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Hi, everyone -

As the deadline approaches for ASTC Conference session proposals, I'd like to offer a couple of ideas that my colleagues at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History are interested in pursuing. Our questions are: 1) Are there existing session proposals on these topics that could use additional presenters/perspectives? 2) If not, is anybody interested in pursuing any of these ideas? If the answer to #2 is yes, we would be happy to take the lead.

If you are interested, feel free to respond to me directly at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

Here are the ideas:


1)      Art/Science Connections in Exhibits and Programming. Focus would be on synergy of art, technology and science; ways of building on existing programming to create something new and innovative with a small budget and staff. We piloted a "Scientific Illustrator is In" program using iPads that we think could be interesting and for which we'd like to have feedback. We are also completing an evaluation of the impact of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, a combined art-science-math-community exhibition, that we think could also be interesting to share.



2)      Approaches to/Challenges of Participatory and Contributory Efforts. Focus would be broad - social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), and/or interactive websites, and/or volunteer learning groups (technology enabled or not), and/or any sort of participatory programming onsite. We introduced volunteer discussion boards for ongoing professional development and have a 30,000+ social media following that we'd like to share and discuss with colleagues.


3)      Communicating Potentially Difficult Topics. Focus here would be on integrated museum efforts (teams from education, exhibits, public affairs, science curation) to deliver and communicate experiences about topics that could potentially be sensitive for some of our audiences. Last year, we opened a 15,000 square foot exhibition on Human Origins that explores the connections between human evolution and a changing environment. We also released a website and slate of public programs and provided development for a 100+ volunteer corps to interact with visitors to the exhibition. Coordinating communication internally among education, exhibits, public affairs, and the curators was essential to consistent messaging and approach to education for the exhibit.

If you've got a project that might fit within any aspect of these broad categories and would be interested in contributing to a session, we'd love to find a way to work together on a proposal. Please let us know!

Bill

Bill Watson, Ed.D.
Chief of Onsite Learning
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
(202) 633-1127
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