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

I have to agree with Erich: it IS a matter of budget for small  
centers! Very few funders will support travel unless one is making a  
presentation relative to a grant. We (my husband and I) pay our own  
way to ASTC and regard it as a vacation, but we get so much out of it  
that it becomes incredibly worthwhile. We have tried to get all of  
our staff to attend ASTC, but the only time we succeeded in getting  
all but one of our eight permanent staff there at the same time was  
when it was in St. Paul, which is drive-able from Bemidji (240  
miles). Air fares and registration fees usually kill our attempts,  
though over the years all of us have been to at least one. If I had  
the funding, I would try to get at least two staff members to every  
ASTC annual gathering. When only one staff person returns with the  
enthusiasm generated by contact with other ASTC folks, the reality of  
his or her budgetary and temporal limits soon sink in. Two people can  
attend more sessions and support each other's enthusiasm- and ignite  
the potential flame that other staff members so often hide.

I agree that it would be most beneficial for Board members to attend,  
but they should be there long enough to get the real flavor of the  
meetings. They should attend not only board-related sessions such as  
those related to budgets and governance, but those relating to  
special interests or weaknesses of the institutions they represent.  
Some of the board members I've talked to at ASTC have been there only  
long enough to put in an appearance at a special dinner or meeting.  
This would be difficult, because so many board members have regular  
jobs, as all of ours do. Very few of our Board members could easily  
afford to pay their own way and all have employment and family issues  
to consider, though they are very dedicated to our center!

ASTC attendance is, I suspect, most beneficial for those employed in  
small, isolated centers as well as those newly employed by a museum/ 
center, for contact with staff members from other centers of all  
sizes provides a vision of what changes may make one's own center  
more effective and exciting. The joy of finding so many people in one  
place with so many varied  intelligences but similar ideas,  
frustrations, and lofty goals is truly invigorating. This list-serve  
is great- and very helpful (and too time-consuming)- but it's so much  
more effective and enriching to be able to talk eye-ball to eye-ball  
with other museum/center enthusiasts. ASTC contacts facilitated our  
beginning 14 years ago and have continued to help us bring about some  
wonderful changes in serving our visitors more effectively.

Laddie Elwell
Executive Director
Headwaters Science Center
Bemidji, MN

www.hscbemidji.org
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On Mar 31, 2008, at 2:20 PM, Tamara Schwarz wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> ********************************************************************** 
> *******
>
> How does your organization determine which and how many members of  
> your
> staff attend ASTC or other regional or national conferences?  If  
> anyone
> has procedures or guidelines that could be shared, please email me.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tamara
>
>
>
> ------------------------
> Tamara Schwarz, Exhibitions Manager
> Chabot Space & Science Center
> 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland, CA 94619
> p: 510.336.7349
> f: 510.336.7491
> [log in to unmask]
> www.chabotspace.org <http://www.chabotspace.org/>
> Celebrating 125 years of inspiration!
> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>
>
>
>
> ********************************************************************** 
> *
> 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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