“One gallery with seven locally-sponsored exhibits was about to be installed, but we had not started any work, so nothing new was lost,” said executive director John Swanson. “The fact that we don’t have an extensive collection of irreplaceable artifacts makes this loss somewhat easier to accept; our stuff is repairable or replaceable. We do have a dinosaur jaw bone, but I figured if it could survive a million years in the mud, then a day or two more before cleaning wasn’t a big deal. You’ve got to focus on the bright side.” The science center’s summer camp program, serving 700 children, has resumed in a nearby church.

Clean-up/mitigation costs alone will be in excess of $200,000. “It’s difficult to say what we need at this point,” said Swanson. “As much as anything I’m just looking for ideas; perhaps a loan of temporary exhibits, maybe learning what others have done under similar circumstances or some off-site programming ideas.”

Photo courtesy Cedar Rapids Science Station

ASTC was among the more than 30 groups participating in the reception, “The Path to Innovation: Scientific Discovery and Learning,” which showcased research and education projects supported by NSF. Staff were on hand to demonstrate the work of NISE Net, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network, and Astronomy From the Ground Up, a professional development program for informal astronomy educators. Hands-on activities included “Exploring Forces,” where guests could fill a tiny teacup with water and turn it over to see how the surface tension over such a small area prevents the water from spilling out; and “Worlds in Comparison,” where three pounds of modeling clay is divided to create scale replicas of the planets in our solar system.

As the 5th Science Centre World Congress (5SCWC) came to an end, delegates looked to the future with the unveiling of the Toronto Declaration. It is the international science center field’s first unified statement of its goals and beliefs. The document was read and endorsed at the 5SCWC closing ceremony in Toronto on June 19.

“This is a landmark event for our field,” said Lesley Lewis, chair of 5SCWC, president of ASTC, and CEO of the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto. “For the first time, science centers around the world have worked together to issue a collective statement that identifies the issues facing our field globally. Today we have committed to a series of actions that will guide us for the next three years.”

The declaration acknowledges that science centers can be “a powerful force for good.” It sets forth the following goals: increasing access to science centers, connecting people through science, facilitating dialogue about and engagement with scientific issues, and working toward achieving the United Nations Millennium Goals.

In her address, Lewis thanked five leaders who worked with her on early drafts of the declaration: Graham Durant (Australia), Emlyn Koster (United States), Pelle Persson (Finland), Julia Tagüeña (Mexico), and Tuan Chew (Singapore).

A new declaration will be released at each future World Congress. The 6th Science Centre World Congress, to be held in 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa, will address the theme “Science Across Cultures.”

About the image: Alejandra Léon Castellá (REDPOP), Alfred Tsipa (SAASTEC), Lesley Lewis (ASTC), Per-Edvin Persson (ECSITE), and Tengku Nasariah Ibrahim (ASPAC)  endorse the Toronto Declaration at the 5th Science Centre World Congress. Photo courtesy the 5th Science Centre World Congress

In her presentation, entitled “The Role of Science Centres in Building the Future,” Corriero will examine how science centers can connect with young people who are working for positive global change. She will discuss her own experiences as a student at the Ontario Science Centre Science School, as well as the work TIG is doing to inspire, inform, and involve young people in local and global issues. Three TIG leaders in Egypt, Argentina, and China will join Corriero in the discussion via webcast.

TIG’s work has led to online and on-the-ground programs that address social issues in dozens of countries. The community currently focuses on climate change, HIV/AIDS, the digital divide, and the UN Millennium Development Goals, which target health, education, development, gender equity, poverty, and the environment.

Summaries of all the keynote presentations and plenary sessions will be available at the 5SCWC web site shortly after the World Congress ends on June 20.

“We are now at the crossroads of history,” he said, citing evidence that climate zones in Europe are moving north at a rate of about 10 meters every day. Invoking the Iroquois advice that, “in every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation,” he called on science centers to bring their capacities to bear on the issue of global environmental sustainability. As trusted institutions with significant audiences, able to act with independence and flexibility, science centers are well positioned to build public understanding of climate change while taking action to make their own operations more sustainable, he said. He concluded by challenging science centers to engage their audiences in “the ultimate science experiment: changing the world.”

Participating in the Ecsite conference were 800 delegates from nearly 45 countries. For more about Ecsite, the European Network of Science Centres and Museums, click here.

About the image: Ecsite speaker Charlie Trautmann speaks in front of a 10-meter tape that dramatically illustrates the rate at which climate zones are shifting toward the poles. Photo courtesy Ecsite

RACE: Are We So Different?

To read a review of the exhibition, visit ExhibitFiles.

 Image courtesy Science Museum of Minnesota

About the image: More than 400 children create a 300 square meter “ice cap” at MadaTech, Haifa, Israel, for the Albedo Experiment.

Friedman has received many national and international awards, including being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the New York Academy of Sciences. The AAAS also recognized Friedman with its Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology for 1996-97. He received the ASTC Fellow Award in 2003, and in 2006 the American Association of Museums (AAM) named him to its Centennial Honor Roll. He is immediate past president of the Visitor Studies Association, a trustee of the Noyce Foundation, and a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, an independent, bipartisan group that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as “The Nation’s Report Card.”

IN THIS ISSUE
May/June 2008

Science centers regularly collect data about exhibits and programs, documenting how visitors respond to what the institution offers to public audiences. But once the report is filed, what happens to this knowledge? Is it used to inform daily practice, influence future planning, or demonstrate to a funding organization that the institution is meeting both its own goals and theirs? Many museum professionals think it’s time to apply a strategy of mission-based evaluation to all operations. To accomplish that, staff must first look inward. In this issue, we explore how museums within and outside the science center field are striving to make self-evaluation an integral part of their institutional culture.

Contents
• To What End? Achieving Mission Through Intentional Practice, by Randi Korn, with Mission Evaluation: An Annotated Bibliography
• Learning from the Process: Developmental Evaluation Within ‘Agents of Change,’ by Myrica Gration and Julie Jones
• Striving for Sustainability: A Self-Assessment Tool for Museums, by Charlie Trautmann
• The Funder’s Perspective: IMLS, Evaluation, and Public Value, by Marsha Semmel
• Planning for Family Learning: Research, Evaluation, and Decision Making, by Julie I. Johnson and Kirsten Ellenbogen
• The Funder’s Perspective: Measuring Progress Toward Mission, by Ann Stone
• Scitech’s Effectiveness Review: Appraising the Present, Planning for the Future, by Suzannah Lyons
• The Three Questions, by Carolyn Meehan

Subscribe/order back issues