Back from Hiatus

After my trip to Athens, I turned around and came back to the U.S., not just back to New England, but all the way out to Los Angeles for the Association of Science-Technology Centers meeting. I’d never been to an ASTC meeting before, and was going because we (Mark and I) had a clip running in the fulldome showcase that was held at Griffith Observatory. It was also a good chance to visit “my” exhibits again at Griffith, and also to catch up with my old friends and colleagues there. We don’t all see each other often enough!

So, I hopped a plane in Athens and 22 hours later found myself in Los Angeles, jetlagged but glad to be back “home” in the U.S. No slam on Athens; I loved running around and meeting with folks at the CAP meeting. But, as any traveler knows, it’s always good to get home again.

The ASTC meeting featured a number of interesting talks that, as I get more interested in doing exhibit work and also as I do more “production” work along the lines of the vodcasts Mark and I are doing, give me an opportunity to learn from other people who do the same kinds of work for science centers. In that regard then, going to ASTC was a “must-do” event. And, I did meet a LOT of new faces mixed in among the science center folks I already knew.

Science outreach is going to become (if it isn’t already) one of the more crucial means for scientists to impact people who may not ever consider becoming scientists but who are interested in what science is and does. In the U.S. (and in some other countries) science is facing increasing onslaughts from pockets of ignorant thought, borne by people who can’t bear the rational thought that science requires, and are blind to the beauties of the scientific universe. It’s tough for me to understand such ignorance, mostly because I don’t see any need for it to exist. Nonetheless, it’s there. And so, I do what many others do, try to teach about science as best I can through my books, exhibits, scripts and other works. We’re all scientists at heart; we’re born that way, to question the universe and seek to understand how it works.

Perspective

Travel Will Do It

I spent last week in Athens, Greece, at a meeting called Communicating Astronomy with the Public. About 250 or so folks from around the world attended, and we heard a number of cool presentations about people communicating astronomy through various means, including planetarium shows, lectures, films, etc. I actually presented two poster papers, one about the Griffith Exhibits and my work writing them, and the other about a vodcast project I’m involved with that will be up and available soon (more on that as it comes up).

Of course, at these meetings, some of the most interesting things we learn come from hallway conversations and discussions during coffee breaks. I got to talking with a pair of gentlemen who live and work in South Africa, Zululand, and they were telling me that they cannot afford expensive exhibits, planetarium instruments, etc. But, they do want them, so they go around to facilities around the world, asking for equipment that is no longer used, exhibits that are being replaced, etc., so that they have something to teach their students about astronomy.

That conversation was an eye-opener. Most of us live in societies that have what they need; yet here are people who want to do what all of us space and astronomy educators/outreach types do, yet they have to beg for the leftovers from our feast. It really gave me something to think about!