Science Festivals as Regional Collaborations: Extending Resources by Working Together

Sunday, 16 February 2014: 1:00 PM-2:30 PM
Grand Ballroom B (Hyatt Regency Chicago)
Achieve more, with less money, in less time. This has become a mantra in science education amidst shrinking budgets and limited resources. Many communities across the U.S. have addressed this by transforming the collaborations inherent in science festivals into larger STEM networks and campaigns. These initiatives often involve dozens to hundreds of collaborating organizations, across broad geographic areas, and each reaching tens of thousands of students and families. Since 2007, at least three-dozen science festival initiatives have formed in the U.S. alone, and many of these are now growing into roles that utilize broad partnerships to maximize the impact of existing resources. This symposium examines the emergence of these regional collaborations through the lens of a variety of organizational types: a science museum, a university, and a corporation. It also examines the history and impact of these collaborations and how they are maintained, and considers their future with respect to science education.
Organizer:
Ben Wiehe, MIT Museum
Moderator:
John Durant, MIT Museum
Speakers:
Laura M. Heisler, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Wisconsin Science Festival As Case Study for Regional Collaboration
Todd Boyette, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
From Collaboration to Larger Campaign
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