AN OVERVIEW OF SCIENCE

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AN OVERVIEW OFSCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CENTERS

• Barbara Murck
• SCI398Y
• Nov. 20, 2003

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Science Technology Centers

• What do they do?
• Who works there?
• Where will they go from here?
• A closer look Ontario Science Centre

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What Do They Do?Association of
Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)

• Science-technology centers
• Science museums
• Nature centers
• Aquariums
• Planetariums

• Botanical gardens
• Space theaters
• Natural history museums
• Childrens museums
• Zoos

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Science centers typically try to

• Offer resources for learning
• Foster positive attitudes about science
• Give opportunities to discover,
• explore, test ideas
• Encourage play as learning
• Engage peoples curiosity
• Focus on interactive - hands-on
• Nothing will happen unless you make it happen

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Who Works There?

• Jobs currently being advertised by ASTC
• Outreach education specialist
• Museum educator
• Teacher programs developer
• Manager of exhibits
• Chief curator
• Funding campaign director
• Director of programs and planetarium
• And others

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Where Will They Go From Here?

• Challenges
• Find sustainable funding sources
• Maintain relevance and meet community needs
• Reach out to new audiences
• Deal with competition from leisure markets and
  destination attractions
• Keep up with innovations and new technologies
• Maintain scientific integrity

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Meeting the Challenges

• Sustainable funding
• Government relationship
• Corporate sponsorship PPPs
• Operational income
• Science and social responsibility
• Improving visitor experience
• Outreach and accessibility
• Documenting visitor learning
• Educational relevance
• Dealing with controversy and change
• Shifting focus from hands-on to minds-on
• Processes rather than just phenomena
• How science and innovation happen
• Exhibits?activities?immersion deeper
  involvement

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Ontario Science Centre

• Mission
• To delight, inform, and challenge visitors
  through engaging and thought-provoking
  experiences in science and technology

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A Closer LookOntario Science Centre

• Opened 1969 Centennial project
• First of the 2nd-generation science museums
• Ministry of Tourism, Culture Recreation
• 1,000,000 visitors per annum
• Schedule 1 agency of provincial government
• Operating budget approx. 30 million
• 60 of funding self-generated
• Sources of funding
• Government grant
• International sales
• Admissions
• Corporate sponsorship fundraising

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• Exhibits
• Permanent temporary
• Demonstrations
• Exhibit-linked programming
• Science education programs
• 92 of Ontario school boards participate
• Science School
• Recreational programs - OSCamp Sleepovers
• OSClub
• International sales
• OmniMax Theatre
• Adult and corporate learning programs
• Web site
• 75,000 visitors per month

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The Innovation ProjectFrom Hands-on to Minds-on

• Agents of Change
• Major funding from Weston Foundation and Ontario
  SuperBuild
• Seven program areas
• The Garage
• Grand Central Inspiration
• KidSpark
• The Hot Zone The Commons
• Citizen Science
• Media Lab
• Material World

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Agents of ChangeMission

• To spark creativity, inspiration, innovation and
  change
• By joining participants and partners to create
  unexpected experiences
• So that people generate new ways of seeing and
  thinking about themselves and the world.
• New questions. New solutions.
• New possibilities.

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Web Sites

• ASTC www.astc.org
• Ontario Science Centre www.ontariosciencecentre.ca