Interviewed by Susan Straight Dorothy Tovar, a PhD candidate in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University, studies bat cells to determine how bats can host and spread viral diseases that are deadly to humans without succumbing themselves. She hopes to understand bats’ immune responses and heighten awareness of the evolutionary drivers that lead …
Q&A with Dorothy Tovar Read More »
By Erica Palma Kimmerling from Dimensions January/February 2020 Those of us who endeavor to weave science more thoroughly into the fabric of society seek a world where everyone is empowered to interpret, use, or seek new scientific knowledge. This vision is shared across disciplines, methodologies, and venues. It is the common goal that underlies the efforts of everyone …
Breaking Down Silos Between Science Engagement Professionals Read More »
IN THIS ISSUE January/February 2020 In this issue, we explore the benefits of breaking down silos. When teams, isolated units, or organizations operate out of step or even at cross-purposes with one another, action may be required. Breaking down silos can increase effectiveness, efficiency, communication, and camaraderie. It can allow for programs and events not …
Dimensions, January/February 2020—Breaking Down Silos Read More »
By Cristin Dorgelo We’re using this first issue of 2020 to examine how to step out of silos to foster collaboration toward positive forward progress. Silos exist within organizations, preserved through cultures, practices, and habits that disincentivize teamwork and transparency. Silos exist between organizations and across fields that limit our ability to learn about promising …
Breaking Down Barriers by Building Bridges Read More »
Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the January/February 2020 issue of Dimensions magazine. Nalini Nadkarni is an ecologist and professor at the University of Utah, a pioneer of treetop canopy research, a National Geographic Explorer, and an adviser for Mattel’s new line of Explorer Barbies. She has won numerous major awards, such as …
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By Beth Murphy, editor of Connected Science Learning Journal, a joint initiative of ASTC and the National Science Teaching Association For most of my career in science and STEM education, I’ve worked at the interface between museums or other educational institutions and schools, finding synergies in their efforts to improve science learning experiences for kids and …
Partnering With Education Read More »
IN THIS ISSUE November/December 2019 Our theme for this issue is “engaging in education.” Read inspiring examples of science and technology centers and classroom educators working together to share resources and build on each other’s successes. Get inspired to take on a new partnership with your local school system, or use ideas in these articles …
Dimensions, November/December 2019—Engaging in Education Read More »
By Cristin Dorgelo Science and technology centers and museums engage in education and engagement with myriad individuals and groups in many different ways. It is essential that we pause and examine some of the relationships that help us make the greatest impact in this education and engagement work. This issue will explore the different ways …
Partnering with Teachers and Schools Read More »
Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. Talia Milgrom-Elcott, founded 100Kin10, the network devoted to tackling systemic challenges and getting 100,000 excellent STEM teachers into classrooms nationwide. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, Milgrom-Elcott decided not to practice law and instead focused on educational …
Q&A with Talia Milgrom-Elcott Read More »
By Cristin Dorgelo This issue of Dimensions takes a close look at “moonshots”—ambitious yet achievable goals to address significant challenges for the public good. Later this month, the ASTC community will gather for the 2019 ASTC Annual Conference, hosted by the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. I’m grateful to all of you who are traveling …
A Moonshot Moment for Science Engagement Read More »
Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft Corporation’s first chief technology officer, is an inventor, an entrepreneur, a mathematician, a scientist, and a chef. According to the New Yorker, Bill Gates once said, “I don’t know anyone I would say is smarter than Nathan.” Myhrvold holds …
Q&A With Nathan Myhrvold Read More »
Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. Nicole Small, the former chief executive officer of Dallas’ Perot Museum of Nature and Science, is now president of the Lyda Hill Philanthropies, a Dallas-based foundation devoted to advancements in nature and science. Small’s most recent achievement with Lyda Hill …
Q&A with Nicole Small Read More »
By John W. Jacobsen Excerpted from Dimensions May/June 2019 A museum aspires to impact its community, audiences, and supporters. In turn, the community, audiences, and supporters receive benefits from the museum. Impacts are the effects desired by the museum; benefits are what matter to the beneficiaries. The distinction is important. Both are end results, or …
Measuring Total Impact Read More »
IN THIS ISSUE May/June 2019 We all know the invaluable worth of a science center or museum. But how do we convey that value to donors, elected officials, and others? Glowing adjectives often aren’t enough. Because of our wide-ranging activities—providing informal STEM education, partnering with the formal education process, supporting healthy community development, and making …
Dimensions, May/June 2019—Making the Case Read More »
The Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is breathing new life into some of Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest ideas in honor of the 500th anniversary of his death (it is believed that da Vinci died of a stroke on May 2, 1519). The Science Center is offering special, themed activities the weekend of May 3-5, in addition …
Honoring Leonardo da Vinci Read More »
By Emma Sussman Starr From Dimensions March/April 2019 KID Museum is a creative learning space dedicated to empowering the next generation to invent the future with creativity and compassion. Our prototype site on the first floor of a Montgomery County, Maryland, public library is a step toward the museum’s vision of a larger, permanent home. Founded seven …
Small Beginnings, Big Ambition: KID Museum Read More »
By Renata Moretti and Ennio Candotti From Dimensions March/April 2019 The idea of setting up a museum in the greatest forest on Earth—the Amazon rainforest—brought along with it some questions: How could the visitors really engage in exploration, make the visit their own, and have a transformative experience they would take away with them? With an annual budget of …
Amazonian Ideas on a Small Budget Read More »
Interviewed by Susan Straight This interview appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Dimensions magazine. The Washington Post has called Mary Roach “America’s funniest science writer.” She is the best-selling author of six books: Grunt, Packing for Mars, Bonk, Spook, Gulp, and Stiff. She has received numerous awards, appeared on national media such as the …
Q&A with Mary Roach Read More »
By Cristin Dorgelo The history of science, technology, and innovation is filled with novel ideas, creative approaches, and impressive accomplishments generated by small teams faced with limited resources and pressing challenges. Science museums themselves are hardly small in mission or purpose, and yet most face resource constraints common to many mission-driven institutions. Doing more with less, working smarter not harder, and prioritizing are solutions we all try to apply …
IN THIS ISSUE March/April 2019 It’s generally easy to notice big things, but it’s the small things that often have a profound effect on our lives. As best-selling author Mary Roach points out in the Q&A interview, the things she couldn’t see while traveling recently in India—bacteria and viruses—were much more likely to take her down than the massive …
Dimensions, March/April 2019—The Power of Small Read More »
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