ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Hey Jonah,
1) Some of us have socks older than you.
2) St. Paul cold??? Nah, Toronto was cold.  EDMONTON was cold.
3) Yes to the cookie parking lot and definitely yes to the Reading Terminal Market.

I'm going to add a personally bizarre note: Terri Gipson and I were trying to eat a steak at the Cattleman's Restaurant in Ft. Worth while life-sized pictures of prize steers stared down at us ("don't worry, it's nobody you know…").
Beryl

On Oct 21, 2010, at 1:47 PM, Jonah Cohen wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> With 2010's festivities in Honolulu, I realize that I have now been to
> 10 Annual Conferences of ASTC. There are two conclusions to draw from
> this:
> 
> 1) I am old. Really old.
> 2) Especially for someone at a small museum, like mine, it has been
> unbelievably valuable to meet up with and exchange ideas with my cohorts
> from the science center world. So to everyone I say, as they would in
> Hawaii, Mahalo.
> 
> And now, a trip down memory lane. Here are a few of the things I recall
> from the hosts of our last 10 shindigs:
> 
> 2001, Arizona Science Center: the freaky psychology exhibit, the video
> display with the 3 second delay
> 
> 2002, Discovery Place: an awesome chemistry demo area, the terraced
> exhibit space, lots of robots
> 
> 2003, Science Museum of Minnesota: Cell Lab, Experiment Gallery,
> Collector's Corner, the terminator pigs, the demo where they dropped
> stuff off of a balcony
> 
> 2004, The Tech Museum: The Tech Challenges, the drawing robot, the
> high-tech kids area, The Revolver
> 
> 2005, Science Museum of Virginia: The earth + moon kugels, Newton in
> Space, rat basketball
> 
> 2006, Louisville Science Center: World We Create, the waterless stream
> table, maze-like design of every building in town
> 
> 2007, California Science Center: Big Lab, the rose garden, Tess the
> giant robot, the chick hatchery
> 
> 2008, Franklin Institute: the heart, the sports exhibit, pirates, the
> kids area
> 
> 2009, Fort Worth Museum of Science & History: the noise-making pinball
> game, the activity rooms, the construction
> 
> 2010, Bishop Museum: meet me at the hot spot, the ocean/volcano exhibit
> combo, the main hall in Hawaii Hall
> 
> And a few superlatives, IMHO, from the last decade:
> 
> BEST NEARBY MUSEUM: Have to fudge + go with a tie - The Exploratorium
> (close to San Jose) & The Sonora Desert Museum (close to Phoenix).
> Honorable mentions to Monterey Bay Aquarium/SJ Children's Discovery
> Museum/Lawrence Hall of Science (San Jose), the Baaken Museum (St.
> Paul), Louisville Slugger Museum (Louisville) & The Mutter Museum
> (Philadelphia)
> 
> BEST FOOD: Philadelphia, hands down. Thank you, Reading Terminal Market.
> 
> BEST CONFERENCE SPEAKER: Has to be Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem
> Children's Zone. (Los Angeles). Honorable mentions to astronaut Mike
> Melville (Richmond), biologist EO Wilson (Louisville), author Steven
> Johnson (Philly) + the Mythbusters (LA)
> 
> MOST NOTABLE WEATHER: Holy smokes, it was cold in St. Paul.
> 
> BEST TOYS IN THE EXHIBITOR HALL: I liked the hurricane booth, that
> buffeted you with 80 mph winds. Props also to the strobe-powered OI that
> made it look like water was dripping upwards.
> 
> BEST ANIMAL GUEST STAR: Close call. Smithfield the painting pig
> (Richmond) had artistic talent, but like all artists was kind of
> temperamental. Sticker the longhorn steer (Ft. Worth) was friendlier,
> but had some drool issues.
> 
> BEST ENTERTAINMENT: They Might Be Giants (Ft. Worth.) I'm impressed.
> 
> BEST SMELLING PARKING LOT: Science museum of Virginia. Really, it smells
> like cookies.
> 
> BEST CONVENTION SWAG: In Philadelphia, everyone's conference tote
> included one of the plushes from Giant Microbes. I got the T-4
> Macrophage.
> 
> WILDEST DEMO: OK, a few contenders---
> 	Sherry Marshall of the Oklahoma Museum Network, whose LN2/ping
> pong ball explosion in Honolulu won't be forgotten soon
> 	The London Science Museum, their outreach live presentation in
> LA on the digestive system wowed everyone with actual footage from
> inside the human body, and made jokes I didn't know you were allowed to
> make in a school
> 	Steven Walvig of The Baaken, for the Thunder-house demo he set
> off in Fort Worth
> 	The traveling science crew of The Franklin Institute, who added
> to their host-party with an extended, fire-and-LN2 affair dubbed Random
> Acts of Science
> 	William Katzman of the Catawba Museum, who fascinated/frightened
> attendees in Richmond by walking barefoot on glass shards
> 
> BIGGEST SERENDIPITY: As ASTC'ers were enjoying open house at The Bishop
> this month, they were treated to a huge rainbow above Honolulu.
> 
> My friends, thanks for all the Manao (sharing of thoughts), and I hope
> to see you next year in Baltimore.
> 
> Jonah Cohen
> Outreach & Public Programs Manager
> The Children's Museum
> 	
> 
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
> 
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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Beryl Rosenthal, PhD
Executive Director, Waterworks Museum
[log in to unmask]
www.waterworksmuseum.org
617.277.0065


***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
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