilei’s first astronomical

observations using a telescope, theInternational Year of Astronomy 2009(IYA2009, www.astronomy2009.org)aims to give 10 million people thechance to look through a telescopetoward the sky for the first time.

To support this effort, ASTC’s inter-national relations department is work-ing on two of IYA2009’s cornerstoneprojects—100 Hours of Astronomy(see the article beginning on page 6)and the Galileoscope program.Through the Galileoscope program,the U.S. IYA2009 national node in-tends to create and distribute thou-sands of easy-to-assemble, qualitytelescopes. Stephen Pompea of theNational Optical Astronomy Observa-tory in Tucson, Arizona, is leading theproject, in collaboration with astrono-my education experts, optical design-ers, and experts in manufacturing.ASTC is helping to ensure that thesetelescopes, similar to the one Galileoused 400 years ago, reach people inall parts of the world. U.S. memberscan request a Galileoscope packagefrom ASTC, free of charge. In return,we ask that they purchase a secondpackage for $500 plus shipping ex-penses, donate it to a science centerin another country, and then collabo-rate with that center. Each packagecontains 20 Galileoscopes, a DarkSkies teaching kit (including a presen-tation DVD, teaching materials, and adigital light meter), and a Hands-OnOptics kit (including lenses and a

teaching manual). ASTC will haveenough supplies to support 20 inter-national partnerships. We plan to co-ordinate a large-scale internationalevent involving the Galileoscopes inlate 2009. We hope that this projectwill strengthen links between memberinstitutions worldwide.

Another developing project isSound of the Stars. Scientists haverecorded surface vibrations of starsand converted them so that they canbe heard by the human ear. As partof a 24-hour, international event inlate 2009, ASTC will encourage sci-ence centers to host workshopswhere children can create their ownmusic using the sounds of the starsand then share their creations on theInternet.

With its mission of bringing thewonder of astronomy to everyone inthe world, IYA2009 will work activelyto achieve the United Nations Millen-nium Development Goals, specifically,promoting primary education, genderequality, and global development,while working to eradicate poverty.By participating in IYA2009, sciencecenters have the opportunity to ad-vance these goals, gain visibility, andform international and local partner-ships, while positioning our fieldworldwide as a major partner withinthe scientific community. �

Walter Staveloz is ASTC’s director of inter-national relations. For more information onparticipating in the Galileoscope programor other projects described in this article,contact him at [email protected].

ASTC and the InternationalYear of Astronomy 2009

By Walter Staveloz

is honored to be a key contributor,taking the public on a rich series ofjourneys among the stars. �

Kat Stein is director of public relationsand communications at the Franklin In-stitute, Philadelphia.

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Build a musical instrument en-tirely out of food and use it toplay “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little

Star.” Determine the height, speed, andacceleration of a roller coaster usingonly simple tools. Design a homemademultimeter to measure voltage and re-sistance. These challenges sound for-midable, and they are meant to be.They are examples of activities in twosecondary school physics competitionsin British Columbia (BC), Canada.However, these kinds of competitionsachieve more than recognizing and re-warding top students. They are engag-ing and memorable learning experi-ences that may elicit strong emotionsand change how students think aboutphysics.This article will describe two novel

experiential physics competitions,Physics Olympics and BC’s BrightestMinds, and will use current researchto speak to the impact that these kindsof events can have on student attitudestoward science. They differ from tradi-tional science or mathematics compe-


titions—usually paper and penciltests comprising extremely diffi-cult problems, where even thewinning paper will score correct-ly on only a small fraction ofquestions. These kinds of activi-ties rarely celebrate science. Incontrast, experiential competi-tions model the kind of sciencelearning that regularly takesplace in science centers andother informal environments,particularly during events andcelebrations. Students are en-couraged to work in groups andto explore science concepts byparticipating in hands-onactivities.Annual events, in particular,

can create lasting partnerships amongschools, science centers, and commu-nities. Teachers incorporate annuallyscheduled events into their planning,and students anxiously anticipate theopportunity to participate. Like athlet-ics, science competitions and otherevents can become part of school andstudent culture.As a former physics teacher and re-

searcher interested in the impact of in-formal science outreach events, I wasintrigued by the strong emotionselicited in physics competitions, fromthe combination of an experiential andcompetitive environment. Thus, myresearch has examined two local annu-al physics competitions and the impactthese events have on student emotionsand attitudes toward physics.

Experiential physicscompetitions

The Physics Olympics is a science out-reach activity that has been organizedby the Department of Physics and As-

tronomy at the University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver, for 30 years(http://noether.physics.ubc.ca/NewOlympics/Welcome.html). Junior and senior highschool physics students participate inteams of five students representingtheir schools. Sixty teams from acrossthe province, some traveling up to 12hours, attend the competition. Theevent has become a part of the highschool physics culture in the provinceand carries a high level of prestige.Physics Olympics teams design two

prebuilt projects and complete fouronsite activities, which include quizshow events and optical mazes. Studentengagement in prebuilt projects is oftenphenomenal, with students workingfor hours tweaking their hovercrafts orcatapults, for example. As a new physicsteacher, I was intimidated by the chal-lenges prescribed by the rule book andhesitated to participate. I wondered,“How can I ask my students to buildthis when I have no ideas to offer?”However, my students’ imaginationswere quickly sparked and fueled by ahealthy dose of competitive spirit andthe opportunity to collaborate. Aftermy first year of teaching, I participatedwith my students for two years beforebeginning my doctoral work.BC’s Brightest Minds is a relatively

new competition that extends an alreadyextremely popular physics event, heldannually at Playland Amusement Parkat the Pacific National Exhibition inVancouver (www.pne.ca/playland/education/education.htm). The program,originally developed 21 years ago by alocal teacher, began as an invitation tohigh school physics classes to experienceand calculate the physics of amusementpark rides. It has since expanded to in-clude curriculum-specific programs forgrades 4–12. In 2006, BC’s Brightest

Pacific National Exhibition president and CEOMichael McDaniel (left) and the author and DavidAnderson of the University of British Columbia(right), with the winners of the 2006 BC’s BrightestMinds competition. Photo courtesy the Pacific NationalExhibition

By Rachel Moll

Challenging and Changing Minds:Emotional Learning and Physics Competitions

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Minds was created as a competition tochallenge top high school students.The larger amusement park physicsevent attracts over 10,000 studentseach year, and 30 schools (two stu-dents per school) participate in thecompetition.To compete, pairs of students expe-

rience amusement park rides, use sim-ple tools to make measurements, andcomplete challenging questions usingtheir data and observations. Learning isexperiential and extends beyond theclassroom, so that students can experi-ence moments of weightlessness orcentripetal force. The amusement parkphysics competition is a collaborativeeffort between local teachers, scienceeducation researchers, and the commu-nity. It also attracts a fair amount of at-tention from local and national mediawho report on the event as an oppor-tunity for students to learn and havefun with science. This competition isan excellent model of how publicspaces and organizations like sciencecenters can work together to create an-nual celebrations of science learning.

Emotional learning

Recent research in science education ispaying more attention to informallearning contexts and affective learn-ing. I examined student experiences atthe Physics Olympics and BC’s Bright-est Minds competitions in a researchstudy aimed at probing the events’ im-pact on students’ emotions and thus

their attitudes toward science and sci-entific identity. Students were inter-viewed before and after the events andwere observed while participating.Fifty students, representing five schoolsat the Physics Olympics between 2006and 2008, were surveyed, and threeteams of two students who competedin BC’s Brightest Minds 2007 also par-ticipated in the study.Students expressed evidence of

strong emotions of both frustrationand enjoyment. Testing their prebuiltPhysics Olympics activities becameparticularly emotional, since their pro-totypes, which may have worked previ-ously, often failed during the event. In-terestingly, students who appeared toexpress only negative emotions whilecompeting would reflect back on theexperience positively—a phenomenonencapsulated by a student who said, “Itwas frustrating at times, sometimes en-joyable.” For research, this raises thequestion: What role do negative emo-tions, often stimulated by competitions,play? They don’t appear to dissuadestudents from participating or to createnegative attitudes toward science. Onthe contrary, student attitudes towardscience were overwhelmingly positiveboth before and after participating.Students came away from the eventsdescribing physics as relevant, diverse,and fun.Other results from student interviews

include:• Students were intrinsically motivatedto participate and despite facing ex-tremely difficult challenges and failureat the event, expressed keen desires toparticipate again. “I had so much funlast year, I thought I’d do it again thisyear,” said one student.• Students felt that they became part ofa physics community. One student ob-served, “I was kind of in awe… [Ithought], ‘Wow, there’s a lot of kids inphysics.’ That’s the impression I gotfrom seeing everyone come together.”• Competition activities and experienc-ing strong emotions were perceived asbeing part of the authentic practice ofscience.• Participants believed they sharedemotions and characteristics, such as

“hardworking” and “analytical,” withscientists.• Students learned about their own sci-entific identity, particularly theirstrengths and weaknesses. One studentacknowledged, “It shows me my placein the physics world.”Thus, by participating in emotion-

charged events, students were involvedin meaningful and engaging learningexperiences. Some students were inter-viewed a year after their first PhysicsOlympics competition and their mem-ories of successes and failures weresharp. One student recalled, “Last yearwas lots of fun… Every time we madea discovery as to how to make our[paper] tower more efficient, everyonewas really excited.”

Science centers have opportunities topartner with schools and scienceoutreach stakeholders to foster eventsthat stimulate emotions during learn-ing. Of particular value are annualevents, such as competitions, sciencefairs, or celebrations, that can be close-ly linked to schools and thus have thepotential to be built into school sci-ence culture. Future impact studies ofscience outreach activities should in-clude measures to document the kindsof emotions stimulated by the eventsand possible impact on attitudes to-ward science. �

Rachel Moll is a Ph.D. candidate at theUniversity of British Columbia, Vancou-ver, Canada, focusing on the impact ofscience outreach programs.

Students estimate the height of a rollercoaster usingsimple measurement tools during the BC’s BrightestMinds physics competition. Photo courtesy the PacificNational Exhibition

Students work on the BC’s Brightest Minds com-petition. Research has supported the idea thatsuch special events can positively influence stu-dents’ attitudes toward science. Photo courtesy thePacific National Exhibition

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Small Things Considered

By Vrylena Olney and Karen Pollard

What if you threw a party andno one came? What if every-one came? What if they

came, but hated the punch? Last March,those of us in the Nanoscale InformalScience Education Network (NISENet, www.nisenet.org) felt a bit likenervous party hosts as we made ourfinal preparations for NanoDays 2008.As a network of informal science ed-

ucators and researchers, we in theNISE Net had invested lots of time de-veloping and testing public programs,exhibits, and multimedia focused onthe enormous potential of somethingvery tiny—nanoscale science, engineer-ing, and technology (nano). We hadformed new partnerships to help usmake this sometimes unfamiliar sub-ject more tangible to our audiences. Butafter two years of work, we needed away to harness the power of all our sci-ence center, children’s museum, researchcenter, and professional organizationpartners. We wanted a “due date” tohelp us focus on sharing our resourcesand lessons learned. For those of us inthe science museum world, a series ofcelebrations seemed like the best kindof deadline.

Nano nationwideIt seems that the answer to all of thesequestions is yes. We quickly realizedthat demand would far outstrip our in-tended supply of 30 kits. By January2008, 100 individual kits were preparedand mailed to informal science institu-tions (ISIs) and research centers acrossthe country. A digital version of the kitwas downloaded from our web site over100 times, representing approximately50 more participating institutions.By early August, we had received re-

ports on our web site from 58 institu-tions in 32 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, andWashington, D.C., that had hostedNanoDays events. Those institutionsreached nearly 50,000 people. The kitwas our NanoDays superstar, and we re-ceived many enthusiastic reports aboutit. The University of New Mexico inAlbuquerque wrote, “The kits are fab-ulous… It was much easier for gradu-ate students to add to the kit with theirown ideas than try to develop a kitthemselves.”We were also happy to hear about the

ways that large and small institutionsadapted NanoDays to fit their commu-nity, audiences, and capacity. While al-most all institutions presented hands-

Planning the partyWe pictured NanoDays 2008 as a proto-type year and a chance for our partnersand potential partners to try presentingnano-related content in a low-risk way.Our goal was to get 30 institutions toplan and host their own community-based educational outreach eventsfocused on nano during the periodfrom March 29 to April 6. We wouldprovide a NanoDays kit with re-sources and activities like the “tinyteacup,” which shows that proper-ties of materials change at differentscales. Our partners would agree totell us what they did and how it went.But back in March, it wasn’t en-

tirely clear that anyone would cometo our party. Would anyone wantthe NanoDays kits we had created?Would visitors be interested? Wouldthe kits provide our partners withthe tools they needed?

We Threw a Party and Everybody Came:A Science Celebration Sampler

Whether they focus on one com-munity or span a nation or theglobe, science celebrations canhelp institutions broaden theiraudiences, form important part-nerships, and raise awareness ofcurrent issues. The following ini-tiatives illustrate some of themany ways to celebrate science.

The Museum of Science, Boston, launchesNanoDays with the world premiere ofthe Amazing Nano Brothers JugglingShow. Photo by Eric Workman, Museum of Science

Guests at Don Harrington Discovery Center’s NanoDaysevent try their hand (and nose) at identifying nano quantitiesof smell particles. Photo courtesy Don Harrington Discovery Center

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ESW 2008 trumpeted the theme“No Child Left Inside,” a rallying cryto draw young people outdoors to ex-plore our churning atmosphere, flow-ing rivers, and shifting landscape. Thecelebration urged everyone to explore

informal education opportu-nities, examine museumand science center ex-hibits, and experienceEarth science firsthand.This event is organizedeach year by the Ameri-can Geological Institute(AGI) to encourage bet-ter understanding of thegeosciences and stew-ardship of the planet.

Events for the earthMuseums and sciencecenters have played alarge role in this impact,holding events to helptheir visitors see howEarth science applies to

the world where they live. For example,Chabot Space & Science Center inOakland, California, hosted an EarthScience Day community celebration.Visitors learned about renewable ener-gy as they competed in Chabot’s popu-lar Lego Solar Car Challenge. Chabotpartnered with the East Bay RegionalParks to provide naturalist-led hikes inthe redwood forest surrounding thecenter. Dressed in period costumes,Gold Rush outreach docents from theOakland Museum of California taughtvisitors about the history of California’s

participants. Institutions that hostedNanoDays last year will get extra mate-rials and a new planning guide, whichincorporates some lessons learned. Thisyear, we’ll also have a slew of new, in-depth programs, including interpreta-tive carts and stage demonstrations,available through www.nisenet.org.We’re looking forward to seeing how

NanoDays develops in future years.But mostly we’re pleased that we wereable to help ISIs tackle subjects thatmay have seemed intimidating at firstand help researchers discover new toolsfor communicating their work.

Vrylena Olney is assistant project manag-er of the NISE Net at the Museum ofScience, Boston. Karen Pollard is seniorexhibit developer at the Science Museumof Minnesota, St. Paul, and leads theNanoDays work of the NISE Net.

Doors Wide Open forEarth Science Week

By Geoff Camphire and Adrienne Barnett

Science centers and museums wereamong the most important desti-nations for participants in the

11th annual Earth Science Week (ESW,www.earthsciweek.org),October 12 to 18.Institutions all over the United Statesand the world participated in the event.

on activities from the kit, many addedother activities, forums, presentations,movies, and exhibits. The Queens Li-brary in New York held a lecture andcreated a book display with more than30 titles on nano. The Discovery Cen-ter Museum in Rockford, Illinois, andthe University of Wisconsin NanoscaleScience and Engineering Center heldlive demonstrations with MacroManand NanoBoy. The Museum of Sci-ence, Boston, showcased all their nano-related work in one big kick-off day,with events such as the Amazing NanoBrothers Juggling Show and two talksfrom nano pioneer Don Eigler.

Of the participating ISIs, 70 percentreported having research center, univer-sity, or industry partners. For example,the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York,used NanoDays as a chance to build itspartnership with Cornell University’sNanoScale Facility. The Da Vinci Dis-covery Center of Science and Technol-ogy in Allentown, Pennsylvania, part-nered with Lehigh University materialsscience students and said the collabora-tion “was truly the reason our eventwas so successful. [Having] college stu-dents teaching the public… was an in-credible experience for everyone.”

Looking ahead to NanoDays 2009The evaluation team is now gleaninglessons learned from the online reports,but the NanoDays team, headed up atthe Science Museum of Minnesota, St.Paul, is already diving into planningour second NanoDays, scheduled forMarch 28 to April 5, 2009. There willbe an updated NanoDays kit for new

Brindha Muniappan of the Museum of Science,Boston, helps a young visitor with a stainedglass activity. Nanoparticles play a role in de-termining the colors of stained glass. Photo cour-tesy Museum of Science

es

Kids get down and dirty with the worms in Chabot’scompost bin during Earth Science Week. Photo courtesy ChabotSpace & Science Center

Kids explore alternative energy while buildingsolar-powered cars during Earth Science Weekat Chabot. Photo courtesy Chabot Space & Science Center

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The Vermont MarbleMuseum in Proctorhosted quarry tours incollaboration withOMYA, Inc.; the Ver-mont Geological Sur-vey; and the VermontGeological Society.Past years have also

proven to be successful,with events spanningthe globe. In 2007, forexample, the OntarioScience Centre, Toron-to, Canada, invited stu-dents in grades 4–12 toa lecture series by Cana-dian professors andother geoscience profes-

sionals. On the other side of theworld, the Australian Fossil and Min-eral Museum in Bathurst offered cura-tor-led museum highlights tours andhalf-price admission during the week.Plus, the Smithsonian Institution inWashington, D.C., hosted a polar sci-ence symposium to celebrate Interna-tional Polar Year and ESW.

Institutional impactESW has expanded in reach and impactduring the decade since its inception.The earliest celebration, in 1998, was amatter of sharing a few scant resourcesamong a small number of educators.By 2002, AGI was distributing 8,000kits a year, and participation hasroughly doubled since then.In 2007, the most recent year for

which data are available, an estimated5 million people learned about thispublic awareness campaign fromdozens of media outlets from the LosAngeles Times to NBC. Also in 2007,an independent contractor conducteda poll of 2,300 participants, drawingfrom the mailing list of our monthlyESW Update electronic newsletter. Theevaluation showed that 7 in 10 partici-pants gave high marks to ESW, ratingits usefulness as either “excellent” or“good.” Asked to rate their level of ac-tivity, 74 percent of respondents saidthey were either “more active” or“about the same” in their participationin ESW 2007 than the previous year.

What you can doIt’s not too early to start planning forESW 2009, scheduled for October 11to 17. How can your institution getinvolved? Visit www.earthsciweek.org tofind ways to participate and ideas onhow to form partnerships. The web sitealso offers a planning checklist, tips forfundraising, ideas for events, recom-mendations for working with the newsmedia, downloadable logos and images,and the ESW Update electronicnewsletter.

Every day, we see headlines aboutnatural disasters, climate change, andrising energy needs. Creating an event atyour institution is a great way to bringawareness to these issues and demon-strate how Earth science applies toeveryday life, while highlighting exist-ing programming and forging newpartnerships.

Geoff Camphire is outreach manager atthe American Geological Institute,Alexandria, Virginia. Adrienne Barnettis Earth science instructor at Chabot Space& Science Center, Oakland, California.

Cooking Up Science inCambridge

By John Durant and P.A. d’Arbeloff

Recipe:1. Take one science city.2. Carefully extract the juiciest parts,making sure to retain all the most en-

Gold Rush as well as how to pan forgold. The Bay Area Red Cross had atable focusing on earthquake pre-paredness. Other activities includedrock, mineral, and meteorite identifi-cation; earthquake shake table chal-lenges; and composting demonstra-tions.In addition, the Museum of Science

& Industry (MOSI) in Tampa hostedspecial hikes through the back woodson their campus, as well as tours ofsome of Florida’s underground cavernsand freshwater habitats. Fermi NationalAccelerator Laboratory–Leon M.Lederman Science Education Center inBatavia, Illinois, invited the public todig for bugs as part of an insect survey.At the Boonshoft Museum of Discoveryin Dayton, Ohio, visitors made theirown model volcanoes and learnedabout clouds, weather, erosion, and soil.

Earth Science Week exposes visitors to thework of researchers including geoscientists,who study Earth materials, such as the quartzfound in ordinary sand. Photo copyright ASARCO

Making Earth science larger than life, a childobserves a composting worm during EarthScience Week at Chabot. Photo courtesy ChabotSpace & Science Center

Families learn about renewable energy while racing solar carsduring Earth Science Week at Chabot. Photo courtesy Chabot Space& Science Center

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thusiastic graduate students, and asmany superstar researchers and NobelLaureates as you can find.3. Mix thoroughly with generousquantities of actors, artists, broadcast-ers, critics, curators, entrepreneurs, ex-hibitors, impresarios, inventors, musi-cians, raconteurs, and writers.

4. Add a cup of civic leadership and ateaspoon of organizational flair, andbake for several months.5. Serve as more than 200 separatecourses over nine days, making surethat all sections of the community getplenty to eat.This, in essence, is the Cam-

bridge Science Festival (www.cambridgesciencefestival.org). The Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) Museum, Cambridge, launchedour first Cambridge Science Festival inApril 2007, in the belief that what fes-tivals have long done for art, literature,and music they can—and should—dofor science and technology. Our aimwas to throw open the laboratory doorsin our particular science city, so thatthe whole community could celebratewhat makes Cambridge—a small, notparticularly prosperous city in Massa-chusetts—a truly world-class place.

A science stewWe have been excited by the positiveresponse to the Cambridge ScienceFestival from the wider community.During our first festival, about 15,000people attended 150 different events.In the second year, we almost doubled

our attendance, asan estimated28,000 peoplecame to more than200 events in 45venues. Each year,the festival benefitsfrom experienceand momentum.Presenters becomebetter at offeringscience to a broaderaudience in cre-ative ways, andneighbors buzzabout what sur-prises next year’sevent might hold.Highlights this

year, from ourpoint of view, in-cluded Lunch witha Laureate, a seriesof five lunchtimeconversations be-

tween a Nobel Prize–winning scientistand the public; Powers of Ten, an orato-rio about scale in the universe per-formed by the North Cambridge Fam-ily Opera; QED, a play about physicistRichard Feynman (MIT Class of1939), produced by the Catalyst Col-laborative (a partnership between MITand a local theater company); and theCuriosity Awards, which honored morethan 100 students for essays and art-work expressing their curiosity.

Brewing up benefitsWhy would the MIT Museum—a rel-atively small museum of science andtechnology—take the lead in organiz-ing a big initiative like this? First, theCambridge Science Festival is an idealflagship for MIT’s community out-reach. Second, the MIT Museum isperfectly positioned to do somethinglike this, with one foot firmly plantedin the professional world of science andtechnology and the other foot equallyfirmly planted in the wider community.Third, organizing a festival is a greatway to establish a wide network of part-ners across the community. Throughthe festival, our museum now worksactively with several others (includingthe Harvard Museum of Natural His-tory, Cambridge, and the Museum of

The Cambridge Science Festival 2008takes science to the streets of Cam-bridge, Massachusetts, for both youngand old to enjoy. Photo courtesy the CambridgeScience Festival

The MIT Club of Boston’s John Dolhun prepares for a chemistryshow before a standing-room-only crowd at the Cambridge ScienceFestival 2008. Photo courtesy the Cambridge Science Festival

Susan Hockfield, president of MIT, cele-brates the official launch of the Cam-bridge Science Festival 2008 on the frontsteps of Cambridge City Hall. Photo courtesythe Cambridge Science Festival

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Science, Boston), as well as with dozensof civic, commercial, cultural, and ed-ucational organizations.Our festival brings us many other

benefits. For example, museum atten-dance more than doubles during theweek of the festival. With the surge invisitation comes an increase in the num-ber of “science inattentive” visitors, orfolks who are not naturally drawn to sci-

ence and not likely to visit science mu-seums. Admittedly, the audience for ourLunch with a Laureate tended to havean established interest in science. Butthis was not so for the Science of Wine,or its sequel, Brewing Innovation. Sure,our full houses on those nights were en-ticed by the wine and beer tasting thatfollowed the lectures, but attendees alsosoaked up the scientific research beingdone with yeast. Many of them werefirst-time visitors who enjoyed thisslightly unusual introduction to the mu-seum. A survey given to every visitorshowed that they overwhelmingly feltthat they had both benefited from theprograms and enjoyed themselves.We’re committed to cooking up the

Cambridge Science Festival annually.(The 2009 festival is set for April 25 toMay 3.) And we’re happy that othercities across the United States appear tobe developing a taste for the same sortof thing. We’re actively collaboratingwith colleagues on the San Diego Sci-ence Festival, planned for March 2009.We’re also looking to the possibility ofcreating a web portal and resources tohelp other cities start their own sciencefestivals. We believe ASTC-memberinstitutions can play an important rolein creating a strong network of U.S.science festivals. After all, aren’t we inthe business of creatively communicat-ing science to new audiences? If youcan turn that communication into acelebration, invite a crowd, and havesome fun, it’s icing on the cake.

John Durant is executive director of theMIT Museum. P.A. d’Arbeloff is directorof the Cambridge Science Festival.

Celebrating Science,Enlightening Communityin Gujarat

By Narottam Sahoo

Gujarat Science City (GSC,www.scity.org), Ahmedabad,India, under the aegis of De-

partment of Science & Technology,Government of Gujarat, has designed

an activity calendar to celebrate science365 days a year. Many of our eventscenter around national and internation-al holidays that focus on science issues.About 10 million students, teachers,

science club members, media personnel,and other visitors come to GSC annu-ally. By celebrating science on a dailybasis, we aim to inspire curiosity andsupport lifelong learning, instill a sci-entific outlook at all levels of society,and raise awareness about importantissues and their solutions, particularlyamong the younger generation. Ourevents also help to build capacity amongdifferent scientific organizations andexperts, attract visitors and the mediato GSC to celebrate a common cause,and add value for repeat visitors.

Celebrating on a global scaleIn addition to celebrations like India’sNational Science Day (February 28) andNational Technology Day (May 11), weregularly host programs to commemo-rate United Nations observances andother international holidays. Accord-

At Gujarat Science City in India, a panelof experts speaks to the public at a pro-gram for the International Day for Natu-ral Disaster Reduction 2007. Photo courtesyGujarat Science City

A student volunteer performs a science experimentfor members of the community at one of manyscience celebrations at Gujarat Science City. Photocourtesy Gujarat Science City

Even hissing cockroaches draw a crowd(and many fans) at the Cambridge ScienceFestival 2008. Photo courtesy the Cambridge Sci-ence Festival

A participant gives science a closer lookat the Cambridge Science Festival 2008.Photo courtesy the Cambridge Science Festival

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ing to Shri Mukesh Ved, executive di-rector of GSC, “The celebration of im-portant United Nations events helps usto raise the awareness on global issuesat a local platform and vice versa.”Among the international holidays weobserve are• World Wetlands Day (February 2)• International Women’s Day (March 8)• World Forestry Day (March 21)• World Water Day (March 22)• World Meteorological Day (March 23)• World Health Day (April 7)• Earth Day (April 22)• World Telecommunication andInformation Society Day (May 17)• International Day for BiologicalDiversity (May 22)• World Environment Day (June 5)• World Population Day (July 11)• International Literacy Day (Septem-ber 8)• International Day for the Preservationof the Ozone Layer (September 16)• International Day of Peace (Septem-ber 21)• World Habitat Day (first Monday inOctober)• World Space Week (October 4–10)• International Day for Natural Disas-ter Reduction (second Wednesday inOctober)• World Food Day (October 16)• World Science Day for Peace andDevelopment (November 10)• World AIDS Day (December 1).For example, for World Environment

Day 2008, GSC organized several activ-ities around the theme “Kick the Habit!Towards a Low Carbon Economy!” Weinvolved scientific organizations, policymakers, the media, and science activistsin the celebration, which includedposter painting, essay writing, elocu-tion, tree planting, green quiz and puz-zle competitions, screenings of biodi-versity films, and a day-long workshopon climate change. About 1,600 stu-dents and teachers took part in theevent, which received in-depth cover-age in both print and electronic media.

Year-long celebrationsGSC, in association with NationalCouncil of Science & TechnologyCommunication (NCSTC) and Vigyan

Prasar, Department of Science & Tech-nology, Government of India, has alsoobserved several year-long celebrations.In 2004, GSC celebrated the Year of

Scientific Awareness by training teach-ers to bring nature activity camps, sci-ence demonstrations, and other activi-ties back to their local communities.GSC celebrated 2005 as the WorldYear of Physics by designing and pro-ducing 92 radio episodes on Einsteinand relativity. The program was regu-larly broadcast on 15 radio stationsthroughout the western region of thecountry.GSC has also hosted celebrations for

Nurture Nature for Our Future (2006),the Year of Science (2007), and the In-

ternational Year of Planet Earth (2008).In preparation for the InternationalYear of Astronomy 2009, we are de-signing special astronomy Olympiadsto popularize astronomy on a grass-roots level. We are also preparing com-munity members to view the totalsolar eclipse on July 22, 2009.

The value of science celebrationsGSC follows up with participantsafter each of its programs. We haveobserved that the celebration of sci-ence programs effectively improvesthe learning and teaching of scienceand community awareness at large.Celebrations give participants a cleardirection for engaging their commu-nities to take action.We found evidence of such positive

impacts when we evaluated our laststudent vacation training program onbioresources, organized to mark theInternational Day for Biological Di-versity on May 22, 2006. Most of theparticipating students have now com-pleted their Standard XII examina-tions with distinction and are pursu-ing careers in science. These studentsare also still taking active part in edu-cating their communities on bio-science issues.According to Shri Raj Kumar, sec-

retary of the Department of Science& Technology, Government of Gu-jarat, and member secretary of GSC,“[science celebrations] shape mindsand meaningfully connect our com-munities to the world around us,reaching students, teachers, and fami-lies with the fascination and promiseof careers in the sciences.”The celebration of science at GSC

is an ideal way to improve science lit-eracy, raise awareness, and encourageyoung people to pursue science andtechnology careers. We inspire partic-ipants to push their potential to thelimit and to make the state and na-tion stand tall and proud in theworld. �

Narottam Sahoo is senior scientist at Gu-jarat Science City, Ahmedabad, India.He may be reached at [email protected].

A student demonstrates the concept of surfacetension during Science Expo 2008, held at Gu-jarat Science City on India’s National ScienceDay 2008. Photo courtesy Gujarat Science City

During the celebration of World Meteorologi-cal Day 2008 at Gujarat Science City, a studentexplains the science of air pressure. Photocourtesy Gujarat Science City

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ISE PI Summit 2008

More than 250 informal scienceeducation (ISE) professionals

gathered in Washington, D.C., July25–26, for an ISE PI Summit, organ-ized on behalf of the National ScienceFoundation (NSF) by the Center forAdvancement of Informal Science Ed-ucation (CAISE). Of the participants,176 were principal investigators (PIs)of NSF grants, together representing190 projects, many based in ASTC-member science centers and museums.The summit, held in part at the Na-

tional Zoo, provided updates on NSFdirections from Cora B. Marrett, assis-tant director for education and humanresources; Joan Ferrini-Mundy, divi-sion director, Division on Research onLearning in Formal and Informal En-vironments (DRL); and ISE programofficers. The Framework for Evaluat-ing Impacts of ISE Projects (http://insci.org/docs/Eval_Framework.pdf ), re-leased earlier this year by NSF, was thesubject of a plenary session and discus-sion groups. Members of the VisitorStudies Association (VSA) led a seriesof evaluation workshops. Discussiongroups covered topics ranging from fi-nancial practices to public participa-tion in research.Visit http://insci.org/programs/

summit2008 to see the summit pro-gram, a list of participants and theirprojects, and other material.CAISE is an NSF-funded center,

housed at ASTC, that is devoted toadvancing and improving ISE in its


Welcome to ASTCThe following new members were approvedby ASTC’s Membership Committee inApril 2008. Contact information is avail-able in the About ASTC section of theASTC web site, www.astc.org.

SCIENCE CENTER ANDMUSEUM MEMBERS

• Madison Children’s Museum,Wis-consin. First open in 1980, this 5,000-square-foot museum will grow to 25,000square feet when its expanded facility—withclassroom space for science and art projects,performance areas, and a rooftop garden—debuts in 2010. Last year, the museum re-ceived a $70,000 American Honda Founda-tion Grant to bolster early childhood scienceprograms to underserved communities.

• Museo Tridentino di Scienze Natu-rali, Trento, Italy. This organization in-cludes not only a natural history museum inTrento, but also six research departments, afield station in Tanzania, and several Alpine-based satellite facilities: a botanic garden, anastronomical observatory, an archaeologicalmuseum, a limnological station and visitorcenter, and a glaciological visitor center andgeological museum. The museum will moveinto a new building designed by RenzoPiano in 2011.

• Steelworks Museum of Industry &Culture, Pueblo, Colorado. Located on theNational Register site of the Colorado Fueland Iron Company and managed by theBessemer Historical Society, this museumopened to the public in January 2007, withsupport from a $250,000 Gates Family Foun-dation Grant. The historical society raisedmore than $2.5 million in private giving andcontinues its capital campaign to restore a30,000-square-foot historic building on thecompany grounds and develop outdoorexhibits.

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

• ENTA Ticketing Solutions, BatonRouge, Louisiana• POW! Paul Orselli Workshop,Baldwin, New York• Punt Consulting, Redondo Beach,California• Purdue AGComm Exhibit DesignCenter,West Lafayette, Indiana. �

many and varied forms—among them,film and broadcast media; science cen-ters and museums; zoos and aquari-ums; botanical gardens and naturecenters; digital media and gaming; sci-ence journalism; and youth, commu-nity, and after-school programs.CAISE works across the ISE field togather and communicate evidence ofthe contributions of informal scienceeducation and to offer professional de-velopment opportunities for thoseworking with and seeking NSF sup-port. Founded in 2007, CAISE is apartnership among ASTC, VSA, Ore-gon State University (OSU), and theUniversity of Pittsburgh Center forLearning in Out-of-School Environ-ments (UPCLOSE).

CAISE Fellows Selected

The first cohort of CAISE Leader-ship & Diversity Fellows, selected

in June, participated in the ISE PISummit, July 25–26, and a July 24presummit workshop. The CAISE Fel-lows Program aims to broaden partici-pation by and build capacity of ISEprofessionals from underrepresentedgroups and underrepresented regionsof the United States. The program isstructured around knowledge-build-ing, networking, and mentoring activi-ties that prepare CAISE Fellows to beleaders in the field.

The 2008–2009 CAISE Leadership & DiversityFellows. (Front, left to right): John Baek(manager, CAISE), Shibata, Kimura, PreetiGupta (chair, CAISE Leadership & DiversityTask Force), Soontornvat, and Law. (Back, leftto right): Ellen McCallie (director, CAISE),Greene, Marshall, Adams, Garlick, Nesbit, andMartell. Photo by Marti Louw

Peggy Overbey (American Anthropolog-ical Association), Scott Randol (OregonState University/Lawrence Hall of Sci-ence), and Josh Gutwill (Exploratorium)exchange ideas at the ISE PI Summit2008. Photo by Christine Ruffo

ASTC Notes

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12–15 Museum Computer NetworkConference. “LET’S DO I.T.RIGHT!” Washington, D.C.Details: www.mcn.edu

14–15 ASTC RAP. “Imagine Math asa Vehicle for Your CommunityPartnerships.” Hosted byLouisville Science Center,Kentucky. Details: Linda Colón,[email protected]

24–26 11th Annual SAASTECConference. Hosted by Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, Johan-nesburg, South Africa. Details:www.saastec.co.za/conference/conference.html

15–21 National Engineers Week(U.S.) “Engineers Make a Worldof Difference.” Details:www.eweek.org

14–18 Museums & the Web 2009.Indianapolis. Details:www.archimuse.com/conferences/mw.html

28–30 Interactivity 2009. “DeclareYour Impact!” Annual meeting ofthe Association of Children’sMuseums. Philadelphia. Details:www.childrensmuseums.org

30–May 4 American Association ofMuseums Annual Meeting.“Where Ideas Live!” Philadelphia.Details: www.aam-us.org

4–6 Ecsite Annual Conference2009. Hosted by NationalMuseum of Science and Technol-ogy “Leonardo da Vinci,” Milan,Italy. Details: www.ecsite.net

31–Nov. 3 ASTC Annual Confer-ence. Hosted by Fort WorthMuseum of Science and History,Texas. Details: www.astc.org/conference


exhibition, Black Holes: Space Warpsand Time Twists, due to open in June2009 at the Museum of Science,Boston. The 2,500-square-foot exhi-bition will engage visitors in activelearning about the most mysteriousobjects in the universe. Along theway, they’ll explore the nature of sci-entific discovery and the size, scale,and structure of the universe. Thenational tour will begin in late 2009.Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life

opened October 1 at the VirginiaLiving Museum, Newport News, thelatest stop on its national tour. The4,000-square-foot exhibition exploresthe biological origins of music and itsmany manifestations, from bird songto bullfrog choruses to bambooflutes. Wild Music is a production ofthe Science Museum of Minnesota,St. Paul; ASTC; and the Universityof North Carolina at GreensboroSchool of Music, with major supportfrom NSF.For more information or to book any

of these exhibitions, visit www.astc.org/exhibitions or contact Wendy Hancock,202/783-7200 x117. �

CalendarNOVEMBER

The CAISE Fellows are• Jennifer Adams, Brooklyn College-CUNY, New York• Sarah Garlick, Geoscience OutreachFoundation, Intervale, New Hamp-shire• Kantave Greene, Jackson State Uni-versity, Jackson, Mississippi• Ka’iu Kimura, ‘Imiloa AstronomyCenter, Hilo, Hawaii• Katherine Law, Our Lady of HolyCross College, New Orleans, Louisiana• Sherry Marshall, Oklahoma MuseumNetwork, Oklahoma City• Sandra Martell, University of Wis-consin–Milwaukee, Wisconsin• Trevor Nesbit, ECHO Lake Aquariumand Science Center, Burlington,Vermont• Hi’ilani Shibata, Bishop Museum,Honolulu, Hawaii• Christina Soontornvat, Austin Chil-dren’s Museum, Texas.For more information on this year’s

Fellows, visit http://insci.org/programs/fellows/2008-09.

Three Exhibitions: TwoStellar, One Wild

Scheduled to coincide with the In-ternational Year of Astronomy2009 (IYA2009), Giant Worlds: AVoyage to the Outer Solar System beganits ASTC tour on October 1 at SpaceCenter Houston, Texas. The 3,500-square-foot exhibition, developed bythe Space Science Institute, Boulder,Colorado, explores the origins ofsolar systems, the formation of starsand planets, and the conditions nec-essary for life through interactive andmultimedia experiences. Visitors trav-el to the giant worlds of our solar sys-tem, visit the bridge of a futuristicspaceship, and learn about the Na-tional Aeronautics and Space Admin-istration (NASA) Juno mission toJupiter. NASA and NSF providedmajor funding for the exhibition.Also in celebration of IYA2009,

the Harvard-Smithsonian Center forAstrophysics, Cambridge, Massachu-setts, is developing a new traveling

FEBRUARY 2009

APRIL 2009

MAY 2009

OCTOBER 2009

Young visitors explore Giant Worlds,which began its ASTC tour in October atSpace Center Houston. Photo courtesy SpaceScience Institute

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CHASING SPACE—AdventureScience Center,Nashville, Tennessee,opened a new $21.5 million wing onJune 28, housing the center’s SudekumPlanetarium and Space Chase exhibi-tion. The expansion, which includes asimulated astronaut training center, ispart of the center’s ongoing effort to in-spire young people to consider science,technology, engineering, and mathcareers.Space Chase, a 15,000-square-foot

permanent exhibition, debuted withtwo galleries, comprising 30 exhibitsand 63 interactive stations. A thirdgallery, expected to open in 2009, willfeature a simulated astronomy lab and aspace for live demonstrations. Thenewly rebuilt Sudekum Planetarium re-places 30-year-old technology with digi-tal graphics and a new star projector,capable of displaying 6.5 million stars.In Space Chase’s Test Bed gallery, visi-

tors can experience what it might belike to train as an astronaut and work inspace. They can strap on a harness totake a walk on the Moon or complete aseries of tasks during a space walk. Inthe second gallery, Solar System Survey,visitors can watch the Worlds of Won-der digital sphere project the story ofour solar system. At Tilt a World, theycan tip a specialized navigation table tozoom in on any part of the earth’s sur-face using satellite imagery.The heirs of Tony Sudekum contri-

buted the lead gift of $2 million for the


By Emily Schuster

Spotlights

new expansion. The center raised theremaining funds through a capitalcampaign.Details: Jeri Hasselbring, director of

education, [email protected];www.sudekumplanetarium.com

TRIPLE PLAY—The Children’sMuseum of New Hampshireopened its new facility in Dover,tripling its exhibit and program spaceto 20,000 square feet. The former Chil-dren’s Museum of Portsmouth begansearching for a larger building in themid-1990s and signed a 60-year leasefor the Butterfield Building in Dover in2005. Following a $3.7 million renova-tion of the 1929 building, the newfacility opened on July 23.The museum features several new ex-

hibitions. In The Cochecosystem, whichhighlights the museum’s new location onthe Cocheco River, visitors can examinea naturalist’s field station, help an ospreybuild its nest, or explore a historic millto learn about the river’s role in Dover’stextile manufacturing history. In anoth-er new exhibition, Build It, Fly It, visi-tors can construct their own flying ma-chines, crank them up to the museum’srafters, and launch them into the air.The exhibition encourages visitors toredesign their creations if they floprather than fly. Visitors to OneWorldcan take a walk in someone else’sshoes—literally—by trying on footwearfrom Bolivia, Japan, Germany, Morocco,Greece, and the North American Arctic.Several old favorites from the former

site in Portsmouth have been expandedand updated. In the Dino Detective ex-

hibit, young visitors can dig for Tricer-atops bones and examine dinosaur teethand claws. Children can also climb in-side the Yellow Submarine and take aturn at the wheel or peer through theperiscope. Primary Place offers a traintable, hand puppets, and wooden playsculptures for children under 3.The museum has applied for Leader-

ship in Energy and Environmental De-sign (LEED) certification. Staff are nowdeveloping signage and hands-onmodules to turn the building itselfinto an exhibition on sustainability.Details: Denise Doleac, director,

[email protected];www.childrens-museum.org

MEASURE FOR MEASURE—Howcan you turn a lesson about centimeters,grams, and milliliters into an excitingadventure? Try putting it on a desertedisland. In Measure Island, a new travel-ing exhibition at Questacon in Can-berra, Australia, visitors can explore anisland rain forest, where each of the 24exhibits is presented as a monument orstatue built by a fictional, ancient civi-lization. A boy named Archy and hisdog, Cubit, guide visitors through the5,400-square-foot exhibition.Several of the exhibits demonstrate

how scientists use measurement in thefield. In Barrels of Beasts, visitors canestimate the number of balls in a bar-rel using the tag-and-recapture tech-nique that biologists employ to meas-ure animal populations. When visitorswalk across Stressed Out Bridge, lightsilluminate their footsteps in a colorfuldemonstration of the importance ofstress points to engineers.Other exhibits use games to teach

important measurement concepts. InGo with the Throw, visitors can tossrings at a target to learn the differencebetween accuracy and precision. Chil-dren can sort statues by height, width,or cuteness in Order in the Court,demonstrating the difference betweenobjective and subjective measurements.Questacon collaborated with Aus-

tralia’s National Measurement Instituteon one exhibit, a computer kiosk thatshares current measurement research.

Visitors experience a simulated spacewalk at Adventure Science Center’snew Space Chase exhibition. Photo courtesyAdventure Science Center

Keegan Johnson(left) uses a dou-ble-fisted ap-proach to dig forreplica dinosaurbones in the ex-panded Dino De-tective exhibit,on opening dayat the Children’sMuseum of NewHampshire.Photo courtesy theChildren’s Museum ofNew Hampshire

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can tour research laboratories, naturepreserves, and universities to learn aboutsuch topics as robotic surgery orChicago’s geology and geography. Sci-ence Conversations bring the publicand researchers together to discuss issueslike climate change and genetic engi-neering. Monthly Junior Science Cafésenable teens to speak directly to scien-tists about their research and careers.Hands-on science festivals calledNeighborhood Lab Fests will be heldin schools, parks, and libraries in2009. Science Chicago is also develop-ing resources to help teachers bring real-world science into their classrooms.Science Chicago’s Board of Advisors

is chaired by Walter Massey, formerhead of the National Science Founda-tion, and Arthur Sussman of theMacArthur Foundation. Mosena isvice-chair. Chicago scientists make upthe initiative’s Science Council, chairedby Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman of

ASTC Dimensions • January/February 2007 19ASTC Dimensions • November/December 2008 19

The U.S.$1 million exhibition openedon July 31 and will remain at Questa-con until early 2010 before beginninga nationwide tour.Details: Stuart Kohlhagen, manager,

Questacon Research and Development,[email protected];http://measureisland.questacon.edu.au

SCIENCE ANDTHE CITY—Scienceis in the spotlight in Chicago, thanks tothe year-long celebration ScienceChicago: Life’s a Lab. Launched inSeptember, the initiative compriseshundreds of programs celebratingChicago’s scientific resources and pro-moting science education and careers.

TheMuseum of Science andIndustry, Chicago, is leading the ef-fort, with over 140 partners. Museumpresident and CEO David Mosena said,“Science Chicago will demonstrate thatscience isn’t just something learned ina class or a lab, but is something thathappens all around us and has real im-pact on our lives.”The initiative will offer programs on

an almost daily basis through August2009. On Science Saturdays, the public

In the You’re So Vane exhibit in Questa-con’s Measure Island, young visitors dis-cover how different-sized heads and tailsaffect the function of a weather vane.Photo courtesy Questacon

On July 22, the Institute of Museum and Li-brary Services (IMLS) announced 154 Muse-ums for America grants, totaling $16.9 mil-lion. (All awards require matching funds.)Among the recipients were the followingASTC members:• Cape Fear Museum of History and Sci-ence, Wilmington, North Carolina: $150,000to revise and update its core exhibition,Cape Fear Stories.• Children’s Discovery Museum, Normal,Illinois: $147,267 to design, construct, andinstall Imagination Theatre, a performingarts stage and puppet theater.• Creative Discovery Museum, Chatta-nooga, Tennessee: $150,000 to supportGood for You, an exhibition about healthyeating and physical activity.• Da Vinci Discovery Center of Scienceand Technology, Allentown, Pennsylvania:$104,048 to expand its Science PreschoolInquiry for Little Learners (SPILL) program.• The Denver Museum of Nature andScience, Colorado: $100,968 to complete arisk assessment for all collections in storage.• Detroit Science Center, Michigan:$147,000 to expand school community out-reach activities.• Discovery Center at Murfree Spring,Murfreesboro, Tennessee: $83,918 to launchPlayspace2, an expansion of an early child-hood hands-on exhibition area.

Grants & Awards

A student from the Project Explorationsummer program helps a young visitorexamine crocodile teeth at the officialpress announcement event for ScienceChicago in July. Photo courtesy Science Chicago

the Illinois Institute of Technology.Other ASTC members participating

in Science Chicago include the AdlerPlanetarium and Astronomy Mu-seum, Chicago Children’s Muse-um, the Field Museum of NaturalHistory, the International Muse-um of Surgical Science, and theNotebaert Nature Museum, all inChicago; Fermi National Accelera-tor Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois;SciTech Hands-On Museum in Au-rora, Illinois; and the American Asso-ciation for the Advancement ofScience, based in Washington, D.C.Funders of the $5 million initiative

include the John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation, the Searle Fundsat the Chicago Community Trust, Ab-bott, the Boeing Company, IllinoisTool Works Inc., and Motorola.Details: Cheryl Hughes, executive

director, [email protected];www.sciencechicago.com �

• Discovery Center Museum, Rockford, Illi-nois: $135,250 to support Fit Families, an ini-tiative to combat childhood obesity.• Louisiana Children’s Museum, NewOrleans: $150,000 to support an interactiveexhibition, New Orleans: Proud to Call ItHome.• Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI),Tampa, Florida: $149,736 to install exhibits onmedical technology in its exhibition AmazingYou.• Natural History Museum of Los AngelesCounty, Los Angeles, California: $109,500 tobegin an educational initiative, where studentsdraw artistic inspiration from the museum’scollections.• Newark Museum Association, New Jersey:$111,700 to increase availability of its perma-nent paper collection.• Orpheum Children’s Science Museum,Champaign, Illinois: $88,258 to implementLEAP for the Kids, a middle school outreachprogram.• San Diego Society of Natural History,California: $38,148 to create an online data-base of its plant specimen records.• Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul:$148,380 to digitize its Ojibwe and Dakotacollections.• The U.S. Space and Rocket Center,Huntsville, Alabama: $140,800 to developtwo exhibits for its new Davidson Center forSpace Exploration. �

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With great sadness, we report thatJoel N. Bloom, a founder of

ASTC and its first board chairman,died on September 23 after a long ill-ness. He was 83.Bloom played a pivotal role in

ASTC not only as a founder, but alsoas a passionate champion of sciencecenters among national leaders andwithin the museum world. When hereceived the ASTC Fellow Award forOutstanding Contribution in 1988,we recognized “his sage leadership anddistinguished service to the sciencemuseum community,” saying, “Hisunique contributions as a persuasiveadvocate and valued mentor have sig-nificantly advanced the science muse-um profession and the association. Wesalute his dedication, his vision, andhis chutzpah.”Bloom was director and president

of the Science Museum and Fels Plan-

etarium ofthe FranklinInstitute inPhiladelphiafrom 1969until heretired in1990. He was also the first sciencemuseum president to serve as presidentof the American Association of Museums(1988–92).Many remember Bloom as an inspi-

rational mentor who was particularlysupportive of women. He influencedmany people who went on to becomeinnovators in the museum field. “Joelwas a mentor of mentors,” said muse-um consultant Alan J. Friedman. “Ihave no doubt several generations ofmuseum leaders are guided by Joel’swisdom, whether they know it or not.”We extend our deepest sympathy to

the Bloom family. �

20 November/December 2008 • ASTC Dimensions People

Association of Science-Technology Centers1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500Washington, DC 20005-6310Address Service Requested

On September 15,Mary Sellers be-came the new CEO of the SouthFlorida Science Museum, West PalmBeach. Sellers had served as presidentand CEO of the Science Center ofIowa (SCI), Des Moines, for nine years.While at SCI, she was a member ofASTC’s Board of Directors. CurtSimmons is now acting as CEO ofSCI until a permanent replacement isnamed.

Ann Follin has been appointed di-rector of Tekniska Museet, Stock-holm, Sweden. Follin spent the pastsix years working as director generalof Swedish Travelling Exhibitions inVisby. She succeeds retiring directorAnne Louise Kemdal.

The Musée de la Nature et des Sciences,Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada, selectedMarie-Claude Bibeau as generalmanager. She had previously workedas project leader for the Canadian In-ternational Development Agency andassistant director of Sherbrooke, Citédes Rivières. �

� � � � �

� � � � � Joel Bloom. File photo

In Memoriam: Joel N. Bloom,ASTC Founder

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