Sparking Innovations, Showcasing Innovators

Bimonthly magazine of the Association of Science-Technology Centers

September • October 2012

BBiBB monthly magazine of the Association of Science-Technology Centers

September • October 2012

Sparking Innovations,

Showcasing Innovators

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Leonardo3 (L3) has created the only touring exhibition with new discoveries on Leonardo da Vinci. Showcased with exciting technologies, it is fully interactive with cutting-edge 3D touch screens. Other exhibits reproduce the dated models of machines we’ve

all seen before. L3 studies new machines that have never been reconstructed. The exhibit grows from venue to venue as new discoveries are added. Your sponsors can also support new studies to provide your venue with a worldwide premiere! In addition to Leonardo’s

machines, the exhibit features fully interactive digital facsimiles of his most famous codices, a high definition lifesize recreation of The Last Supper paired with a remarkable digital restoration of how it would have looked when Da Vinci created it and... much more!

PAST VENUESSforza Castle, Vigevano (Italy)Discovery TSX, New York (USA)Franklin Institute, Philadelphia (USA)Ontario Science Center, Toronto (Canada)Da Vinci Museum, Tokyo (Japan)

INFO & [email protected] (North America)[email protected]

“ Distinctive works of genius are all over this startling exhibition…should be seen.”

The best travelling show on Leonardo in the world: the only one with new discoveries!

CODICES MACHINES DRAWINGS PAINTINGS

Fully interactive with cutting-edge 3D touch

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CODICEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMACHINES DRAWINGS PAINTINGS


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September • October 2012 contents

24Nurturing the Innovator’s MindsetBy Tim Ritchie

29Why Talk About Innovation in Science Museums?By Erika Kiessner

32Inspiring Visitors to Tinker, Create, and Innovate

36 A Science Center's Role in Innovation During Changing TimesBy Kate Bennett, Debra A. Jacobson, and

Calvin Uzelmeier

40Born in Israel: Showcasing Our InnovationsBy Maya Halevy, Varda Gur Ben Shitrit, and

Dea Brokman

44Augmented Hands-On ExhibitsBy Karen Elinich

47How New Family Learning Research Can Inform Innovative ProgrammingBy Heather Toomey Zimmerman

Cover: Today, science centers are helping

the public understand and adapt to rapidly

changing innovation in society, while also

creating environments where visitors’ own

imagination can fl ourish.

5 FROM THE CEO discovery to innovation

6 INBOX

letters to the editor

7 SPOTLIGHTS from stimulating STEM careers

to cultivating curiosity

10 NOTES FROM ASTC intriguing conference speakers

are announced; the Youth

Inspired Challenge takes on

Capitol Hill, and more

17 VIEWPOINTS should exhibitions be the

central focus of what science

centers and museums do?

19 PEOPLE staff changes and awards

21 WHAT WE LEARNED South Africa visits Miami

53 GRANTS AND AWARDS

54 Q&A Nicole Lazzaro on

the power of play

features

departments

Located in the Ontario Science

Centre’s Weston Family Innovation

Centre, Pipe Dreams by artist Bruce

Shapiro allows visitors to pose for

a picture and watch their image

pass in front of them, composed

of thousands of bubbles. Photo

courtesy the Ontario Science Centre


Volume 14, Number 5

EDITORIAL

Anthony (Bud) RockCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Emily SchusterEDITOR

Sharon Barry, Kate Crawford, Margaret Glass, Larry H. Hoffer, Laura Huerta Migus, Rowena Rae, Christine Ruffo

CONSULTING EDITORS

Christine RuffoPHOTO EDITOR

Christopher LotisCOPY EDITOR

Red Velvet CreativeART DIRECTION AND DESIGN

BUSINESS AND ADVERTISING

Katherine I. GoodallDIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

David CorsonADVERTISING MANAGER

To advertise in Dimensions, contact David Corson, (202) 783-7200 x121, [email protected].

Alejandro AsinPUBLICATIONS ASSISTANT

EDITORIAL ADVISORS

Colin JohnsonHonorary Member, Ecsite, Cardiff, Wales, U.K.

Chip Lindsey ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum, Ashland, Oregon, U.S.A.

Ronen MirMadaTech, Israel National Museum of Science, Haifa, Israel

Paul Orselli Paul Orselli Workshop (POW!), Baldwin, New York, U.S.A.

Vishnu RamcharanOntario Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Erika C. ShugartMarian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Elizabeth StageLawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.

CONTRIBUTORSAlejandro Asin, Sharon Barry, Lindsay Bartholomew, Lydia Beall, Jamie Bell, Kate Bennett, Dea Brokman, Alexandra Chili,

David Corson, Linda Dackman, Ben Dickow, Laurie Duncan, Karen Elinich, Guillermo Fernández, Diane Frendak, Katherine I. Goodall, Varda Gur Ben Shitrit, Maya Halevy, Larry H. Hoffer, Marilyn Hoyt, Laura Huerta Migus, Debra A. Jacobson, Cheryl

Lani Juarez, Erika Kiessner, Eli Kuslansky, Denise LeBlanc, Shadrack Mkansi, Ted Myers, Rocio Navarro, Brooke Norsted, Paul Orselli, Rachel Rayner, Patsy Reublin, Tim Ritchie, Anthony (Bud) Rock, Joelle Seligson, Nancy Stice, Ei-Leen Tan,

David Ucko, Calvin Uzelmeier, Kate Wiley, Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Jennifer Zoffel, Gabor Zsuppan

Dimensions (ISSN 1528-820X) is published six times a year by the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, 1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005-6310, U.S.A. Copyright © 2012 the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Dimensions is intended to keep member institutions apprised of trends, practices, innovations, perspectives, and news of signifi cance to the science center and museum fi eld. Any paid staff member of an ASTC-member institution can request a free print or electronic subscription at members.astc.org. For nonmembers, print subscriptions are USD 55/USD 65 outside the U.S. (electronic: USD 35). For students, print subscriptions are USD 35/USD 45 outside the U.S. (electronic: USD 29). Students also receive a free subscription to the biweekly INFORMER enewsletter. Students must provide a copy of a valid student ID. Subscribe at www.astc.org/pubs/dimensions.htm or send name, address, and payment in U.S. dollars to ASTC at the above address, Attn: Dimensions Subscriptions. For help, call (202) 783-7200 or email [email protected]. Dimensions is included in EBSCO Publishing’s products. ALTERNATE FORMATS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

Dimensions is printed on 30% postconsumer paper with environmentally friendly inks. By printing this issue on recycled paper, ASTC has saved the following resources:2,563 gallons 284 pounds 558 pounds 4,273,290 BTUswastewater solid waste net greenhouse energyfl ow saved not generated gases prevented not consumed

Follow us on Twitter: @ScienceCenters (twitter.com/ScienceCenters), like ourFacebook page (www.facebook.com/ScienceCenters), and visit www.astc.org.

To submit ideas for features or departments, contact Emily Schuster, editor, (202) 783-7200 x130, [email protected]. Email letters to the editor to [email protected] (subject line: Inbox) or mail them to ASTC at the above address, Attn: Dimensions Inbox. Include your name, title, and

institution. We reserve the right to edit letters for publication.

V l 14 N b 5

ASTC-ACM 2011 Workforce Survey Report

Co-produced by ASTC and the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), this report is based on a survey of 155 U.S. institutions and features detailed data on 14 positions, including salaries analyzed by museum size, educational requirements, benefits provided, and turnover rates. Salary information for 10 additional positions, as well as information from CEOs at 25 institutions outside the United States, are also included. This source for human resources planning and management also includes a special section detailing staff diversity.

#103-2011ASTC members/students: $75Nonmembers: $150

Visit www.astc.org/pubs to order.



My mother, in her advanced age, used to justify

some unhealthy habits of food and drink by remark-

ing (only half-jokingly), “If we wait long enough,

the scientists will disprove themselves, and our

vices will be virtues.” In this simple remark, she

was refl ecting the quandary of her era: respect and

enthusiasm, tinged with some skepticism, about the

breathtaking pace of scientifi c achievements.

We still hold our scientists in high regard for their

intelligence, curiosity, and determination. But we

demand better communication. After all, we may

never hope to fully comprehend the science of

crippling diseases or the Higgs boson, but we know

that fear arises when open communication with our

scientists is lost and trust is broken. Science centers

and museums help communicate the relevance of

science and the excitement of discovery.

And today, our global society has expanded its

fascination to include the creative change makers

among us: the innovators. Here, too, our science

centers have an important responsibility. There are

countless articles written about the fi ve (or seven or

ten) critical skills of the successful innovator. The

book The Innovator’s DNA describes fi ve so-called

“discovery skills”: associating, questioning, observ-

ing, networking, and experimenting. The analysis

states further that these fi ve skills are not innate—

and ironically they often come more naturally to

youth and diminish with age.

In fact, most science centers and museums strive

(and largely succeed) to encourage these discovery

skills in myriad ways. So what is our task today?

We will certainly continue our hallmark approach

of inquiry, observation, networking varied perspec-

tives on issues, and experimentation. But, let’s also

acknowledge that today’s tech-savvy generation has

not eliminated some of the same probing questions

of my mother’s era. Are we helped or hindered,

From the CEO ✺

Discovery to Innovation: Faster than My Mother Could Accept

Anthony (Bud) Rock ([email protected]) is ASTC’s CEO. Visit www.astc.org/blog/category/ceo to read more

From the CEO editorials.

informed or invaded, freed or shackled by rapidly

evolving innovations in our lives?

To these concerns, our attention to the fi rst

discovery skill—associating—can be key. This skill

refers to an appreciation of the societal context

into which innovation will be introduced and the

ensuing implications (positive or negative, real or

perceived). With this perspective in mind, innova-

tion can be an exciting, nonthreatening prospect

for the creator and for the benefi ciary.

So, let’s encourage in our visitors the discovery

skills that can yield the most far-reaching and

novel results. Let’s also cultivate in our young

creators this sense of associating. The greatest

innovators succeed not because their skills and

perspectives are so diff erent from the every day,

but because they comprehend the every day so

deeply as to recognize the ramifi cations of change

and create accordingly.

Photo by Christopher Anderson


Complete Digital 3D Solutions Theater Design and Installation 3D Film Catalog Non-Profit Package Pricing Touring Exhibition Theaters Signature Film Production

Join us For a special D3D Cinema Presentation Sunday, October 14, 2:15 p.m. Convention Center room C212

Explore The latest D3D projects The benefits of 3D cinema for your guests, mission and bottom line at D3D Cinema Booth #636

“ Audiences demand the best, and D3D has really stepped up to deliver.” John Norman, President and Founder Arts and Exhibitions International

What Our Partners Are Saying:“ Our collaboration with D3D Cinema here at the Field Museum has been nothing short of outstanding.” Laura Sadler, Senior Vice President The Field Museum, Chicago, IL

“ There is no question that upgrading to digital 3D via D3D’s system integration services will amaze.” Rocco Montesano, Executive Director USS Lexington Museum on the Bay, Corpus Christi, TX

6 September • October 2012 Dimensions

inbox

After a year of getting the new Dimensions,

I wanted to let you know how much I love

the updated magazine. I look forward to it

arriving in my mailbox and I dog-ear many

pages and write notes in the margin of

each issue. You’ve really married form

and function with this publication, and I

was happy to read in Notes from ASTC

in the July/August 2012 issue that you

received an EXCEL Award for your

eff orts. Also, thanks for making all of your back

issues available for free online (www.astc.org/blog/

category/astc-dimensions/) one year after publica-

tion. That’s a generous and friendly gesture that is

much appreciated.

Brooke Norsted, assistant director, University of

Wisconsin–Madison Geology Museum

Send letters to the editor to [email protected] (subject line: Inbox). Include your name, title,

and institution. We reserve the right to edit letters for publication.

I was so pleased to see the new policy providing

free access to back issues of Dimensions on the

ASTC website. Access to articles and case stud-

ies addressing exhibits, programs, membership

development, community outreach, education, and

more, as well as bibliographies and lists of col-

league museums who can be contacted for more

information, is critical for all of us as we seek to use

proven practices as the bases upon which we build

better services going forward. Dimensions has been

playing a vital role in the field—and now that role

is amplified via ready access to our best thinking

across the years. Thanks!

Marilyn Hoyt, nonprofit consultant, Riverside, Illinois,

founding staff , New York Hall of Science, Queens


spotlights


FOCUS ON STEM

“If we can educate and inspire young people

to seek careers in STEM [science, technology,

engineering, and math], it will align them with

a bright future as well as help our regional and

national economy,” says Ann Metzger, co-director

of Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.

To meet that goal, last November the science

center launched the Chevron Center for STEM

Education and Career Development, a center

without walls that brings together teachers, stu-

dents, parents, corporations, universities, foun-

dations, and legislators to collectively address

STEM education challenges.

According to Ron Baillie, science center co-

director, “The new center is the natural outgrowth

of the science center’s decades of experience in

inspiring students with a love of science, work-

ing with educators, and partnering with industry.”

The center will manage and strengthen existing

STEM programs for students from preschool

through high school, including SciTech Days, the

Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair,

and extensive girls’ programming. At the same

time, it will generate new initiatives based on four

overarching goals: collaboration, inspired learning,

great teaching, and a committed community.

Partnerships with several school districts are

already underway, and a Teacher Excellence

Academy is in development. Last summer the

center piloted a weeklong camp that combined

professional development for teachers with science

education for high school students. Participants

were challenged to address an imaginary scenario:

the contamination of fireworks with biological and

chemical agents. The center is also creating a re-

source database of all STEM education and career

development eff orts in the 36 counties served by

the science center.

The Chevron Center for STEM Education and

Career Development is supported by $1.955 mil-

lion, including a title sponsorship from Chevron

plus donations from six other founding partners:

California University of Pennsylvania, Duquesne

Light, Eaton Corporation, LANXESS Corporation,

NOVA Chemicals, and PPG Industries Foundation.

—Sharon Barry

Details: Ron Baillie, [email protected], and Ann Metzger, [email protected] , co-directors, www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/educators/chevron-stem-center

Left: As part of Carnegie Science Center’s outreach to Head Start classrooms, Family Science Nights bring kids, parents, and teachers together to explore

science topics like robotics. Right: Twice each year, Carnegie Science Center hosts SciTech Days, a weeklong event bringing science industry professionals

together with middle and high school students for hands-on science demonstrations and career exploration; 6,000 students participate annually. Photos

courtesy Carnegie Science Center



PROTECTING WATERSHEDS

Located in the heart of the Finger Lakes, about 300

miles (480 kilometers) from the North Atlantic

Ocean, the landlocked town of Ithaca, New York,

is part of that ocean’s watershed. Yet a survey con-

ducted by Ithaca’s Sciencenter in 2008 revealed

that most members of the general public did not

know that a watershed is a land area that drains to

a single body of water. An exhibition that opened

at the center in early February is intended to rem-

edy that situation.

“Ocean Bound! provides a powerful reminder

that all of us—no matter where we live—live in a

watershed, and that there are things each of us

can do to protect it,” says Lara Litchfield-Kimber,

Sciencecenter’s deputy director.

Designed for families, the 2,700-square-foot

(250-square-meter) exhibition has four major

sections, corresponding to its four major themes:

understanding watersheds, threats to watersheds,

finding solutions, and implementing change. One

✺ spotlights

immersive activity features a 20-foot-long (6-meter-

long) research submersible that visitors pilot

from mountain stream to ocean, studying fauna

and fl ora along the way. Visitors can also interact

with 3D models to see how water moves through

a watershed, operate a ball machine to divert pol-

lutants away from storm water drains, and guide

water safely to sea through a hazardous maze. The

Riverside Clubhouse provides activities for very

young children, including an interactive that chal-

lenges them to become “watershed warriors” by

finding behaviors that harm watersheds. “When we

get down to it, we want kids to be empowered to

save their world,” says Litchfield-Kimber.

Ocean Bound! was developed with a $750,000

grant from the (U.S.) National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration and took about four

years to plan, prototype, evaluate, and build. It is

available for rent starting in January.

Details: Robin Burlingham, traveling exhibitions manager, [email protected]; Lara Litchfi eld-Kimber, deputy director, [email protected]; www.sciencenter.org/oceanbound

Top: The Flow or Settle? exhibit invites

visitors to explore which materials fl oat

and tend to be easily carried downstream

when suspended in water. Photo courtesy

Sciencenter

Bottom: At the captain’s station, visitors

pilot a submersible to encounter

underwater animal life in vivid high

defi nition. Photo courtesy Chris Kitchen

Photography



spotlights ✺

CURIOUS?

What would happen if a hands-on exhibition

had no instructions or defined outcomes?

What if visitors were free to explore, experi-

ment, and make discoveries on their own?

At Curiosity Zone, an exhibition that opened

in late May at the International Centre for

Life in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, what’s

happening is that visitors are playing, experi-

menting, thinking creatively, and asking the

kinds of questions scientists ask—questions

like, “What Would Happen If….?”

Except for two brief video labels, the

5,920-square-foot (550-square-meter) exhibi-

tion has no informational or directional labels.

Instead, visitors themselves decide how to

approach each activity. “The exhibits encour-

age people to use innate behaviors that are

the basis of scientifi c discovery,” says Ian

Simmons, the center’s science communica-

tions director. These behaviors include curios-

ity, observation, experimentation, comparing

and contrasting, testing, and discussion.

Visitors can use these behaviors to build

the ultimate chain reaction, create a big ma-

chine using a variety of gadgets on a magnet-

ic wall, or investigate mysterious objects in a

cabinet of curiosities. In the Spinning Discs

activity, visitors roll a variety of objects into

three spinning discs. In Marble Run, they try

to guide a marble down a wall using diff erent

kinds of tracks and tubes.

An in-house team designed and built

Curiosity Zone over an 18-month period with

the help of £880,000 ($1,370,900) in grants

from the Northern Rock Foundation and

Garfield Weston Foundation. Staff conducted

extensive testing of each activity prototype

with members of the center’s Science Club for

7- to 13-year-olds. Researchers are now study-

ing how visitors are using the space and how

staff can further enhance learning. —S.B.

Details: Ian Simmons, science communications director, [email protected], www.life.org.uk/whats-on/curiosity

Top: A young visitor plays with the Big Machine exhibit, which allows users to combine diff erent

components into larger moving mechanisms. Photo courtesy North News & Pictures

Bottom: Visitors create magnet art. Photo courtesy North News & Pictures



notes from astc

In addition to more than 100

concurrent educational ses-

sions, 14 preconference work-

shops, and 4 postconference

tours, the 2012 ASTC Annual

Conference (conference.astc.

org), to be held October 13–16

in Columbus, Ohio, will feature

some stellar, thought-provok-

ing, and insightful keynote

speakers. Saturday’s open-

ing session will include the

presentation of the annual Roy

L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards,

and the keynote speaker will be

Brian David Johnson, futurist

at the Intel Corporation. (See

Q&A in the July/August 2012

issue of Dimensions.) Tuesday’s

closing keynote panel, which

will focus on cyberlearning

and gaming, will feature Nicole

Lazzaro (see Q&A, page 54),

world-renowned game research-

er and designer, and CEO of

XEODesign, who was named

one of the 100 most infl uential

women in high tech by Fast

Company; Michael Evans, as-

sociate professor and program

area leader in instructional de-

sign and technology at Virginia

Tech; and Jim Vanides, global

education program manager

in sustainability and social

innovation for Hewlett Packard (HP). Tuesday’s

closing session will also include ASTC’s annual

business meeting as well as a preview for the 2013

ASTC Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New

Mexico, to be held October 19–22, 2013, and hosted

by Explora, the New Mexico Museum of Natural

History and Science, and the National Museum of

Nuclear Science and History.

CAISE FUNDING RENEWED

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science

Education (CAISE) is pleased to announce that it has

received (U.S.) National Science Foundation (NSF)

Informal Science Education Program—now the Advancing

Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program—funding for

another three years. Over the past five years, CAISE has

endeavored to strengthen the informal science, technol-

ogy, engineering, and math (STEM) learning field through

catalyzing connections across sectors, facilitating the

formation of networks, building and integrating infra-

structure, and generating and disseminating resources

to enhance the relevance, value, and impacts of informal

science education.

As CAISE enters a new phase of development and

implementation, project partners, staff , and stakehold-

ers will continue to build on this work while expanding

CAISE’s audiences to serve STEM researchers; education

and public outreach off icers who are involved in or partner

with informal STEM learning projects; researchers and

practitioners working to identify big questions, grand chal-

lenges, and a research agenda that strengthens practice;

and the evaluation community that is seeking to build

capacity in evaluating informal STEM learning eff orts.

CAISE will also continue to develop resources that

inform AISL solicitations and proposal development;

conduct convenings and related activities to explore

and strengthen NSF investments in AISL; bring to-

gether stakeholders to think about and discuss topics

of import, currency, and critical mass in the community;

and convene NSF AISL-funded projects for the biennial

Principal Investigator meeting in 2014. CAISE resources

that have been developed over the past two years—the

ISE Evidence Wiki (www.iseevidencewiki.org), the Informal

Commons (www.informalcommons.org), and the Principal

Investigator’s Guide to Managing Evaluation (caise.insci.

org/activities/pi-guide)—will continue to be improved and

enhanced with input and feedback from ongoing evalua-

tion and feedback from users.

CAISE invites you to visit us at Booth #437 in the

Exhibit Hall at ASTC 2012 on Saturday and Sunday,

October 13 and 14, where we will be sharing the latest itera-

tions of our resources and tools. Please visit the CAISE

website (caise.insci.org) for regular updates and the latest

CAISE newsletter.

ASTC 2012 CONFERENCE

SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED



notes from astc ✺

from their respective home states. At their institu-

tions, the students facilitate and lead workshops

and summer camps on a variety of topics, includ-

ing architecture, robotics, and general science for

middle school students.

After the visit, Hernandez of the CAUSE

program refl ected, “I felt empowered because

congressmen and senators were asking us ques-

tions. They wanted to know what we do and I was

excited to tell them about the great things we are

taking part in.”

Among their achievements, both the CAUSE

and PACTS programs can boast a 100% high

school graduation rate of their program partici-

pants. Roberts, who is approaching his fourth year

in the PACTS program, remarked, “The program

and leadership that comes with it have helped me

to be more engaged in the classroom and retain

all the new material I’ve learned.”

The trip was such a success that ASTC is look-

ing forward to sharing this experience with other

Youth Inspired Challenge participants, hopefully

making this visit to the Hill a routine occurrence.

For photos and video of the trip, visit

www.youthinspiredchallenge.org.

On June 19, staff on Capitol Hill were visited by

students from Youth Inspired Challenge pro-

grams at two of ASTC’s member institutions: the

New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences (the

Academy) in Camden, and the Franklin Institute

(TFI) in Philadelphia. To increase awareness

about the importance of youth programs in sci-

ence centers around the United States, students

Chris Hernandez and Priscilla Quintana from

the Academy’s Community and Urban Science

Enrichment (CAUSE) program, and Maya Patton

and Chase Roberts from TFI’s Partnerships for

Achieving Careers in Technology and Science

(PACTS) program, participated in a series of

meetings with Dahlia Sokolov of the House

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology;

U.S. Representative Chaka Fattah (D-PA); U.S.

Representative Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ); Theo

Merkel from the off ice of U.S. Senator Pat Toomey

(R-PA); Peter Nalli from the off ice of U.S. Senator

Robert P. Casey (D-PA); and U.S. Senator Frank R.

Lautenberg (D-NJ).

Despite the humidity and heat of the typical

Washington summer day, the students remained

cool and calm as they shared their positive expe-

riences with the policy advisors and delegations

YOUTH INSPIRED CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS TAKE OVER THE HILL

The Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI), in collabora-

tion with ASTC and the (U.S.) Institute of Museum

and Library Services, is actively recruiting senior

executives to participate in the 2013–14 fellowship

program. NLI hones the leadership talents of exec-

utives in science centers, children’s museums, and

related institutions. NLI is committed to expanding

the impact of these organizations in their commu-

nities by increasing the capacity of their leaders to

manage change, focus outward, engage peers, and

form key partnerships.

Past Fellows have commented that the program

has made them “more refl ective”; led them to “forge

many more partnerships” and put “a much greater

focus on community impact”; and provided them

with “a set of tools that make problem solving a

much quicker and easier process.”

This year’s program is open first and foremost

to senior leaders with the passion and potential

to work as a CEO, COO, or other senior executive

within a science center or children’s museum. New

CEOs (within the first four years) are also invited to

apply. Application materials are currently available

at www.noyceleadership.org. To learn more about

the program, visit the website, email Jennifer Zoff el

at [email protected], or attend an NLI

information session at ASTC 2012.

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY: NOYCE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE


Photo courtesy Center for the Promotion of Science


✺ notes from astc

• Center for the Promotion of

Science, Belgrade, Serbia.

Fundraising has begun to build

the Wolfgang Tschapeller-designed

center, with 32,000 square feet (2,970

square meters) of permanent exhibi-

tion space, as well as laboratories, a

conference hall, and a planetarium.

The center’s development is managed

by Serbia’s Ministry of Science and

Technological Development.

• Children’s Museum of Eau Claire,

Wisconsin. The Children’s Museum of

Eau Claire is an interactive environ-

ment for children and their grown-ups

that inspires imagination, discovery,

creativity, and the love of learning.

Open since 2004, the 20,000-square-

foot (1,860-square-meter) facility

serves 52,000 visitors annually.

• Garoon Gateway to Science, Lake

Zurich, Illinois. This center takes its

format from Clore Garden of Science

in Rehovot, Israel: an entirely outdoor

science center, covering 2.5 acres (1

hectare) and featuring eight courts

with more than 60 exhibits. The cen-

ter fi rst opened in 2010; visitors are

welcome during the warmer months.

WELCOME TO ASTC

The following new members were

approved by the ASTC Board in December

2011. Contact information is available in the

About ASTC section of the ASTC website,

www.astc.org.

• Meadowlands Environment

Center, Lyndhurst, New Jersey. This

center, with its two buildings and

103-acre (41-hectare) nature park,

was formed to increase awareness

and enjoyment of the vital eco-

system just west of New York City.

Ramapo College operates the facility.

The center is piloting afterschool

programs featuring STEM content.

• Qatar Museums Authority, Doha.

The Qatar Museums Authority is

managing the development of a

Children’s Museum and the National

Museum of Qatar. The national

museum, designed by architect

Jean Nouvel, is expected to open

in 2014, with 86,000 square feet

(7,990 square meters) of permanent

gallery space and 21,500 square feet

(2,000 square meters) of temporary

gallery space.

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

• ALCHEMY studio, Maplewood, New

Jersey. Founded by a former staff

member of Liberty Science Center,

this consultancy specializes in mas-

ter planning, experience and exhibit

design and development, fi lm and

media concepts, project manage-

ment, and environmental graphics.

• Gallo, Cleveland, Ohio. Gallo’s

branded and educational environ-

ments department creates museum

exhibits, visitor centers, and com-

mercial interiors to engage, demon-

strate, educate, and persuade.

• Science Kinetics, Grove City, Ohio.

Founded by a former COSI staff

member, this company produces

exhibits, such as pill walls, wave

tubes, gears, and viscosity tubes, as

well as themed environments.

SCIENCE CENTER AND MUSEUM MEMBERS



• tracking new memberships resulting from special promotions;

partnering with other local cultural institutions; and clarifying the

tax deductibility of memberships in the Membership Managers

CoP

• planning for the annual Teacher Educator Network dinner at

ASTC 2012

• building the capacity of all science centers and museums—regard-

less of size and budget—to perform evaluation in the Research

and Evaluation CoP

• forming the core working group of the Volunteer Managers CoP

• exploring new models for science centers in the new Forum for

the Future CoP.

notes from astc ✺

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE NEWS

Have you joined an ASTC Community of Practice (CoP) yet? Don’t

miss out on the dynamic and useful conversations and planning

that are already going on in existing communities, including:

It’s not too late to join existing CoPs and to propose new

groups. On Monday, October 15, at ASTC 2012, all CoPs will

be hosting ASTC CoP Meet-Ups to plan the upcoming year’s

activities. There will also be opportunities for groups inspired to

establish new CoPs to reserve Meet-Up time and space onsite.

For more information on ASTC CoPs, please contact ASTC’s pro-

fessional development department at [email protected] or visit

www.astc.org/profdev/communities/index.htm.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

As ASTC 2012 approaches, we would like to

thank the following annual conference sponsors

(as of August 1, 2012) for their support of ASTC

and their commitment to science centers and

museums worldwide:

Partners

Google

Sodexo

Time Warner Cable

Weather Underground

Gold Sponsors

Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA)

Imagine Exhibitions, Inc.

The Lukens Company

Roto

The Science of Rock and Roll

Wood Street, Inc.

Silver Sponsors

Evans & Sutherland

Event Network

GEICO

National Geographic Entertainment

Seiler Instrument/Zeiss Planetariums

Sky-Skan

Superior Exhibits & Design

Jade Sponsors

AEP

Alexander-Haas

DCM

Global Experience Specialists (GES)

Hands On! Inc.

Mills James Creative Media

New Scientist

Unified Field

Bronze Sponsors

The Benefactor Group

Cameron Mitchell

D3D Cinema

Dinosaurs Unearthed

Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.

Sponsorships are still available; contact

Katherine I. Goodall, director of institutional

advancement, (202) 783-7200 x116, kgoodall@

astc.org.

In addition, we want to thank COSI’s staff , vol-

unteers, and partners; the Conference Program

Planning Committee; and the session leaders,

presenters, and exhibitors who are working hard

to make ASTC 2012 a success.


2 Exhibits Available for 3 month rental periods(750 and 3,000 square foot versions)

Contact Lisa Curtis([email protected]) forrental prices/information

www.greatballsoffi reexhibit.org

Booth #518


✺ notes from astc

GIRLS RISENET: ADVOCATING FOR GENDER EQUITY IN STEM

The Girls RISEnet (Raising Interest in Science and

Engineering, National Museum Network) proj-

ect—an NSF-funded partnership between Florida’s

Miami Science Museum, ASTC, and SECME, Inc.,

and 10 Girls RISEnet regional hub institutions

across the United States—continues activities to

strengthen the professional capacity of informal

science educators to engage and motivate minority

girls to explore and pursue science and engineer-

ing careers.

The project has reached the midpoint of its

funding cycle, and has made great strides in rais-

ing the visibility of science centers and museums

as critical partners in addressing gender equity

in STEM education and engaging practitioners

in eff ective professional development to ensure

gender equity in their practice. To date, Girls

RISEnet regional hub institutions have conducted

nearly 50 workshops for practitioners across the

country. These workshops address a variety of

topics including current statistics around gender

equity in STEM education and careers; issues of

gender and multicultural dynamics; and girl-

friendly strategies for facilitating hands-on STEM

inquiry activities.

To support continued capacity building and

showcase the implementation of Girls RISEnet

strategies, the project continues to expand the

resources available on www.girlsrisenet.org. Visit

the project website to access the latest informa-

tion on upcoming workshops, research resources,

and case studies.


Blue Telescope uses technology, storytelling, and design to create engaging interactive exhibits and experiences. From multi-touch and mobile apps to games, quizzes, and social interactives, our innovative solutions use the latest technology to educate, communicate, and connect with your visitors.

Multimedia Experiences

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Absolutely, in my opinion. I think that the museum’s

language of communication is museology, and the

exhibition is the channel of that kind of communica-

tion. Of course, museums can develop other comple-

mentary activities, but the exhibition is always the

star. Otherwise, museums would be abandoning their

proper role in society.

Guillermo Fernández, science museums consultant,

science museology professor

IDEC Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

Simply, no. For me, the main focus of science centers

and museums should be the visitor—engaging them in

as many ways as are relevant to them. Exhibitions rep-

resent just one important tool in the arsenal organiza-

tions can use to communicate with their audiences. All

of these tools—including programs, events, web-based

experiences, and exhibitions—need to be given equal

focus. We, as a field, and our public have moved beyond

the museum as a simple showcase for exhibits, and I

think this is a good thing.

Ben Dickow, consultant, Venice, California, former director

of the Entree Initiative, Center for Advancement of Informal

Science Education

A number of colleagues across the United States are

working to shift galleries to “maker”-type content.

We know our science center visitors love Maker Faires.

But we don’t seem to have experience, let alone actual

studies, informing us as to whether visitors learn

content at the same levels as they do with exhibits, or

whether visitors will see maker galleries as compelling

enough to compete for family time.

Marilyn Hoyt, nonprofit consultant, Riverside, Illinois,

founding staff , New York Hall of Science, Queens

The prevailing winds from this year’s Ecsite (European

Network of Science Centres and Museums) Annual

Conference are that science centers’ focus should be

on science communication across a wider audience

and in new forums. This includes exhibits, but ones

that are more connected to the outside world.

Eli Kuslansky, founding partner, chief strategist

Unified Field, New York City

Should exhibitions be the central focus of

what science centers and museums do?

viewpoints

Not only should exhibitions be what all types of

museums, including science centers, focus on, but the

authentic objects and experiences embedded in

those social environments are what truly set the best

exhibitions apart from any other creative medium.

Paul Orselli, president and chief instigator

Paul Orselli Workshop (POW!), Baldwin, New York

Experiences, rather than exhibitions, should be

central. That emphasis places the focus more directly

on engaging learners and encourages thinking more

broadly than any one particular approach.

David Ucko, president

Museums + more, Washington, D.C.

Visit www.astc.org/blog/category/astc-dimensions/

viewpoints for an extended discussion of this question.

The above statements represent the opinions of the individual

contributors and not necessarily the views of their institutions

or of ASTC.

Tell us: Should science centers and museums spend

resources on hosting blockbuster exhibitions?

Why or why not?

Email [email protected] (subject line: Viewpoints),

or post on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/

ScienceCenters). Include your name, title, and institution.

Responses may be printed in a future issue or on our web-

site. We reserve the right to edit responses for publication.

Photo courtesy the Exploratorium


PGAV Destinations commissioned primary research on the

subject of the family vacation, looking at what motivates

their choices and how they make decisions.

Why? Because we have a passion for creating experiences

that meet the desires and expectations of visitors. We

share the research with the industry to raise the bar for all.

To receive a free copy of PGAV Destinations’ complete monograph, “The Art of

the Family Vacation,” contact Marie Shellenberg at [email protected].

To learn more about PGAV Destinations, our visitor research projects, and our

planning and design work, visit www.pgavdestinations.com/insights.



former director of the Smithsonian’s

National Portrait Gallery, had served as

interim director since Glass’s retirement.

Sara Rankin Wilson

has succeeded Molly

Demeulenaere as the

new executive direc-

tor of GWIZ Science

Museum in Sarasota, Florida. Wilson

has over 17 years of nonprofit experi-

ence and was most recently interim

co-president and vice president of

resource development for the United

Way of Manatee County and the United

Way Foundation. Demeulenaere had

served as GWIZ’s executive director

since 2009 and is now vice president

of development at Tampa’s Museum

of Science and Industry. Before joining

GWIZ, she spent seven years as direc-

tor of development for the Sarasota

County Arts Council.

The Children’s Museum of Science and

Technology, Albany, New York, named

Deborah Onslow as its interim CEO

on June 4. Onslow was most recently

interim CEO of the Arts Center of the

Capital Region, where she nurtured

new partnerships and donor relation-

ships. Previously, she was president

and general manager of WMHT Public

Telecommunications, a position she

held for nearly seven years.

Jennifer Gibbs has

joined the Miami

Science Museum,

Florida, as senior vice

president of develop-

ment. She will lead the capital campaign

project to build the $275 million Patricia

and Phillip Frost Museum of Science,

people

Adela (Laddie) Elwell

and Jim Elwell of

Headwaters Science

Center (HSC), Bemidji,

Minnesota, have retired

as executive director and

financial off icer, respec-

tively. They had filled

these roles as volunteers

since they helped found

the center beginning

about 20 years ago. In

addition, Jim served as

a professor of geology at

Bemidji State University,

while Laddie’s positions included teach-

ing as an associate professor at Bemidji

State and working in research and in-

formal science education at the Science

Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul. On

June 18, Susan Joy succeeded Laddie

to become HSC’s first paid executive

director. She had formerly managed the

Community Services Administration

with the Northern Arizona Council of

Governments and also worked in visi-

tor services at the Palouse Discovery

Science Center in Pullman, Washington.

Julie Bengtson, a retired music theory

professor and former accountant, has

succeeded Jim as HSC’s new financial

off icer, serving in a volunteer capacity.

The Smithsonian Institution has se-

lected John L. Gray, founding president

of the Autry National Center of the

American West in Los Angeles, to lead

the National Museum of American

History, Washington, D.C. He started

his new role on July 23. Before joining

the museum field, Gray spent 25 years

working in commercial banking. He

succeeds Brent Glass, who retired as

director in August 2011. Marc Pachter,

which broke ground in downtown

Miami earlier this year. Before joining

the museum, Gibbs was vice president

of development for WPBT2 public tele-

vision station.

On May 30, Sheila

M. Cawley jo ined the

Museum of Science and

Industry (MSI), Chicago,

as vice president of ex-

ternal aff airs, leading MSI’s fundraising

and membership initiatives. Cawley had

previously worked as senior vice presi-

dent and chief development off icer at

the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

and as vice president of institutional ad-

vancement at Chicago’s Field Museum.

Graham Durant,

director of Questacon—

The National Science

& Technology Centre,

Canberra, Australia,

was acknowledged with a Member of

the Order of Australia in the Queen’s

Birthday Honours List on June 11.

Durant, who served on ASTC’s Board of

Directors for six years, was recognized

“for service to science education…, to

the museums sector, and through scien-

tific advisory roles.”

On May 7, the White

House honored

Christine Reich as a

Champion of Change for

her work at the Museum

of Science, Boston, in science, technolo-

gy, engineering, and math education for

people with disabilities. The Champions

of Change program recognized 14 in-

novators across the United States. Reich

was the only individual representing a

science museum.


B

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what we learned

From February 24 through March 5, the Miami Science

Museum (www.miamisci.org) and the University of Miami

(UM) in Florida hosted six representatives from informal

science institutions in South Africa. The trip was arranged

by the South African Agency for Science and Technology

Advancement (SAASTA) and funded by the South African

Department of Science and Technology. The goal was to

provide work-learning experiences to inform programming

and development at five South African institutions: Nelson

Mandela Bay Science Centre, KZN Sciencentre, National

Zoological Gardens, Sci-Enza, and Giyani Science Centre.

At the Miami Science Museum, visitors observed educa-

tional programs and met with museum leadership and staff .

They also discussed the process of development of the mu-

seum’s future facility, the Philip and Patricia Frost Museum

of Science. At UM, they met with university leaders and

postdoctoral students in the Science Made Sensible program,

which matches public middle school teachers with science

graduate student fellows, to discuss the academic basis for

science communication.

Here are some of the lessons that staff from both

nations learned:

1. Though separated by distance and demographics, we all

speak the language of science education. Staff from both

the host and visiting institutions recognized that we share

the common goal of engaging the public in science, and we

face similar challenges such as reduced funding. Nomkhita

Mona of Nelson Mandela Bay Science Center wrote, “It was

exciting to realize the number of common areas of thinking

between the United States and South Africa.”

2. Creating eff ective programming takes many steps, and

partnerships are essential. The Miami Science Museum

staff showcased several examples of partnerships, includ-

ing Heart Smart, an interactive exhibition and research

project on heart health developed with UM. In addition,

Miami staff discussed its experiences developing human

capital and working with corporate and community part-

ners as part of the fundraising process.

3. International exchange leads to cross-pollination of

ideas. We found that many of the best practices the Miami

Science Museum employs to engage diverse audiences

are also applicable at science centers in South Africa, and

vice versa. Among these were how to communicate with

audiences in multiple languages; increase interest in sci-

ence among students from under-resourced communities;

motivate girls to pursue science, technology, engineering,

and math (STEM) careers; and develop the capacity of

early childhood educators to teach science.

Since their return to South Africa, staff members have al-

ready begun applying specific ideas at their home institutions,

including inquiry-based lessons, mentoring techniques, and

entrepreneurship activities. SAASTA plans to seek continued

funding for a longer, more in-depth visit in the near future. All

of us, on both continents, look forward to continuing this excit-

ing new collaboration.

Six visitors from informal science institutions in South Africa tour the new SeaLab at

the Miami Science Museum, accompanied by museum staff and management. Photo

by Shadrack Mkansi

South Africa Visits MiamiBy Ted Myers, Lindsay Bartholomew,

and Shadrack Mkansi

If you would like to write about what your institution

has learned from a project in exhibit development,

education, finance, and/or operations, contact us at

[email protected] (subject line: What We Learned).

Ted Myers ([email protected]) is senior director of science and technology, and Lindsay Bartholomew (lbartholomew@

miamisci.org) is senior science specialist, at the Miami Science Museum, Florida. Shadrack Mkansi ([email protected]),

manager of science awareness at the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, also contributed to

this article.


Science Centers and

an Innovative World

Rapid innovations are continually impacting society and

our daily lives. Science centers have an important role to

play as a link between innovators and the public, a guide

that helps communities navigate a constantly changing

world, and a safe place for visitors to unleash their own

creativity and imagination. In this issue, we look at inno-

vation from multiple perspectives—from how science

centers are fostering new innovators and highlighting

innovation in their communities and beyond, to how they

are applying innovative technology and new research to

enhance learning within their walls.

Located in the Ontario Science Centre’s Weston Family Innovation Centre, Pipe Dreams by artist Bruce Shapiro allows visitors to pose for a picture and watch their image pass in front of them, composed of thousands of bubbles. Photo courtesy the Ontario Science Centre






THE MINDSET OF SUCCESSFUL INNOVATORS

The Bain report identifies five characteristics of suc-

cessful innovators:

1. They spot opportunities and follow their pas-

sion. For example, K.R. Sridhar, the founder of Bloom

Energy, worked for NASA to develop a technology to

convert electricity into oxygen. He believed that he

could reverse this process and convert oxygen into

electricity, thus providing to the world an abundant

source of sustainable energy. Sridhar left NASA in

2001. Nine years later, the Bloom Energy Box went

on the market.

2. They take risks and persist through failure.

Successful innovators experience setbacks, learn

from each one, improve, and, with suff icient grit and

wisdom, ultimately succeed. The failures of Steve

Jobs are legendary. He and Apple spent $50 million

in four years developing the Lisa computer. Lisa’s

high price led to low sales. Lisa was abandoned, but

Everyone agrees that it will require an enormous commitment to innovation for humankind to survive

(and thrive!) on our fragile planet. But to what must our communities, and our nations, commit in

order to foster world-changing innovation? What roles can science centers play in nurturing innova-

tors and encouraging innovation?

We think about these questions a great deal at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose,

California. We are located in the heart of Silicon Valley, so if anyone should be able to describe what it

takes to nurture innovation, we should.

One of the Tech’s Board members challenged his associates at Bain & Company (a management

consulting fi rm) to identify why innovation fl ourishes in Silicon Valley. The unpublished Bain report

describes the habits and mindset of successful innovators and the ecosystem that nurtures innova-

tion. This article focuses on the innovator’s mindset, because every science center can do a number of

things to develop that mindset. I also briefl y describe the ecosystem that innovators need in order to

succeed. In some cases, science centers can play a role in nurturing that environment as well.

Nurturing the Innovator’s Mindset By Tim Ritchie

Apple itself persisted, learned valuable lessons, and

switched its focus to the more aff ordable Macintosh,

which was introduced in 1984.

3. They question conventional wisdom. Successful

innovators understand that they will be surround-

ed by people who say their ideas won’t work. For

example, Samuel Ginn, who founded AirTouch

Communications, saw, long before others, that the

future for communications rested with wireless

technology. He left his position as CEO of PacTel in

1984, founded AirTouch, and took his company to

the stock market in 1993 with an initial public off er-

ing of $1.57 billion.

4. They build teams to compensate for their weak-

nesses. Successful enterprises require many diff er-

ent skills: technical, financial, leadership, sales, and

so on. Successful innovators do what they do best

and find others to do the rest. In 2008, Leila Janah

founded Samasource, a nonprofit organization that

Spinbots, by Christopher Myers and Anne Mayoral, was one of 25 Maker Faire exhibits showcased at the Tech. Made with laser-cut parts, zip ties, and

surplus/recycled motors, the Artbots spin in a circle and draw a series of rings. Photo by Don Feria



At the Tech Challenge 2011, young engineers attempt to design and build a device that can collect trash from the ocean without harming marine life. Photo by Don Feria

invented “microwork” to enable people

with no previous computer experience to

make a living using a computer. Leila had

studied economic development in Africa,

but she knew little about technology, so

she hired a vice president of engineer-

ing and a COO and developed a com-

pany that now provides over 2,000 jobs

in Kenya, India, Pakistan, Haiti, Uganda,

and South Africa.

5. They encourage the right behav-

iors in their organizations. Successful

innovators identify what makes their

enterprises successful and reward it.

For example, Google succeeds because

it innovates faster than its competition.

Google encourages innovation in as

many ways as it can: Its engineers are

allowed to dedicate 20% of their time to

innovative projects, it holds regular “tech

talks,” and it runs a “Google University.”

As Business Week noted, “one of the key

reasons for Google’s success is a belief

that good ideas can, and should, come

from anywhere.”

WHAT CAN SCIENCE CENTERS DO TO NURTURE THE INNOVATOR’S MINDSET?

No matter where a science center is

located, it can off er programs and create

exhibit experiences that encourage the

development of an innovator’s mindset.

■ Off er programs that encourage an

innovator’s mindset

Host science competitions. For 25 years,

the Tech has held the Tech Challenge

in which students from third grade



through high school work in groups

to design a solution to an engineering

challenge (such as rescuing a person

who has fallen from a bridge after an

earthquake), build a prototype, and

demonstrate their device in front of

thousands of spectators. The competi-

tion gives students opportunities to

follow their passions, take risks, work

hard and persist through failure, think

beyond conventional solutions, build

teams, and establish an eff ective culture.

In so doing, they learn a bit about what it

takes to become successful innovators.

Off er design-challenge education pro-

grams. Design-challenge learning takes

hands-on learning to another level by

asking people not only to learn by doing,

but also to apply their creativity to open-

ended engineering challenges. The Tech

runs a series of lab programs, most of

which are design challenges, in which

students work together to solve engi-

neering problems. They then present

their solutions to the entire group. The

final presentation shows that there are

many ways to solve a problem and many

paths to an answer.

■ Partner with local innovators to

create exhibits

At the Tech, we are committed to creating

exhibit experiences that will nurture the

innovator’s mindset. Over the next five

years, we hope to develop 30,000 square

feet (2,800 square meters) of exhibit

space to create design-challenge exhibit

platforms. These platforms enable us to

partner with Silicon Valley–based busi-

nesses to showcase how technology

solves problems. We will work with the

businesses to use their products to create

these open-ended exhibit experiences.

One of our first partners in creating

a design-challenge exhibit experience

is a local robotics company, Willow

Garage. Willow Garage has devel-

oped an advanced robot called “PR2,”

which visits the Tech on weekends. We

surround PR2 with eight programming

stations and challenge visitors to make

the robot do something amazing. Visitors

learn simple code and then program the

robot. They run their programs (in front

of everyone) and see if PR2 acts as they

had envisioned. The exhibit pushes visi-

tors to use their imaginations, take some

risks, work with others, and apply tech-

nology to solve a problem.

We have also developed a strong

relationship with the Maker Faire com-

munity. This past summer, we showcased

25 exhibits from the May 2012 Maker

Faire Exposition that took place in San

Mateo, California. These open-ended

exhibits encouraged collaboration and

off ered visitors the opportunity to solve

problems in a variety of ways. Chances

are that the “maker community” near

your center would love to partner with

you, as well. (For more about the Maker

Movement, see the July/August 2012

issue of Dimensions.)

THE ECOSYSTEM THAT NURTURES INNOVATION

Innovators cannot succeed if the com-

munities where they work don’t support

innovation. The Bain report describes

five factors that make up an “innovation

ecosystem”:

1. A robust research community.

Silicon Valley is full of strong universi-

ties and research institutions. They are

the life-blood of every community that is

rich in innovation.

Design-challenge learning takes hands-on learning to another level by asking people not only to learn by

doing, but also to apply their creativity to open-ended engineering challenges.



2. A network of innovative companies.

These companies are often the prod-

ucts of the research community. They,

in turn, play their own role in providing

start-up businesses with technology, tal-

ent, and resources.

3. Abundant funding. In 2011, Silicon

Valley received 41% of U.S. venture capi-

tal funding.

4. Laws that encourage innovation. An

example from California is that noncom-

pete clauses are rarely enforced. That is,

someone who leaves a company can work

for its competitor right away.

5. Support from the legal and account-

ing communities. Law and accounting

firms frequently off er free services to

start-ups.

Tim Ritchie ([email protected]) is president of the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.

WHAT CAN SCIENCE CENTERS DO TO NURTURE THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM?

Gather and support the innovation

community

Develop relationships with the people

who are innovation’s gatekeepers: inves-

tors, entrepreneurs, university faculty,

and lawyers who work with young com-

panies. Get them involved with your cen-

ter and with each other. Find where there

are gaps in the ecosystem and try to be a

catalyst (or at least a gadfl y) for change.

Advocate for continued public re-

search funding

Many successful innovations can trace

their origins to a stream of public fund-

ing. The major research universities that

produce innovations are able to do so

because they receive significant public

funding. In the United States, the advanc-

es in medicine due to National Institutes

of Health funding are too numerous to

count. So too are the advances in sci-

ence stemming from funding that comes

to and through the National Science

Foundation, NASA, NOAA, and myriad

other agencies and research labs spread

across the country. Science centers can

celebrate the role of publicly sponsored

research and make visitors aware of what

is at stake should public support wane.

Celebrate innovation itself

Innovation is worth celebrating in the

same way that science itself is worth cel-

ebrating. We engage in science and inno-

vation because we are convinced that the

universe is both knowable and abundant

with answers to the problems we face.

Innovators instinctively have this view

of reality. It enables them to follow their

passions, defy conventional wisdom, take

risks, persist through failure, build teams,

and start enterprises.

Our science centers should find ways

to celebrate innovators. Their successes

can give us courage to take risks and per-

sist through failures. Our science centers

should also find ways to inspire the inno-

vator in each visitor. If we do, perhaps

our visitors will find renewed optimism

for our world and for themselves. We will

have done well if the product we ulti-

mately produce is hope. ■

Innovation is worth celebrating in the same way that science itself is worth celebrating. We engage in science and innovation because we are convinced that the universe is both

knowable and abundant with answers to the problems we face.

Visitors write their own code to program the robot PR2, developed by a local robotics company. Photo by Sharon Marzouk



Why Talk About Innovation in Science Museums?By Erika Kiessner

At the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, visitors are reinventing shoes. It is not what they expected to

be doing when they began their day. Probably, most of them would have said they had no place design-

ing shoes at all.

They start out looking an enormous Tetris-like wall made up of new and unusual materials. Nearby,

visitors experiment with them, attaching pads made of various materials to the bottoms of clothing

irons and racing them down angled tracks made of other materials. Later, they reach an area full of bits

of fabric, plastic, and paper nestled between scissors, glue, tape, and shoe-making forms. Surrounding

them are pedestals holding shoes of all kinds. Having passively learned about new materials, and then

experimented with them, they are now primed and ready to start building with them. The shoes that

come out of this space are rarely replicas of shoes we have seen before.

Chances are none of the visitors to the Ontario Science Centre are going to come up with the next

leap forward in shoe technology on their fi rst try. But the general rule is that successful innovation

requires making a lot of mistakes. The magic of this exhibit is that it puts visitors in a safe place to take

risks and make mistakes; no one is going to be grading or judging their shoes.

People enter museums with a willingness to see and do things they would not try elsewhere. Science

museums make science and the culture of innovation accessible to people who would never read a

scientifi c journal or feel comfortable embracing open experimentation.

At the Ontario Science Centre’s Weston Family Innovation Centre, visitors can experiment and create with unusual materials. Photo courtesy the Ontario

Science Centre 2012



SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Innovation is a Darwinian process. Much

as you can see the stressors in an envi-

ronment by watching the creatures who

inhabit it adapt, you can see the stressors

of our needs and desires through the

changing shapes of the objects around

us. Science and technology are constant

acts of refi nement. Developments and

inventions are mutants; many do not sur-

vive. For every time someone invents the

cellular phone, a thousand Snuggies have

also been invented.

It is easy to forget that innovation

is, in all fi elds, an ongoing process. No

technology is ever really complete.

Artifact-based exhibits show where

we have come from, and at their best,

cause visitors to project where we may

be going. A fantastic example of this

could be seen in the traveling exhibi-

tion Massive Change by Bruce Mau.

One part of the exhibition showcased

a selection of artifacts from the Buxton

Collection, an assortment of interac-

tive devices from keyboards to Palm

Pilots to the new Kindle. The arti-

facts were arranged on the wall with

bright orange lines making plain the

connections between them. Shown

this way, it was easy to see that none

of the devices we use today emerged

fully formed from the designer’s mind.

The technology of today is built on new

ideas mixed with shapes and ideas from

the past, complete with vestigial tails and

invisible-to-us hints of what’s to come.

The innovative method, perhaps

better called the creative method, goes

beyond the fi elds of science and technol-

ogy. At its core, it is a system of obser-

vation, experimentation, risk, failure,

repetition, and at great length, success.

By sharing the stories of inventors and

showing the march of progress evident

in our changing views on technology and

how the world works, museums make this

system visible and accessible.

Visitors design shoes at the Ontario Science Centre’s Weston Family Innovation Centre. Photo courtesy the Ontario Science Centre 2012



LIGHTING THE SPARK

Encouraging visitors to consider inno-

vation and creativity as realms they can

explore is something many museums are

just beginning to dabble in, but there are

examples of it being done right. TELUS

Spark in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is

challenging visitors to apply their cre-

ativity to making music, without conven-

tional instruments. In the Sound Tubes

exhibit, visitors record sounds into illu-

minated, plastic tubes and place them on

Erika Kiessner ([email protected]) is a senior exhibit developer at Aesthetec Studio in Toronto. She was an exhibit developer

for the Weston Family Innovation Centre at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, and an exhibit prototyper and fabricator (with

Aesthetec Studio) for TELUS Spark, Calgary, Alberta.

a tabletop step sequencer. The sequencer

plays the sounds back rhythmically, pro-

ducing truly unique music. Much like

the shoe-making exhibit, the goal is not

to have visitors producing chart-topping

songs in the museum. Rather it is to start

them on the journey of innovation, and

open their minds to the idea that they too

can be creators. These creative spaces are

successful because they allow the visi-

tors to bring more to the exhibit than the

museum could provide or anticipate.

Elsewhere in TELUS Spark, visitors are

taking exhibits beyond the original inten-

tions of their designers. Glow Doodle is

a simple exhibit, and not the fi rst of its

kind, which invites visitors to make draw-

ings with a light pen aimed at a camera.

The camera takes the brightest points at

any given moment and places them on

a digital canvas. Usually this is the light

from the pen, but on sunny Calgary after-

noons light streams through the windows

and illuminates the visitor. So at times,

rather than being limited to the light pen,

visitors can use their eyes, or bright-col-

ored shirts, or even particularly pale skin

as drawing tools. This daylight malfunc-

tion leads to far-out images that had not

been conceived of during exhibit design.

Visitors, rather than demanding a cur-

tain, simply took this quirky behavior as

an invitation to do something diff erent.

Museums are in a unique position

to discuss the nature of innovation with

our audiences. We have the breadth and

space to contextualize progress as an

ongoing outcome of a method of thought,

and we can create interactive, free-choice

spaces that give visitors the opportunity

to put these methods to work. Because

museums are a safe environment, we can

encourage necessary risks, and allow for

failure without penalty. In this way, we

can show that the innovative process is

accessible to regular people, if they are

willing to take a chance. ■

Encouraging visitors to consider innovation and creativity as realms they can explore is something many museums are

just beginning to dabble in.

Visitors create their own music at TELUS Spark’s Sound Tubes exhibit. Photo courtesy Aesthetec Studio



Inspiring Visitors to Tinker, Create, and Innovate

The Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center engages

young audiences through its Spark!Lab, which uses fun

activities to help kids and families learn about the history

and process of invention—from a creative idea to successful

marketing. Spark!Lab illustrates key steps in the process

with simple “it” phrases—Think It, Explore It, Sketch It,

Create It, Try It, Tweak It, Sell It—and allows visitors to

explore inventions of the past and create prototypes for

their own inventions. Although Spark!Lab is currently

closed due to renovations at the museum, the Lemelson

team is working to open Spark!Lab satellites at children’s

museums and science centers around the country.

Kate Wiley, public aff airs specialist, Lemelson Center for

the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of

American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

In the Discovery Museums’ Inventor’s Workshop, visitors

(ages six and older, younger with adults) tinker, invent,

design, and construct innovative contraptions and

imaginative sculptures with recycled materials, wood,

and hand tools. The supportive environment encourages

messing about, inspires out-of-the-box creations, and

motivates visitors to learn new skills and techniques,

from woodworking to creative folding, to make their ideas

take shape. At the Woodworking table, children learn

hand-tool skills from Explorers: proper grip on a ham-

mer, safe techniques for sawing wood, and how to use

hand-drills and screwdrivers. The creations the children

proudly take home inspire further explorations at home.

Woodworking requirements include trained Explorers, a

workbench, vices, goggles, hammers, saws, (regular and

coping), hand drills, screwdrivers, C-clamps, sandpaper,

pine scraps, nails, screws, and a wait list!

Denise LeBlanc, director of learning experiences,

Discovery Museums, Acton, Massachusetts

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Photo courtesy the Discovery Museums

▲

▲

In both 2010 and 2011, in recognition of America Recycles Day, Discovery Center of Springfield hosted a

Build a Car gallery in which visitors were challenged to create a vehicle out of recycled materials, such

as boxes, egg cartons, and oatmeal canisters. They then used timers to test the speed of their vehicles as

they traveled down a ramp. Visitors frequently worked together in family groups to construct their vehicles,

and often stayed to make design revisions.

Laurie Duncan, education director, Discovery Center of Springfield, Missouri



Ingenuity makes us human and drives our ability to

solve problems. By continuously staging and switching

out STEM-based activities in Discovery Place’s public

Explore More Stuff lab, lab technicians Tim Pula and

Abigail Peltier aff ord guests of all ages the opportunity

to unleash their ingenuity as they “muck around,” tinker,

and collaborate to solve problems—thereby helping them

to imagine novel solutions to the most vexing STEM-

based issues that society faces. In this image, guests

are learning about the transmission and distribution of

electricity by experimenting with connecting the house

to the various components of the power grid. When they

make the right connections, an Arduino microcontroller

(www.arduino.cc) makes the house light up.

Gabor Zsuppan, ScienceReach coordinator, Discovery

Place, Charlotte, North Carolina

In July, the Exploratorium launched its Global

Tinkering Studio Initiative at the Saudi Aramco

Cultural Program, an annual science festival in al-

Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Informed by 10 years of edu-

cational research and development, the Tinkering

Studio invited visitors to build, hack, invent,

and “think with their hands” while working on

individual creations that explore the natural world.

As part of the festival, the Exploratorium’s master

tinkerers held professional development workshops

to immerse local educators in the Exploratorium’s

approach to tinkering as a way of learning.

Linda Dackman, public information director,

Exploratorium, San Francisco

Photo by the Tinkering Studio

The Questacon Smart Moves Invention Convention is an outreach program that tours regional

and remote areas of Australia and targets high school students. Through a series of increas-

ingly challenging engineering activities, students use low- and high-tech tools—ranging

from simple gears to 3D printers—in ways that improve creative thinking and problem-solving

skills. The three-day workshop focuses on the innovation process and its stages. In the first

stage, Developing, students brainstorm ways to use new technologies to meet societal needs.

Next, in Producing, engineering challenges allow students to prototype and construct. Students

are then encouraged to test their ideas as part of the Applying stage.

Rachel Rayner, outreach presenter, Questacon—The National Science and Technology Centre,

Canberra, Australia

Photo by Tim Pula

▲

▲



Building forts is a fundamental experience of

childhood, universal across cultures, gender,

and time. Much like engineers, children create

structures from scratch, transforming natural

and found materials into viable systems. At

the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, children

build forts with open-ended, repurposed

materials, developing cognitive skills as they

calculate loads, experiment with tension and

compression, gain a better understanding

of spatial awareness, explore the structural

integrity of spans, estimate the force of gravity,

hone problem-solving and negotiating skills,

and create an ever-changing landscape refl ect-

ing color and artistic expression. Humming

with purposeful activity, the exhibit is continu-

ally reconfigured throughout the day, guided

by the wild imaginings of children at work.

Nancy Stice, director of exhibits and facilities,

Children’s Museum of Phoenix

Inspired by the Fukushima tragedy, a recent Inventors’

Challenge workshop at the Ontario Science Centre challenged

students to use pneumatics and electromagnetism to build a

robotic arm to prevent contamination in a nuclear plant.

Time and hazard restrictions, the absence of computers, and

limited electric supply were all factors that inspired collabora-

tion and thinking outside the box. Instructions were available

as needed, but only in da Vinci–style backwards script that

required a mirror to read. With sweaty foreheads and busy

hands, the teams managed to build, test, and use their robotic

arms, and literally raised their arms to celebrate when they

finally neutralized the nuclear material!

Rocio Navarro, science educator, bilingual, Ontario Science

Centre, Toronto

Photo courtesy the Children’s Museum of Phoenix

Photo by Martin Fischer, Toronto, Ontario

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▲

Southeast Missouri Project Learning Experiences (SMPLE) is a partnership between Bootheel Youth

Museum (BYM) and Lincoln University Cooperative Extension. AmeriCorps volunteers present

BYM SMPLE traveling science and engineering programs in scout dens, community centers, church

basements, outdoor carnivals, city parks, empty parking lots, summer camps, malls, state parks, school

classrooms, and school gymnasiums. For example, in the low-budget, open-ended Balls and Tracks

activity, teams receive a box full of materials and supplies that include foam tracks, masking tape, and

marbles, and are asked to create a chaos contraption.

Patsy Reublin, executive director, Bootheel Youth Museum, Malden, Missouri



To read about more ways science centers and museums are engaging visitors in hands-on innovation,

visit www.astc.org/blog/category/astc-dimensions.

Design Challenges is a hands-on, drop-in

engineering program that occurs daily at the

Museum of Science, Boston. The program, which

has served over 350,000 visitors to date, invites

guests to think like engineers as they design, build,

and test a prototype solution to a challenge of the

day. Participants tinker and construct their designs

using everyday objects such as pipe cleaners, recy-

cled pipette trays, straws, soap dishes, pool noodles,

and popsicle sticks. Each activity is designed to

have multiple goals and infinite solutions and can

be completed in 20 minutes or less. The program

aims to have visitors recognize that engineers

design and create not just cars, planes, and bridges,

but also technologies we use every day like sneak-

ers, pens, and toys. The newest design challenge,

Extreme Trampolines, asks visitors to construct a

mini trampoline that can make a golf ball bounce

very high or very low. Using hair ties, binder

clips, and fabric scraps, visitors build and test their

designs in a custom drop zone that drops golf balls

and measures the peak height. Descriptions of

activities and teacher resources are available online

at www.mos.org/designchallenges.

Lydia Beall, Design Challenges program manager,

Museum of Science, Boston

Photo by Tyler Trahan

The Centre for Research and Applied Learning in

Science (CRADLΣ) is a new facility at the Science

Centre Singapore, launched at the beginning of 2012.

Staff ed by scientists and educators, CRADLΣ com-

bines the concept of a specialized teaching lab with

that of a hackerspace. Its facilities are well equipped

to support student groups for science research, design,

and innovation projects. A variety of workshops are

off ered, from modern physics experiments on metrolo-

gy, to open-ended hacking sessions using the Arduino

microcontroller platform and digital fabrication tools

such as laser cutters and 3D printers. Another goal of

CRADLΣ is to be a training and development platform

for teachers who want to gain more confi dence and

skills in bringing hands-on science to the classroom

and their school labs.

Ei-Leen Tan, assistant director, Technology &

Creativity Group, Science Centre Singapore

Photo courtesy Science Centre Singapore

▲

▲

Special thanks to Saint Louis Science Center’s Science Beyond the Boundaries network for its help with this article. For

more information on the network, email Jennifer Jovanovic at [email protected] or stop by the GRANDSTAND booth in

the Exhibit Hall at the 2012 ASTC Annual Conference (conference.astc.org).



A Science Center’s Role in Innovation During Changing Times By Kate Bennett, Debra A. Jacobson, and Calvin Uzelmeier

Fifteen years ago, the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC), New York, listened to CEOs of

major funding organizations, members of the RMSC Board of Trustees, and municipal leaders who

suggested it was vital to provide citizens with science and technology experiences that highlighted

innovative ideas and encouraged innovation. They suggested that we re-create the science center to

inspire and engage people in lifelong learning and encourage children to aspire to the professions that

have made Rochester great.

A recent study by the RMSC and the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business identifi ed

nearly 200 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)–related businesses and industries in

the Finger Lakes region of New York (which includes Monroe County, where Rochester is located, and

several neighboring counties). Yet, STEM learning may be lagging. For example, a report issued by U.S.

Senator Kristen Gillibrand stated that in 2010, the results from standardized, statewide exams saw

only 10% of high school students scoring 85% or higher in math and 33% scoring 85% or higher in

science. Students attending Rochester schools rated even lower.

A participant contemplates next steps while building a solar car during exhibit design camp. Photo courtesy the Rochester Museum & Science Center



As the community’s museum, with major funding

from the county, we have enthusiastically supported

informal learning opportunities for 100 years. Yet,

we realized we needed to do more to provide what

the community was asking for, link to the city’s his-

tory of innovation, stimulate enthusiasm in science

and technology learning, and help K–12 students,

particularly city kids, get turned on to the process

of science.

A CITY WITH A HISTORY OF INNOVATION

Rochester is home to many early, innovative tech-

nology greats, such as Eastman Kodak Company,

Bausch & Lomb, Xerox Corporation, Gleason Works,

and others. During the current economic downturn,

Rochester has remained rich in science and technol-

ogy. With larger companies downsizing, many tal-

ented and knowledgeable people have created small

start-up businesses based on innovative ideas.

Another important part of the Rochester com-

munity is its universities, which have been a huge

asset in providing research and partnerships that

form employment opportunities. Playing a large

role in job force preparation, universities became the

springboard for technical advancement.

A SCIENCE CENTER CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

We developed a strategic plan with a unique proposi-

tion: to look at historical innovation as an accessible

gateway to building future innovation. To achieve

our goals, we wanted to identify a new model for the

RMSC’s future. While there are many terrific science

museums—big and small—we couldn’t find a model

that we wanted to emulate completely. However,

we formed partnerships with several museums and

began to move forward with their help.

We became an ExNet partner with the

Exploratorium in San Francisco and learned how to

create hands-on exhibit experiences. Later, in col-

laboration with the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York,

and others, we created and shared traveling exhibits

as part of Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science

(TEAMS). Through TEAMS, we learned how to

prototype, and we found a willing partner to test

prototypes in the K–12 Genesee Community Charter

School located on our campus.

From the Sciencenter, we also learned about a

new kind of volunteer involvement that has retirees

from local businesses and universities create exhib-

its and thus help connect us to both industry and

academia. Given the strong science and technology

presence in Rochester, we have many such retirees

to draw upon.

We also formed relationships with the Rochester

Institute of Technology and the University of

Rochester. Today, the RMSC partners with many

local experts to take advantage of Rochester’s rich

technological history and strong environment for

innovation. Faculty, staff , and students from the edu-

cational institutions and numerous volunteer engi-

neers, scientists, and inventors from across the com-

munity collaborate with museum staff . Together, we

work on designing and fabricating exhibits, proto-

typing, gathering visitor input, developing commu-

nity programs, strengthening educational outreach,

and creating school visit opportunities.

THE RMSC’S PROGRAMS

The partnerships and relationships we’ve formed

have resulted in numerous programs that help to

serve our goals by providing science education to

visitors of all backgrounds. The programs include:

• Weekly Science Saturdays, which bring families

together with local scientists who volunteer their

time to provide interesting, hands-on, real-life

experiences and cool “stuff .”

• The RMSC Carlson Inquiry Room, which encour-

ages the innovation process. Elementary classes

pre-select a theme (e.g., magnets, water, construc-

tion, etc.). Parents and teachers facilitate student

exploration at various activity stations, while

RMSC staff mentor the facilitators. All RMSC staff

took inquiry-based training before we opened this

room.

• The Take Apart Club, which provides opportuni-

ties for participants ages nine and older to explore

what makes things work and look at their own

open-ended questions with the help of volunteer

scientists.

• The Exhibit Design Camp, which enables tweens

to delve into the process of designing and devel-

oping their own interactive exhibits. Participants

research, experiment, conduct evaluation with

visitors, and write label copy. Directly connecting

with community experts, staff , and volunteers, as




Participants build together during robotics camp. Photo courtesy the Rochester Museum & Science Center

both science playmates and role models, is key to

recognizing the participants’ potential as science

innovators. Each camp off ers open-ended explo-

ration, with an eye toward the application of the

work. Over the last 11 years of the camp, 33% of

participants’ exhibits have been developed into

full-fl edged, interactive components within the

RMSC’s exhibit galleries and programs.

• NASA Science & Technology on the Family

Calendar programs, which are designed by the

community, for the community. For this innova-

tive NASA-funded project, the RMSC recruited

cohorts of families with students in grades 5–8

(ages 10–13), including homeschooling families,

through schools and our website. (Although we

are no longer recruiting, more information is at

www.rmsc.org/Experiences/FamilyPrograms/

NASA/ ). Families meet with their cohort once

a month for up to 18 months, experience inquiry-

based science, and learn about NASA-related sci-

ence. They then co-create the community’s muse-

um learning experiences. The RMSC planetarium

director, education staff , and Rochester Institute of

Technology staff guide the families as they choose

a theme, create activities, assign staff , and run a

weekend program for the public. These programs

are scheduled from July 2012 through June 2013.

• Inventing Futures (working title), which is slated

to open within the next few years. This exhibition

has the goal of inspiring the next generation of

inventors and entrepreneurs. It will promote an

understanding of Rochester’s nationally signifi-

cant culture of innovation. It will also explore the

impact of shared ideas within the innovation pro-

cess, recognizing the need for people who know

the science behind a principle (e.g., to create the

first cell phone) as well as those who recognize

technological concepts and envision how to take

them further (e.g., to create the iPhone). The exhi-

bition focuses on five areas of innovation key to

Rochester’s past, present, and future: water, light,

food, machines, and digital technologies. Visitors

will learn about ideas, the research to develop

them, and the resulting prototypes. They will also

be challenged to do some innovating themselves.

THE RMSC’S ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY

The RMSC is committed to connecting visitors

with the science taking place in local businesses

and universities and to joining with the commu-

nity to create our region’s future. We provide open

and safe environments for visitors to feel able to

dabble, invited to explore, confident to investigate,

and permitted to create or build. The RMSC is the

steward of the Finger Lakes hub in the Empire

State STEM Learning Network (www.empirestem.

org), so we host collaborative meetings with busi-

ness leaders and formal and informal educators to

encourage us all to create opportunities that excite

people with STEM learning and help them find out

about STEM career opportunities.

We believe the best discoveries come through

trial and error in an environment that allows people

to follow their interests, encourages them to test the

waters and find out what excites them, and inspires

them to look deeper. At the RMSC, we off er this type

of environment to both our visitors and our staff . If

we have been successful with changes to our pro-

grams, it is because we have created partnerships

with community members who are passionate and

willing to help, and we at the RMSC are open to test-

ing new ideas. ■

Kate Bennett ([email protected]) is president, Debra A. Jacobson ([email protected])

is director of marketing and community aff airs, and Calvin Uzelmeier ([email protected]) is

director of education, all at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, New York.

The RMSC is committed to connecting visitors with the science taking place in local businesses and universities and to joining with the community to

create our region’s future.




Born in Israel: Showcasing Our InnovationsBy Maya Halevy, Varda Gur Ben

Shitrit, and Dea Brokman

“Innovation.” Is it a buzzword or a signifi cant phe-

nomenon in our culture? At Bloomfi eld Science

Museum Jerusalem, we think it is the latter. In

today’s world, people need to come up with cre-

ative solutions to unexpected problems. People

need to be innovative. Science museums can play

a special role in innovation as an interface between

the creators of new technologies and the users.

In their 2009 book, Start-Up Nation: The Story

of Israel’s Economic Miracle, Dan Senor and Saul

Singer tried to understand the ecosystem that

generates new business ideas in Israel. Israel is a

small country of 7.8 million people, yet it produces

more start-up companies than larger, more peace-

ful, and more stable nations. The book immediately

became a best seller and presented us, an Israeli

science museum, with a challenge.

In the summer of 2011, Bloomfi eld Science

Museum Jerusalem opened a new exhibition called

Innovations, Inc. (www.mada.org.il/en/exhibitions/

innovation; this site includes a video of the exhibi-

tion). The exhibition was meant to be temporary, as

we felt that a topic like innovation would need fre-

quent fresh perspectives. However, it received a lot

of interest from many directions, so we decided to

continue the exhibition in a permanent space with

changing content.

A visitor listens to the story of the cherry tomato, invented in Israel. Photo by

Tomer Appelbaum



THE EXHIBITION’S PURPOSE

Our aim was to present technological innovations in

a way that communicates with all visitors, not only

technology and gadget lovers. We highlighted the

social and cultural factors at play in developing an

invention, allowing us to take a wider look at diff er-

ent periods of time and types of technology. As a

public space that serves diverse visitors, we wanted

to show that innovation is part of our culture, as a

state of mind, and to let people explore innovation

in diff erent ways:

• By learning about Israel’s most innovative tech-

nologies and testing some of them.

• By listening to the personal stories of inventors

(each one diff erent and unique).

• By meeting young designers in our Transparent

Studio. We invited industrial design gradu-

ates from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design,

Jerusalem, to spend the summer of 2011 working

on a project to produce innovative lighting solu-

tions. Visitors could look at the students’ work and

discuss ideas with them. At the end of the summer,

the products were presented in an exhibition at

our museum and later at other venues.

• By inventing their own “smart gloves” in open

work areas. Each visitor during the summer of 2011

received a magician’s white glove and was encour-

aged to invent a new use for it using tools and mate-

rials provided in diff erent parts of the exhibition.

THE EXHIBITION’S CONTENT

We decided to focus the exhibition on the process of

innovation—how innovations are born and how they

develop. Thus we presented five “themes” or “fami-

lies” that are relevant to our lives:

1. Change: Does a successful, revolutionary inven-

tion always need to be completely new and origi-

nal? Sometimes a minor but critical change to

an existing idea can be truly revolutionary. Dov

Moran’s USB fl ash memory drive (Disk-on-Key),

first sold in 1999, is a good example: This tiny, por-

table storage device is an upgraded version of disk

and diskette technology that existed previously.

Moran and his company, M-Systems, then based

in Kfar Sava, Israel, took advantage of what was

new technology at the time—fl ash memory and the

USB interface for connection to personal comput-

ers. Can we now imagine life without fl ash drives?

2. Keen observation: Intelligent observers can iden-

tify an opportunity in something others view as a

sure failure. A hole in a water pipe, for instance,

would normally be considered a problem that

needs fixing. However, in 1965, engineer Simcha

Blass from Kibbutz Hazerim in Israel’s Negev des-

ert turned the problem into a product. The drip

irrigation system he developed slows down the

fl ow of water inside a pipe and provides precisely

the amount of irrigation needed. Blass went on to

establish Netafim, a drip and microirrigation com-

pany, which gained worldwide renown.

Young designers’ work on innovative lighting solutions is on display in the Transparent Studio. Photo by Tomer Appelbaum



3. Thinking outside the box: For some of the most

important products and technologies of our day,

we must thank people who did not allow others’

skepticism to dissuade them. Israeli engineers

employed by Intel worked hard in the 1990s to

convince their skeptical bosses to take a chance

on MMX technology, an innovation designed to

improve computer processing. MMX is now con-

sidered a milestone in Intel’s history.

4. Systematic investigation: Thomas Edison, U.S.

inventor, said “Genius is 1% inspiration and

99% perspiration.” Nachum Kedar and Haim

Rabinowitz of the Hebrew University of

Jerusalem’s Faculty of Agriculture tested and

crossbred many varieties of tomatoes before

achieving their goal in 1973 of growing a tasty

tomato that ripens slowly and doesn’t rot in ship-

ment. Today, salad lovers worldwide are familiar

with their invention: the cherry tomato.

5. Serendipity: Louis Pasteur, French chemist and

microbiologist, said, “In the field of observation,

chance favors the prepared mind.” With inven-

tions, as with anything, luck can play a major

role. There are examples of inventors in nearly

every field who took all the right steps but failed

in the end because of bad timing or some other

misfortune. In Innovations, Inc., we decided not

to show the failures. As we developed the exhibi-

tion, we asked inventors and companies to place

their inventions into one of our five families. Most

selected Thinking outside the box; no one wanted

to be associated with Serendipity. So we decided

to leave Serendipity as a family without examples.

However, we are sure that if we asked scientists

about their discoveries, we would get a diff erent

response. For example, the 2011 Nobel laureate for

chemistry, Dan Shechtman from the Technion—

Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, described very

clearly that he discovered quasicrystals by chance.

In our guided tour of Innovations, Inc., we stress the

diff erent approaches by scientists versus engineers

in this part of the exhibition.

Most of the developments featured in the exhi-

bition resulted from several families operating

simultaneously, not only the five we included. We

chose to focus on these five families because we

wanted to make the innovator’s route from idea to

product more accessible to the general public and

highlight families that are relevant to our daily lives.

We all try to “change” things that bother us or try

to “think outside the box” when we feel stuck. We

know that sometimes the best way to do something

is “systematically,” that we can learn a lot from “keen

observation” of nature, and that sometimes we enjoy

unexpected results from our actions. The innovator’s

way of thinking is often not so diff erent from our own.

With Innovations, Inc., we tried to crack the code

on innovation and creativity, as well as ask the ques-

tion: Have all the constraints known to us living in

Israel—a young state with many immigrants and

diverse communities; a small, geographically iso-

lated country with diplomatic challenges, military

confrontations, security problems, and a dearth

of natural resources—laid the groundwork for the

innovations and technological creativity in our

society? We hope that this exhibition has given visi-

tors pause to think about this question, as well as a

greater understanding and appreciation of the cul-

ture of innovation, and perhaps even the inspiration

to enter an innovative career. ■

Maya Halevy ([email protected]) is director; Varda Gur Ben Shitrit is deputy director of content and

curator of Innovations, Inc.; and Dea Brokman is deputy director, all at Bloomfi eld Science Museum

Jerusalem, Israel.

Visitors explore the Innovations, Inc. exhibition. Photo by Tomer Appelbaum



Augmented Hands-On ExhibitsBy Karen Elinich

AUGMENTING REALITY

The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia has been

investigating the use of augmented reality technol-

ogy—enhancing real objects with digital overlays—

in exhibit-based, hands-on science learning experi-

ences. In 2008, we launched the Augmented Reality

for Interpretive and Experiential Learning project,

called ARIEL, to focus on bringing the experiential

and interpretive aspects of exhibit exploration closer

together (www.fi.edu/ariel).

Traditionally, exhibit designers position the

dynamic, experiential encounter with a scien-

tific phenomenon at the forefront and allow the

complementary interpretive content to occupy the

sidelines. The expectation is that visitors use both

the experiential and interpretive components in

tandem. All too commonly, however, they don’t. The

ARIEL project emerged from an idea that augment-

ed reality technology might help that integration

occur more consistently.

What is augmented reality technology? Generally

speaking, three distinctive properties characterize

an augmented environment:

• It combines real and virtual objects in the real

environment.

• It changes in real time in response to manipulation.

• It aligns real and virtual objects with one another.

Frequently, a visitor needs “gear” of some sort—

goggles, a tablet, or a smartphone—to see the

augmented environment. For the ARIEL project,

no such gear is needed. Instead, ARIEL focuses

on fixed-position augmentations that respond to

human activity within the environment—namely,

visitor interaction with a device. The augmented

environment is ready and waiting for visitors to

enter and trigger the experience it off ers.

DEVELOPING ARIEL

The ARIEL project has three key areas: augmented

device design, learning research, and open source

software development. Each area informs the oth-

ers as the project team designs prototype devices,

tests them with visitors, and develops the ARIEL

Toolkit application.

1. For the device design work, the team considers

common, classic devices that feature “invisible”

forces and then uses digital enhancement to make

those forces “visible.”

For example, consider the Bernoulli Ball. Most

science centers have some variation of a Bernoulli

blower to engage visitors with an intriguing, yet

complex, physical science phenomenon—the

Bernoulli Principle of fl uid dynamics. Using

augmented reality technology, the variable air

pressure zones are made visible while the visitor

manipulates the ball in the airstream. As the visi-

tor moves the ball and feels the pressure fl uctua-

tions, the visualization adapts and responds. The

How can science centers ensure that visitors make sense of the science in hands-on exhibits?

Commonly, we interpret the experience for them using graphic panels or didactic displays. Might

there be a more innovative approach?

In the Bernoulli Ball exhibit, the visitor feels air pressure fl uctuations while simultaneously seeing them visualized in a digital augmentation. Photo courtesy

the Franklin Institute



augmentation compels the visitor to recognize

that air moving slowly exerts more pressure on the

ball than air moving quickly—even if this concept

seems counterintuitive. By overlaying the inter-

pretive content directly onto the experiential, the

likelihood increases that visitors will use both in

tandem to make sense of the phenomenon. (See

www.fi .edu/ariel/video for a video of the Bernoulli

Ball exhibit in action.)

2. As the augmented device prototypes become

available, the ARIEL team studies their potential

learning impact in partnership with the University

of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.

The research focuses on conceptual understand-

ing and cognitive gain by middle grade students

(ages 10–13) who interact with exhibit devices dur-

ing school fi eld trips.

The research has focused on how digital aug-

mentation acts as a scaff old for learning in small-

group interactions around a device—as typically

seen when school groups explore an exhibit. To

date, data from over 600 students show that they

spend more time interacting with an augmented

device. Students also show better conceptual

understanding and critical thinking. If digital

augmentation can be used to sustain or deepen

engagement with devices, the potential for con-

ceptual knowledge gain will increase.

Research publications are forthcoming, with

detailed analyses pending in Visitor Studies and

the International Journal of Computer Supported

Collaborative Learning. The outcomes of the stud-

ies suggest that augmented reality has the poten-

tial to transform the arrangement and impact of

informal science learning.

3. To increase that transformative potential, the tech-

nology needs to be easy to use. The ARIEL Toolkit

should help. Developed using Open Frameworks

architecture, the Toolkit is a user-friendly appli-

cation that enables exhibit developers to add

digital augmentations to devices without needing

computer-programming expertise. The interface

features drag-and-drop functions that allow users

to program digital enhancements to their devices.

Because the Toolkit has been developed along-

side the device design work, the interface is espe-

cially friendly to the real, practical needs of exhibit

developers. The ARIEL Toolkit is currently in beta

testing with release and free online distribution

anticipated later this year (www.fi .edu/ariel). ■

The electromagnetic fi eld around two bar magnets is visualized on screen as

the visitor manipulates the magnets. Photo courtesy the Franklin Institute

Karen Elinich (kelinich@fi .edu) is director of

learning technologies at the Franklin Institute,

Philadelphia. The ARIEL project is funded by the

(U.S.) National Science Foundation’s Informal

Science Education program.

Data from over 600 students show that they spend more time interacting with an augmented device. Students also show better

conceptual understanding and critical thinking.



How New Family Learning Research Can Inform Innovative ProgrammingBy Heather Toomey Zimmerman

Increased availability of video-based research tools, as well as an increase in the

variety of informal learning environments that are being studied, has deepened

our understanding about how, why, and when families learn science together.

These new understandings suggest innovative ways that science centers and

museums can serve family audiences.

This article reviews new research on how families learn and builds from Kirsten

Ellenbogen, Jessica Luke, and Lynn Dierking’s 2004 synthesis1 of families learn-

ing science and technology together in museums. It picks up where the 2009

National Research Council consensus volume2 left off, with studies presented

at this year’s National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST)

Annual Meeting. The article focuses on research projects started at or associ-

ated with the University of Pittsburgh

Center for Learning in Out-of-School

Environments (UPCLOSE), the

University of Washington Institute for

Science and Math Education, Learning

in Informal and Formal Environments

(LIFE) Center, and Pennsylvania State

University, in conversation with Lynn

Dierking from Oregon State University.

Caution must be taken when applying

research fi ndings from an individual

study—yet when taken together as a

set, these studies suggest some key

themes that can be applied to inno-

vative programming for family audi-

ences in museums.

Recent studies suggest that families new to scientifi c exploration can benefi t from extra support, including

guidance on how to use scientifi c tools. Photo by Heather Toomey Zimmerman



ENGAGING FAMILIES IN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES TOGETHER

Engaging parents in activities with their children

is important because parents’ attitudes toward sci-

ence can shape youth’s aspirations toward partici-

pating in science and technology in the future.3 The

first set of new research projects highlights three

studies that were designed to encourage parents

and children to participate in science and techno-

logical activities together as a family. Together, they

off er insights into creating spaces where family

members can interact for prolonged engagement in

science activities.

Debra Bernstein and Emily Hamner studied

the Robot Diaries workshop,4 where homeschooled

middle-school girls were involved in creative tech-

nology exploration and design. The workshop was

structured so that the activities and content would

move between home and a workshop setting. This

purposeful inclusion of the parents and siblings

allowed for the researchers to examine family

involvement and social infl uences on the technolog-

ical design process and youth creativity. Bernstein

and Hamner used surveys, interviews, observations,

and videorecords from six workshop sessions. Their

analyses suggest that families’ interactions sup-

ported the development of the youth’s “technologi-

cal habits of mind.” The girls viewed technology as

a tool for creative expression, engaged in a design

process, and, importantly, recognized themselves

as capable and creative technologists who con-

nected to an artist and/or an engineering identity.

This work is relevant to science center and museum

programming because of the importance of design-

ing a youth program with purposeful engagement

of the families. Through at-home activities, fam-

ily members were able to support the girls as they

developed habits of minds compatible with science,

technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engage-

ment and future careers.

In a second new research project,5 Carrie Tzou

and Elyse Litvack developed a program where youth

would check out a science backpack from the school

library to take home to work on with their families.

Like the Bernstein and Hamner study, this project

aimed to involve the whole family and connect learn-

ing in various settings. To understand how the back-

packs were used in the learners’ homes, Tzou and

Litvack analyzed videos and photographs taken by

students and parents, along with worksheets, draw-

ings, and interviews. From preliminary analyses,

Tzou and Litvack found that the children mostly con-

ducted the backpack activities by themselves, with

little support or involvement from their families.

While the researchers intended the backpack sci-

ence projects to be perceived as enriching, fun activi-

ties, the families instead interpreted them as the

children’s homework. In interviews with students,

Tzou and Litvack found parents felt they needed to

teach their child, rather than to learn with him or her.

This research shows that regardless of the design-

ers’ intentions for social engagement, there are occa-

sions when adults do not feel comfortable engaging

with their children as a learning partner. Designers

need to study the impact of their programs on learn-

ers to ensure that all family members, not just youth,

feel comfortable participating in activities.

Catherine Eberbach designed a study6 to examine

how families observed and talked about pollinators

and plants—especially how parents used teaching

strategies to help children see the garden as a sci-

entist would. Eberbach sampled families with strong

and low prior knowledge about pollination, and

then randomly assigned parents to either a control

group or a treatment group. In the treatment group,

parents learned teaching strategies, including ask-

ing wh-questions (beginning with what, why, how,

when, or where), focusing on their son’s or daugh-

ter’s interests, and linking pollination information

to shared experiences. Eberbach found parent ques-

tions attuned children’s focus in the gardens to the

plant structures and pollinator behaviors, which

led to continued plant and pollinator observations.

In an important finding, Eberbach found that when



parents asked the wh-questions about topics where

their child showed an interest, they sparked deeper,

scientifically rich conversations. The research sug-

gests that supporting parents with questioning strat-

egies is an eff ective technique.

UNDERSTANDING LEARNING FROM FAMILIES’ VISITS TO MUSEUMS

The next two studies looked at museum-going fami-

lies as they engaged in their normal family activities,

in a dinosaur exhibition and in trails outside a nature

center.

In a study7 in a natural history museum, Sasha

Palmquist examined how youth’s existing ideas infl u-

ence family engagement with exhibits and shape

family conversations. Palmquist videotaped families

during a visit to the Dinosaurs in their Time exhibi-

tion. First, she found that children with low levels of

knowledge (novices) used describing words to name

the dinosaurs, while those with high levels of knowl-

edge (experts) could identify dinosaurs by their sci-

entific names. Expert children could both identify

form and function and describe ecological connec-

tions. In the families with novice children, however,

the parents provided this information. Palmquist’s

findings illustrate that prior knowledge supports

youth not only in engaging with science, but also in

leading ecological and evolutionary conversations

with their families. Her work also suggests that fami-

lies with expert and novice children have diff erent

approaches within a museum, implying that muse-

ums can design experiences diff erently for these two

groups.

Recently, Lucy McClain, Michele Crowl, and I

studied families during public programs and nature

hikes at a nature center serving rural and urban audi-

ences.8 We videorecorded families to understand

how they worked together while using magnifiers

outside and found that families used magnifiers for

science inquiry as well as for nonscientific, playful

exploration. Using the concept of guided facilitation,

the families developed roles to support their joint

learning. There were two expected roles (topic sug-

gester and teacher) and one unexpected role (activ-

ity ender, where a family member stopped an activ-

ity before the frustration level became too high). The

stopping of an activity was important because while

it ended an investigation at one particular spot, it

maintained positive energy to continue to explore

other items. The families struggled to eff ectively use

the magnifiers, and parents often needed to assist

their children. This work shows that even with ubiq-

uitous tools like magnifiers, some families need help

when using observational devices to make sense of

the natural world.

SUMMARY

Together, the findings from these ongoing research

projects suggest some key themes that can inform

the design of innovative museum programs and

exhibitions that support families learning together.

As they design signage and train explainers to sup-

port families, museums can coach parents to ask

wh-questions related to their children’s interests.

In addition, museums can provide opportunities

for families to continue their exploration at home

through online materials. These studies also sug-

gest a multilevel approach for repeat visitors and

newcomers: Museums can include advanced mate-

rials for expert children, and provide extra supports

A recent study looked at how families worked together using magnifi ers

to make observations outside a nature center. Photo by Heather Toomey

Zimmerman


ASTC’s staff and board wish to thank our

Foundation Funders for their leadership and generosity.

We are truly grateful for their visionary support.

Exhibits.nl is a leading supplier of interactive exhibits, operating worldwide to the highest quality standards. Our exhibits are innovative, fun, educational and above all, of a world class built quality.

High quality interactive exhibitsAmazing Machines

Air and Space

Human Body

Digital World

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Mother Earth

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Physics and Mathematics


REFERENCES

1. Ellenbogen, K.M., J.J. Luke, and L.D. Dierking. “Family learning research in museums: An emerging disciplinary matrix?” Science Education (2004), 88: S48–S58. doi: 10.1002/sce.20015.

2. Bell, P., B. Lewenstein, A.W. Shouse, and M.A. Feder. Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits. Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments. Washington, D.C.: National Academic Press, 2009.

3. DeWitt, J., J. Osborne, L. Archer, J. Dillon, B. Willis, and B. Wong. “Young Children’s Aspirations in Science: The unequivocal, the uncertain and the unthinkable.” International Journal of Science Education (online, in early view), 1–27. doi:10.1080/09500693.2011.608197.

4. Bernstein, D., and E. Hamner. “Exploring the impact of family involvement on youth engagement in a creative robotics workshop.” Families learning using exploration tools in outdoor spaces. Indianapolis: National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting, 2012.

5. Tzou, C.T., and E. Litvack. “Connecting school science learning with at-home activities: Documenting learning through a science backpack program.” Indianapolis: National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting, 2012.

6. Eberbach, C. The effects of parents’ conversational style and disciplinary knowledge on children’s observation of biological phenomena. Unpublished dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12062009-144825/, and Eberbach, C. “Tools for talk: Strategies for supporting the observational capacity of families.” Indianapolis: National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting, 2012.

7. Palmquist, S. “Disciplinary talk by design: Identifying expert and novice patterns of parent-child engagement with exhibits.” Indianapolis: National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting, 2012.

8. Zimmerman, H.T., L.R. McClain, and M. Crowl. “Understanding how families use observational tools during nature center hikes.” Indianapolis: National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting, 2012.

Heather Toomey Zimmerman

([email protected]) is assistant professor

of education at Pennsylvania State

University, State College.

for families new to science exploration

(including details on how to support a

child using scientifi c tools). Finally, muse-

ums should ensure that parents know

that they are welcomed as co-explorers

and learners with their children. ■


Happy to help keep our

community chatting, gaming,

thriving, and enjoying.Time Warner Cable is proud to partner with ASTC.




grants and awards

The National Museum of Natural

History, Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C., has received $35 mil-

lion from David H. Koch to renovate the

Dinosaur Hall, $10 million from Roger

and Victoria Sant to endow the muse-

um’s director’s post, and $3 million from

Life Technologies to develop a future

genome exhibition.

Experimentarium, Copenhagen,

Denmark, has received USD 34 million

from A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine

Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene

Formaal, as well as an additional USD

800,000 from the Orient Foundation,

to support its Futures Project building

expansion. In addition, the Novo Nordic

Foundation has given USD 5.6 million

to the research and exhibition project

PULS. Finally, the Lundbeck Foundation

has donated USD 750,000 to promote

Experimentarium’s science news

communication.

Cici and Hyatt Brown have donated

$13 million to the Museum of Arts &

Sciences, Daytona Beach, Florida, to

build an expansion housing the Browns’

collection of more than 2,600 Florida oil

and watercolor paintings.

The Galvin Family Foundations has

pledged $2.5 million to Kidspace

Children’s Museum, Pasadena, California,

as part of the museum’s $13 million

Campaign for the Future of Kidspace.

NASA has awarded an $857,125 grant to

the Museum of Science, Boston, to sup-

port its Engineering for Middle School

Science, Inspiration, and Opportunity

project (MISSION), including a planetar-

ium show, hands-on activities, multime-

dia resources, and educator workshops.

Louisville Science Center, Kentucky,

has received $500,000 from the PNC

Foundation for the center’s new early

childhood experience, Science in Play,

and its subsequent permanent exhibition.

Pacific Science Center, Seattle, has

received $300,000 from Battelle to

assess statewide science education

standards and expand teacher pro-

fessional development through the

center’s Washington State Leadership

and Assistance for Science Education

Reform (LASER).

The Minnesota Humanities Center

has awarded a $250,000 grant to

Duluth Children’s Museum, Duluth,

Minnesota, to expand its Passport to

Culture and Museum on the Move

(Early Explorations and Exhibit

Explorations) programs.

The (U.S.) Institute of Museum and

Library Services has awarded 31

Conservation Project Support Grants,

totaling $2,614,183. Six ASTC members

were among the recipients:

• The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy

Museum,Chicago: $58,621 (matching

amount: $58,623) to treat 85 sundials

threatened by metal oxidation and

physical instabilities

• The Children’s Museum of

Indianapolis: $125,000 (matching

amount: $203,996) to improve environ-

mental conditions for its 8,999-item

Textiles Collection

• The Denver Museum of Nature and

Science: $149,973 (matching amount:

$150,007) to improve the environmen-

tal conditions of 700 artifacts from the

Pacific islands and Australia

• The Field Museum of Natural

History, Chicago: $150,000 (match-

ing amount: $151,815) to stabilize

907 archaeological ceramics from its

Central and South Coast Peru, Bolivia,

Chile, and Argentina collections by

removing the soluble salts

• The Science Museum of Minnesota,

St. Paul: $22,671 (matching amount:

$52,196) to hire two conservators

to carry out a general conservation

survey and a media collections survey

• Yale Peabody Museum of Natural

History, New Haven, Connecticut:

$145,299 (matching amount: $293,810)

to improve care, preservation, and

access for 8,000 Oceanic and Asian

ethnographic objects.

MetLife Foundation has given a

$150,000 grant to Miami Science

Museum, Florida, to extend its Tripod+

program, in collaboration with Big

Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Greater

Miami, to present 20 free hands-on sci-

ence workshops.

The Virginia Living Museum, Newport

News, has won a Capital Region Emmy

for its 30-second public service an-

nouncement, “Protect What’s Precious.”

Three ASTC members have received

MUSE Awards from the American

Association of Museums:

• The American Museum of Natural

History, New York City: Games &

Augmented Reality (Bronze) for

Beyond Planet Earth

• The Field Museum of Natural

History, Chicago: Interactive Kiosks

(Bronze) for Abbott Hall Restoring

Earth Green Wall, Multimedia

Installations (Silver) for Rapid

Inventory Theater, and Video, Film,

and Computer Animation (Silver) for

Chicago Community Series

• The Natural History Museum of

Utah, Salt Lake City: Audio Tours &

Podcasts (Bronze) for Trailhead to

Utah, and Video, Film, and Computer

Animation (Gold) for Native Voices

(five-screen program).



Q&A

The Greek philosopher Plato is quoted as saying that you

can discover more about a person in an hour of play than

in a year of conversation. It’s a philosophy Nicole Lazzaro—

president of XEODesign, Inc. (XEOdesign.com), the world’s

first Player Experience Design consulting company—sub-

scribes to today. Players’ emotions are at the core of gaming,

says Lazzaro, and they are the reason why games can be so

compelling. She chatted with Dimensions in anticipation of

the 2012 ASTC Annual Conference (conference.astc.org) this

October in Columbus, Ohio, where she’ll share how science

centers and museums can implement the power of play.

How does a game become an emotional experience?

[There’s] this direct connection between what the player

does and the emotions they get, from putting Sims into

a swimming pool and pulling out the ladder to see what

happens, to experiencing Schadenfreude when you beat

your rival in Bejeweled Blitz. Emotions are also involved

in learning. There isn’t any such thing as an “educational

game” because all games teach. The emotional process of

the act of learning is very powerful, which is a major reason

why games are so engaging.

Tell me about the Four Keys of Fun.

By watching people play games, we were able to tease out

the four things that make games engaging (4k2f.com). The

first one is Easy Fun. There’s no challenge involved; it’s the

simple joy of exploring the world. Then there’s Hard Fun.

That’s all about challenge and mastery. And it’s more fun

to win in the company of friends, so the third key comes

in: People Fun. Lastly, Serious Fun is all about making

changes inside the player, whether it’s playing Dance Dance

Revolution to lose weight or Brain Age to get smarter.

How could science centers and museums incorporate

these tactics?

Attention’s limited when you’re running through the muse-

um as a visitor. The feeling of the controls on the exhibits,

the way that things light up or respond to your touch can be

quite powerful. [So can] having simple mechanics that allow

you to achieve something—something you learned in exhibit

A can be put to the test or help you get more out of exhibit

B. There are opportunities [for People Fun] in sharing from

the exhibit into a social platform like Facebook or Twitter.

Probably the most obvious application is Serious Fun.

[With] the use of collection and completion mechanics, you

feel like you’ve accomplished something by participating in

the exhibit.

We’re in this great moment where games can become some-

thing new. It’s a whole new art form. It’s something I call “play-

sourcing,” where we’re using the power of play as the source

of human motivation and growth. With our game Tilt World,

the virtual seeds players collect plant trees in the real world.

Along those lines is where the power of an exhibit connected

to the real world could change our planet for the better.

Nicole LazzaroInterviewed by Joelle Seligson

For a podcast and full transcript of this interview, visit www.astc.org/blog/category/astc-dimensions/q-and-a/.


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There are a mole of reasons—here’s the

TOP10There are a whole mole of reasons to join ASTC. No, not the furry kind of animal—we’re talking about Avogadro’s gigantic number 6.02 × 1023. That’s a whole LOT of reasons to become a member of ASTC today!

ASTC counts more than 600 institutional members in over 45 countries—we’re the go-to resource for the “Who’s Who” in informal science education. And we’ve got you covered with a mole of “VIP” benefits—all designed to help you solve your problems and deliver bottom-line results. We can’t list all 6.02 × 1023—but here are the Top 10 reasons to join ASTC right now!

JOIN ASTC TODAY...

1 Global networking the smart way! Connect with the “Who’s Who” in your field through ASTC’s CoPs (Communities of Practice) program, Annual Conferences, workshops, access to the ASTC Member Directory, and more.y,

2 Must-know info you and your staff can’t afford to be without! Through the award-winning Dimensionsmagazine, and bi-weekly e-bulletin, INFORMER—both RRcomplimentary for all paid staff.

3 Valuable discounts on publications, travelling exhibitions, sproducts and services, and more—to help you meet your bottom line!

4 Professional Development—Stay up to speed withttASTC Connect online workshops and self-paced tutorials,ISEN-ASTC-Listserv, and global discussion group. Learn, grow, thrive—it’s all at your fingertips whenever you want!

5 Free admission for your members to more than 325 science museums and centers worldwide through ASTC’s Passport Program—worth the price of membership alone,you can’t beat this deal anywhere!

6 ASTC’s 2012 Annual Conference—This is THE most important meeting for leaders in informal scienceeducation. Only ASTC members get deep discounts onregistration, exhibit booths, advertisements, etc.hibit booths, advertisements, etc.

7 Staff Recruitment—ASTC’s Job Bank is the go-tottresource for hiring at all levels of your organization. ASTC takes the hassle out of your personnel searches!

88 Stay in-the-know with the latest research and trends win your field—case studies, exhibit ideas, annual statisticsand analyses, visitor studies, and more that keep you onthe cutting edge.

9 Find the right exhibition—Marketing, booking,b kimaintenance, insurance, and more. As your problemsolver, ASTC’s Exhibition Services is just a phone call or email away!

10 Support the field! Join the International Community advocating on behalf of us all, in the media and infront of political bodies across the world.

For more information on how to become a member, please contact ASTC’s membership director, Diane Frendak, at (202) 783-7200 x112 or

[email protected]. Or visit our website: astc.org.

Association of Science-Technology Centers1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500Washington, DC 20005-6310Address Service Requested


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