ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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*         How do you acquire your speakers?
Usually through local universities, scientific research agencies, or
inviting academics/researchers to town for a specific topic (if funding
is available). Also consider representatives who study science law or
science ethics. Be considerate of how much time the speaker will be
investing in terms of preparation, travel time and after hours time when
negotiating with different agencies. 

*         Do you and/or how do you review your speakers to ensure they
are appropriate?
Provide speakers with a DVD or YouTube link of presentations that work
well at your institution. We advise that the presentation will be
advertised as being suitable for people aged 12 years and older, but
some young children are likely to attend with their parents and older
members of the audience will not necessarily have studied any science
past mid-high school. Also provide rough guidelines on length of
presentation, advice on handling random questions or statements from
children, avoiding jargon if possible (or allowing time to explain
jargon in lieu of making too many points in the presentation), the
number of recommended key points, suggestions about linking to everyday
media or life events, etc. This won't guarantee an appropriate speaker,
but you won't be required to 'vet' the lecturer while they're giving
more formal presentations to uni student and it helps scientists to
understand what's required when communicating with the general public.  

*         What topics work best?
A variety of topics helps to cater for a variety of tastes within your
community. 
Make sure the one or two lines used to advertise the lecture do not
sound like a conference session. If you're struggling to write an
accurate, but interesting description that you might read in a TV Guide,
review the topic and what you are trying to communicate. 

*         Do you provide refreshments, alcohol perhaps?
No alcohol if school groups are booked into the centre for night time
visits (at least for our institution). 
Dropping any catering allows the presentation to be offered for free, or
much lower cost. 
If you are targeting a young adult age range (20 to 26 years old or so),
catering for one or two complimentary drinks may be appropriate. 
If it's going to be a long night (longer than 2 hours), then
refreshments would be appreciated, particularly if the event occurs over
a time period when people often eat dinner. 

*         How well attended are they?
It ranges from a handful of people through to a full-house. It depends
on the topic, the speaker's media profile (if any) and the amount of
advertising. If the event is being staged in partnership with a
particular organisation, you may find that the majority of your audience
is from that organisation, rather than members of the general public. 

*         Do you do web casts as presentations?
These can be useful, but don't underestimate the resources required for
adequate lighting, camera quality and editing if they will be uploaded
rather than live broadcast only. 

*         What format works well; traditional lecture, forum, panel
discussion, etc?
It depends on your target audience and topic, but pragmatically,
individual lecture speakers are a more cost effective option for
low-resourced institutions than finding panel speakers, etc.  

*         What ages do you target?
For lectures, etc., usually 12 years and older, but younger children are
often in attendance, because parents feel they will benefit, or
babysitting options are not available. If you receive complaints about
the lecture not being suitable for children, you can refer back to your
advertising caveat of suggested age group. 

Cindy Chambers
Questacon Exhibition Services
Canberra, Australia

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

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