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

My first ASTC was 2004 at The Tech, and Jonah, you were one of the  
most memorable folks from it for me. 2010 was the first year I've  
missed since then.

In 2004, I was 22 and had been working for the Spy Museum for just a  
couple months as a low-level deck hand when I went to my boss, Anna  
Slafer, and proposed going to ASTC. She agreed to split the cost with  
me 50/50 and gave me the time off to attend. I can still remember her  
saying, "I'm investing in your future with us and with the field here."

For the first three years, I attended alone and was painfully shy. I  
listened and learned from people who became my role models and heroes.  
In 2006, when I heard Kathy McLean talking about the idea of a  
"wikimuseum," I figured it was an idea I could play with and started  
writing the Museum 2.0 blog as a personal research project and a  
potential vehicle to start conversations with the people who inspired,  
impressed, and completely overwhelmed me. It worked out, though not at  
all how I expected.

I've learned a lot from the ASTC community and have been incredibly  
grateful for all the mentors, friends, and inspirational forces it has  
sent my way. But I want to most especially honor and remember Anna's  
kind and generous act in 2004 that helped set my whole career path in  
motion.

So if you're one of those gray beards or pink hairs or whatever who  
get a lot out of ASTC, and there's someone new to the field who you  
can help send to a conference, for goodness sakes: do it.

With love,
Nina Simon




On Oct 21, 2010, at 10:47 AM, 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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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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