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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Greetings, Women and Men of ASTC. Well, we're all another year Older,
and another conference has gone by. I must say, I'm Impressed by the
fine work done by our hosts in Fort Worth, and some Damn Good Times were
had. Here's a list of an Unrelated Thing or two from Mr. Me (or is it
actually from My Evil Twin?) about this year's proceedings. Unless you
come from a Museum of Idiots, I invite you to share what you learned +
experienced in Texas, too. And see if you can Spy the Subliminal theme
to:
 
    SOME HIGHLGHTS OF THE 2009 ASTC CONFERENCE
 
They'll Need a Crane: Holy smokes, the Fort Worth Museum of Science +
History hosted, while preparing for opening of a new facility, due in
just a couple weeks. Much of the museum was still being put together as
conference-goer's watched. 
 
(She Was a) Hotel Detective: Well, the price was good, the location was
good... but you probably wouldn't recommend to a friend that they stay
at the Park Central Hotel.
 
Cowtown: Greeters at the host museum party - a bunch of live longhorn
cows.
 
Hall of Heads: The venerable Live Demo Hour moved from its previous home
in the exhibitor hall to the convention center auditorium. I'm divided
on the effect (for what was, btw, the rowdiest demo hour in many years).
On the one hand, the performance space was much better. On the other, it
cut down on the ability of everyone to just wander up and take in the
fun. One reason the Demo Hour has been so special is that ASTC'ers from
all sides of the org chart have been able to take it in together.
 
Space Suit: Keynoter Anousha Ansari had video of her experiences
training for and going into space. It was just as jaw-dropping as you'd
expect. (Training in a centrifuge exerting 8 g's, yikes!)
 
The End of the Tour: After 27 years at the helm, ASTC CEO Bonnie Van
Dorn is retiring. The CEO crowd certainly knows her better, but here's
how I'll recall her: last year, an outreacher from overseas needed some
help with the conference, and Bonnie took the time to personally step in
and help her. She'll be missed.
 
Youth Culture Killed My Dog: Two excellent sessions were "The Do's and
Don'ts of Community Partnerships" and, as always, "Outreach Live". One
group that presented at both was the team-up between the Pacific Science
Center and MESA, with their Acceso a la Ciencia program. Targeting
hispanic audiences in eastern Washington, this program uses exhibits,
presentations... and local teenagers. They even flew in a couple of
these teens to present their bilingual program at OL.
 
Cast Your Pod to the Wind: Info was handed out on flash drives, which
(many people said) didn't work on Macs.
 
Particle Man: Steven Walvig of the (Edgie-winning) Bakken Museum wowed
the attendees at the "Nothing's Shocking" session with a collection of
esoteric electrical devices - especially the one called The
Thunderhouse.
 
Brain Problem Situation: Quote I'll most remember from the conference
came at the session "After School Programs: Where the Kids Are".
According to a study of 8th graders published in Science in 2006,
interest in science was a better indicator than test scores of whether
kids ultimately pursue a career in science.
 
The Guitar: Most people think of the Johns (Linnell & Flansburg) when
they think of They Might Be Giants, but one of the high points of their
show is guitarist Dan Miller's solo to open "Istanbul (not
Constantinople)"
 
Snowball in Hell: Everybody has good chances to make it to Hawaii next
year, right?
 
They call me Dr. Worm,
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
The Children's Museum
 
"If you hear only one song this year, there's something terribly wrong
with you."
        -TMBG

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