The Museum of Science will launch the "Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experience Studies" (COVES) project to construct an infrastructure for collaboration, which will unite science centers across the country in the systematic collection, analysis, and reporting of visitor experience data. The COVES program will develop common instruments for studying visitors in science museums and provide staff training on how to use these instruments and how to make sense of findings. The collaborative effort will enable participating science centers to become data-driven organizations focused on their audiences and will allow museums to learn from one another.
This article provides a brief synopsis of the second Science of Science Communication Sackler Colloquim, held September 23-25, 2013 at the National Academy of Sciences. It presents summaries and links to relevant research that informed the meeting.
This is the fourth volume of the annual proceedings for the Games+Learning+Society (GLS). The GLS conference is a premier event for those from both academia and industry interested in videogames and learning. The GLS conference is one of the few destinations where the people who create high-quality digital learning media can gather for a serious think about what is happening in the field and how the field can serve the public interest. The conference offers an opportunity for in-depth conversation and social networking across diverse disciplines including game studies, education research
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Amanda OchsnerJeremy DietmeierCaroline WilliamsConstance Steinkuehler
This is the third volume of the annual proceedings for the Games+Learning+Society (GLS). The GLS conference is a premier event for those from both academia and industry interested in videogames and learning. The GLS conference is one of the few destinations where the people who create high-quality digital learning media can gather for a serious think about what is happening in the field and how the field can serve the public interest. The conference offers an opportunity for in-depth conversation and social networking across diverse disciplines including game studies, education research
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Caroline WilliamsAmanda OchsnerJeremy DietmeierConstance Steinkuehler
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The 13th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference (PCST) conference offered a valuable opportunity for over 500 science communicators to congregate and network with the international community. While the sheer size of the event made fostering debate somewhat of a challenge, the pertinent theme of ‘science communication for social inclusion and political engagement’, inspired some thought-provoking talks. Certainly, it was an appropriate time for this topic to be explored in Brazil, a developing country with a national government actively working towards greater
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Astrid Treffry-Goatley
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Attendance at any large conference is highly personal and every registrant has a unique experience. The value to the individual depends on which sessions they attend, whom they connect with and what outcomes eventuate from what they learn and the networking they do. The networking and feedback can be life changing as it was for me when I attended PCST in 1996 in Melbourne. PCST2014 was a successful conference that provided many options for delegates. This was my fifth PCST and I was glad to have made the long trip to Brazil. One of the most successful aspects of PCST2014 was the opportunity to
The PCST conference attracts a substantial number of science communication academics and practitioners from all over the world. The conference is stimulating and refreshing but the size of it means that quality control is challenging for the organisers. This review highlights areas of both strengths and weaknesses whilst also making recommendations to the PCST committee for PCST 2016. The committee are encouraged to further strengthen the academic/practitioner combination and the international nature of the event. However, they are also recommended to ensure that work presented is of high
While some public works are monumental civil engineering structures like the Eiffel Tower or the Sydney Harbour Bridge, most are commonplace, even invisible, and they are taken for granted. The reason for existence of public works is to provide basic services, but both large and small infrastructure facilities also present opportunities to engage the public in understanding fundamental concepts of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). We review here lessons learned in the National Science Foundation-funded Golden Gate Bridge Outdoor Exhibition project. Using the title of
Brookfield Zoo will develop a model for formal and informal early childhood educators in the Chicago metropolitan area to promote children and family learning (nature play, exploration, and scientific inquiry) within urban environments. In collaboration with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Mary Crane and El Valor Head Start centers in Chicago, Brookfield Zoo will train 80 early childhood educators in its established nature play curriculum; facilitate networking opportunities between participants and organizations; and host a two-day symposium for 150 early childhood educators at the end of the project. This partnership has built-in capacity for expansion within Chicago and throughout the region, and can serve as a replicable model for zoos, nature preserves, and Head Start programs throughout the country to increase opportunities children have to play, explore, and learn in nature as a basis for developing lifelong environmental stewardship.
This is a handout from the session "Sustaining Current Science Experiences in Science Centers" at the 2014 ASTC Conference held in Raleigh, NC. It contains an overview of the session, which included discussion of embedded partnerships, episodic real science activities, and sustainability strategies.
This is a handout from the session "Making Space for Innovation: Sampling of Making and Tinkering" at the 2014 ASTC Conference held in Raleigh, NC. The session provided an overview of different makerspaces and tinkering programs, including the goals, opportunities, and challenges of the making movement.
This is a handout from the session "NASA in the Community: Diverse solutions to engaging families/educators" at the 2014 ASTC Conference held in Raleigh, NC. It includes presentation slides and related reference materials about NASA-funded informal education projects.