Extended Conversations: Thinking About the 2016 ASTC Conference

Conversations (both inside of sessions and during informal gatherings) are always a hallmark of museum conferences.  But I was especially taken by the notion of the extended conversations that occurred during the recent Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) Conference that took place recently in Tampa.

Some of these extended conversations were built into the ASTC Conference schedule.  For instance, several all day and half-day Pre-Conference sessions took place on Friday September 23rd with session topics ranging from Evaluation Tips to Developing Exhibits on Climate Change to Citizen Science.

Ok, they weren't all serious conversations ...

A great pre-conference session I took part in was an "Un-Conference" where several facilitators introduced provocative topics as conversation starters and then encouraged everyone in the room to have a 20 minute organic discussion following on from there.   This format really provided some interesting takeaways and was a welcome relief from the "three presenters with PowerPoints" format that many conference sessions devolve into.   One thing that especially stuck with me was the notion of "Followership" (as opposed to Leadership) that Julie Johnson introduced.  Julie also shared this related article by Robert Kelley on the subject.

This year the ASTC Conference also featured a number of "Extended Sessions" that occurred for two hours at the end of the day, instead of the typical 1 hour 15 minute time slots for most other sessions. The Extended Sessions I attended used their extra time to provide more full-group question and discussion time, which worked really well.  Extended Session topics ranged from Teen Programming to Mentoring to Computational Tinkering.  

But my favorite Extended Session was entitled "High, Low, or No Tech? Choosing Appropriate Technology for New Museum Exhibits."  The presentations and audience conversations spun around nicely, and we even got into an analogy comparing the challenges of presenting high-quality programs to increasing numbers of people to cooking great scrambled eggs for large crowds!  (I guess you had to be there ...)

Here's your convenient technology analogy 

Another extended conversational opportunity happened in and around the Poster Presentations that this year were set up for the entire two days that the Exhibit Hall was open.  Many in-depth discussions were held with project leaders in front of their posters which probably wouldn't taken place in sessions.

Of course, for every rule there is an exception, and this year I moderated a "Flash Session" (quick 10-minute presentations on a single topic with Q&A in-between) on Exhibits and Environments. This concentrated burst of five different speakers from around the world presenting five compelling projects was positively received. 

Special thanks to all my Flash Session presenters, especially Roy Griffiths from the Museum of Life and Science  in Durham, NC for presenting about Hideaway Woods, and Lynn Scarff from Science Gallery Dublin for telling us about recent programs there (the reanimated pig heart image shown below was a real show-stopper!)

As a member of the ASTC Conference Program Planning Committee, I hope we can continue this notion of extended sessions and conversations during ASTC 2017 in San Jose!  (If you'd like to get an additional sense of this year's conference in Tampa check out the #ASTC2016 hashtag on social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.)

#ASTC2016

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Allons à Montréal! An #ASTC2015 Preview

Soon all roads in the International Science Center Community will be leading to the beautiful city of Montreal for the 2015 Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Conference. (Attendees from Science Centers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, The Middle East, and Africa will all be in Montreal!)

I'm very excited to be presenting at the ASTC Conference in four different sessions --- each with a different session format.  So if you'll be in Montreal, please join me at any (or all!) of the sessions below:

Starting off on Saturday, October 17th from 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM in the Palais des Congrès de Montréal - 210/220A/230, I'll be part of a poster session entitled:

"How the American Phenomenon of Children’s Museums Led to the Creation of STEAM-based MUZEIKO in Bulgaria"  With colleagues from Lee H.Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, we will explore the impact of the American phenomenon of children’s museums in the creation of MUZEIKO, a new science-focused museum for children that just opened on September 30th, 2015 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.  Come see lots of cool images and discuss the STEAM-based ideas that drove the development of this truly wonderful museum.  (Plus we'll be giving away one-of-a-kind Bulgarian collectible swag to anyone who stops by!)

Interior view of MUZEIKO

Later, on Saturday, October 17th from 4:30 - 6:30 PM in the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Room 512D/H, I'll be part of a rollicking participatory session called:

"Mirror: Mirror—Community-Reflected Exhibition Development" along with Dr. Jorge Perez-Gallego and Alexandra Kuechenberg from the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in Miami, we'll dig into the notion that the success of a Science Center is partially rooted in how well it reflects the community that hosts it.  Exhibitions, at their heart, have the potential to be a great example of community-reflected development, and we'll work with the audience to explore this topic through a number of participatory experiences.

One of the tools we've produced in advance of this session is "A Science Atlas of Montreal" (which you can download here.) You can use the Science Atlas in and around Montreal whether you attend our Mirror:Mirror session or not.  (Although did I mention that my fellow presenters will be dressed up as Snow White and The Evil Queen, with me presenting as the Magic Mirror?)

A Science Atlas of Montreal

Shifting over to Sunday, October 18th from 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM in the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Room 512 D/H, I'll be moderating the Exhibits & Education "Flash Sessions" which are quick 10 minute bursts of information on topics ranging from learning about science through toys in Thailand to how the communication of sexual health has evolved over more than 20 years at Universum in Mexico.  You won't want to miss this fast-paced and diverse session!

A selection of Toys that teach Science from Thailand

Last, but not least, one of the most important topics for the current Science Center field will be discussed on Sunday, October 18th from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM in the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Room 510B/D in a session called,  "Are Maker Spaces Killing the Traditional Science Center? Is That a Bad Thing?"    

I'll be joined by Hooley McLaughlin from the Ontario Science Centre;  Lisa Brahms from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh; and Karen Wilkinson, from the Exploratorium to debate amongst ourselves and the audience meaty topics including whether process-oriented Maker Spaces do a better job of stimulating interest and curiosity than other Science Center offerings.  I am especially excited to be sharing the dais in this session with such deep-thinking and distinguished colleagues.

In the New York Hall of Science's Maker Space

If you can't experience the ASTC Conference in person,  I'll be using Social Media to transmit live updates and images from Montreal, so you can also follow my posts on Twitter (@museum_exhibits) and Facebook.  


But if you are in Montreal for the ASTC Conference, and you'd like to catch up for a drink or to chat about working together with POW! on future projects, please email me so we can coordinate calendars!

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

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ASTC 2013 Takeaways. Making Good (not "Breaking Bad") in Albuquerque.

The annual gathering of the international clan of Science Center professionals descended on the beautiful desert locale of Albuquerque, New Mexico last week.

While the sessions and presentations during the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) conference (and in the hallways, bars, and exhibition hall!) were eclectic and varied, there did seem to be clusters of topics that kept popping up.

And chief among those topic clusters was the whole Make/Maker Making/Tinkering "movement."  There were several sessions that dove into both celebrations and concerns about how, or whether, to bring a Maker Space to your museum. 

One session that I was part of entitled "Is There Science in a Maker Event?" chaired by perennial gadfly Hooley McLaughlin of the Ontario Science Center raised issues of content over process that were ably countered by two thoughtful Making/Tinkering advocates in Karen Wilkenson from the Exploratorium and Lisa Brahms from the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.  There was lively interaction with the audience, but ultimately no firm resolutions (other than suggesting that Hooley needs to visit some more Maker Spaces!)  Other Make-minded sessions explored whether the Maker "buzz" was just a fad, as well as the best ways to work with local communities to create Make spaces and events.

Personally, I find the whole Maker movement an exciting opportunity for museums if pursued with strong community input and realistic expectations about internal logistics (As two simple examples: YES, Maker Spaces should be staffed!  NO, Maker Spaces aren't just a place for a bunch of 3D printers!)

Speaking of 3D printers, there were several vendors in the Exhibit Hall, and several museum colleagues as well who were talking about ways to use 3D printed versions of natural history objects (including scaled-up models of microorganisms!) in really interesting ways.  I'm working on a Discovery Room project that could really benefit from that.

Lastly, another place where I think the Maker/Museum intersection is really going to explode (aside from the current Children's Museum and Science Center booms) is inside History Museums.  If there was ever a place to tie together the making process with actual "made" products, in context, History Museums are it!




Another big thread throughout ASTC 2013 was thinking more carefully and critically about engaging various communities, from the early stages of the process, in our museum work.

Rather than replay all the sessions regarding community engagement, I'll share three links to resources worth checking out in this regard:

Sparticl is an online resource building a community to share the best science resources.  Sparticl has been designed primarily for teens, but it's really a great resource for everyone --- providing access to the best science on the web, curated by experts.

An excellent session about European collaborations between museums and community groups and governmental organizations introduced me to the PLACES project.  Check out their website to see the wide-range of ways that museums are finding to create cities of scientific culture.

Another great online community (which I'll be writing a more-detailed post about soon) comes from CAISE (Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education) in the form of the Web portal called informalscience.org, which is sort of the "one stop shop" for STEM information, evaluation reports, and resources.


In a way, I'm still digesting all the thoughts and conversations from Albuquerque, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that ASTC 2014 will be in Raleigh, North Carolina from October 18 through 21, 2014, and that session proposals for the Raleigh conference are due this November 15th, 2013.

You can check out the ASTC website for more info, and I hope to see you there!


Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)