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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Teacher nights are dicey events. Both major institutions I've worked at are
in large cities (LA and Chicago) with very large teacher populations. Our
educator events never made a dent in reaching a significant number of these
teachers, especially new ones who had not already used our services.
In order to attract participants, IMAX or OmniMax movies were always shown
which, along with the food, were the main reasons why teachers came (Food is
very important to them right after school (as it is for me)). Anyway, the
main message of the evening, educating educators about our programs, was
usually lost to the perks (movies, food). A scheduled evening - meaning one
where teachers are broken up into groups that have to be in certain places
at certain times (except the movie times)- never really worked either. It's
very hard to get teachers to gather and sit for a presentation of our
services after a day at school.
So...the approach that seems to work best is an open house, with a very
loose structure to it. Movies are shown throughout the evening and
attendance is on a first come, first served basis. Booths are set up around
the museum focusing on our programs so that teachers can wander there if
they want to. Food is an open buffet. The whole ethos of the evening is to
make it easy on teachers so that they are given a nice night after a hard
day at school. It's a kind of appreciation for their hard work and, like any
visitors to the museum, we hope that the great positive experience of the
night will stick in their minds and get them to come back with their classes
or find out more about our programs.
ben dickow
Science Writer and Program Developer
California Science Center
-----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Hunt [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 4:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Teacher Nights
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*
We are thinking of reinstating our annual teacher/educator night with the
idea of introducing our fieldtrips program to those new to us and also to
offer classroom ideas/support to those who already have come to the musuem
on fieldtrips.
For those of you who do or have done this, can you share your experience ---
both the positive and negative --- and what you'd do differently?
Also, was it worth it? Did you get a good turnout? What days of the week,
time of year, and hours worked best?
Thanks so much,
Deb
--
Deborah Hunt
CTL Senior Information Specialist
Exploratorium
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Voice: 415-353-0485
Fax: 415-561-0370
mailto:[log in to unmask]
"A woman is like a tea bag; she never knows how strong she is until she's
in hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt
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