Ecsite Conference - Ecsite conference 2007

09:15 - 10:45 Presentations, Questions & Answers
Connecting with people: the key to communicating difficult subjects.

Convenor: Alfred Tsipa, President, Southern African Association of Science and Technology Centres, Pretoria, South Africa Presentation

Presenters:Ian Russell, Director, interactives.co.uk, North Derbyshire, UK Presentation
Rick Megginson, Director, Centre Screen Productions, Manchester, UK Presentation
Gerd Hombrecher, Board Member, KoelnPUB, Cologne, Germany Presentation

With more complex, contemporary science and technology, successful public engagement is especially difficult to achieve. Coming from very different backgrounds, each of the three speakers has found successful ways of 'connecting'. Video examples will be shown of an innovative combination of widescreen multimedia, audience-voting and a presenter, successfully bringing chemistry to life.Examples of several other projects will be used to show how complex subject matter was selected and prioritised according to relevance, appeal and interactivity. A slideshow of photographs will show how 'real people' can engage the public with contemporary scientific research.

Convenor: José Pedro Veloso, Editorial Project Manager, Visionarium - Europarque Science Centre, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal

Presenters: Nils Olander, Curator, Tekniska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden Presentation
Joana Paupério, Educational Services, Visionarium - Europarque Science Centre, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal Presentation
Professor Vittorio Silvestrini, Città della Scienza, Naples, Italy Presentation

What kind of relationships are museums and science centres establishing with the media?
As the presence of mass media grows in everyday life science centres and museums are already using them to broaden their publics and accomplish their missions in a greater scale, beyond their own physical boundaries.
In this session researchers and practitioners will present their ongoing and future activities concerning the media, with projects from TV programs produced by science centres and broadcasted to large audiences to book collections sold in partnerships with newspapers or the creation of multimedia channels aiming at a better understanding of science.
In this digital information age where all content producers can be broadcasters a wide range of possibilities awaits fresh ideas.

Convenor: Anne- Marie Bruyas, International Partnership, Fondazione Idis- Città della Scienza, Naples, Italy

Presenters: Maya Halevy, Director, Bloomfield Science Museum, Jerusalem, Israel P
Esthy Bresner, Head of Education Operation, Bloomfield Science Museum, Jerusalem, Israel Presentation
Dr Tessa Avermaete, Project manager, Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Presentation
Dr Samuela Caliari, Head of Public Programs, Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento, Italy Presentation

The session will explore significant experiences connecting strongly science centres with their surroundings, mainly urban contexts, in new “learning environments”. They look at unique opportunities to teach science and technology with a strong connection to the real world, to allow the large public, and especially youngsters, to participate in projects that are of direct use to the society. Such experiences also act as an attractive platform for disadvantaged groups, yielding a deeper experience than regular visits in the science centre. They enhance the capacity of this project to attract public also outside the museum building in the society at all

Convenors: Andy Lloyd, Head of Exhibit Development, Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Presentation

Presenters: Sara Pons, Director, Department of Professional Capacity, MRW, Spain Presentation
Per-Edvin Persson, Chief Executive Officer, Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland Presentation

Science centres increasingly have to juggle their learning and education agendas with commercial activities to help run their operations as efficiently and effectively as possible. Each requires very different skill sets yet each is part of the same business. How does an effective science centre manage these tensions and ensure that all its staff, irrespective of their individual roles, subscribe to a common vision. The Centre for Life in North East England manages a science centre, a conference and events business and a range of property interests with a fairly small team of people. This session explores how a common pool of staff can be trained and enthused to contribute to all parts of the operation.

Convenors: Professor Juergen Renn, Director, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany Presentation

Presenters: Ana Simões, Historian of Science, Head of the Center for the History of Science of the University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal Presentation
Professor Concepción Ruiz Ruiz-Funes, Director, Museo Universum, Mexico Presentation

The spread of culture in the Mediterranean and neighboring regions. What are the conditions for innovation in globalization processes? Knowledge transfer among Europe, Middle East, India, and East Asia. Which innovations in Europe and in the Far East were the result of independent developments and which resulted from (possibly hidden) diffusion?
Transatlantic colonization and exchange processes. What was the relation between the imposition of foreign cultural practices and the synthesis of native and foreign elements?
Culturally specific knowledge potentials and the import of globalized knowledge. How have new communications and media technologies facilitated the global creation of knowledge in ways that would not have been possible in the past?

Convenor: Heather King, PENCIL Research Associate, Centre for Informal Learning and Schools, King’s College London, London, UK

Discussants: Andres Acher, PENCIL Research Associate, Centre for Informal Learning and Schools, King’s College London, London, UK
Professor Sally Duensing, Visiting professor, King’s College London, London, UK

Presenters: Sheena Laursen, Experimentarium, Hellerup, Denmark
Dr Antonio Gomes da Costa, Director of the Department of Education and Communication, the Pavilion of Knowledge - Ciência Viva, Lisbon, Portugal
Silvana Barbacci, Instituto di Storia della Scienza, Florence, Italy
Christophe Chaffardon, Education Manager, La Cité de l’Espace, Toulouse, France
Elisabeth Schepers, Museum Educator, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Paul Cox, Project Manager, National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, UK
Maria Adlerborn, Teknikens Hus and Anne Solli, Universeum, Gothenburg, Sweden
Silvana Barbacci, Insituto di Storia della Scienza, Florence, Italy
Jacopo Tonini, Insituto di Storia della Scienza, Florence, Italy
Nikos Dalamagkas, Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Athens, Greece
Leo van den Bogaert, Chief education officer, Science Centre NEMO, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amito Haarhuis, Science Centre NEMO, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Halinka De Visscher, Technopolis® - The Flemish science centre, Mechelen, Belgium
Kati Tyystjärvi, Senior Coordinator, Heureka – The Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland
Florence Chappuis, Exploradome, Paris, France
Michael Morris, Bloomfield Science Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Dr Francesco Cuomo, Associate researcher, SOF-Tel, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
Marco Serpico, Associate researcher, SOF-Tel, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
Karl Sarnow, Xplora Project Manager, European Schoolnet, Brussels, Belgium
Serena Goracci, Indire, On-line resource for education materials, Florence, Italy

Posters

In this poster session, we present lessons learnt, key findings and the results and recommendations of the 14 PENCIL pilot projects’ innovative work with schools. The posters will share insights from individual projects set in a variety of national contexts in Europe and Israel, whilst also exploring cross-cutting themes relevant to settings worldwide. These themes include support for peer-to-peer learning, the design of programmes which encourage both boys and girls to engage in science, the use of evaluation techniques, and new ways of approaching scientific content in informal settings.

Convenor: Andrea Bandelli, Freelance science centre consultant, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Presenters: Guglielmo Maglio, Science & Society Projects, Fondazione Idis- Città della Scienza, Naples, Italy Presentation
Marcelo Knobel, Executive Director, State University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil Presentation
Paul Hix, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany Presentation
Rob Semper, Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA – NISE network, Boston, USA

This session will give an overview of some of the most significant projects on nanotechnology in science centers at international level, and foster a discussion on different strategies to inform and engage the public. Dialogue-based activities, games, exhibits and media will be reviewed and discussed, looking in particular at how social and ethical issues are embedded in the communication aspects, and at how scientists and researchers can collaborate with museums and science centers.

Convenor: Maria Xanthoudaki, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy

Presenters: : Maud Gouy, Project Manager, Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, Paris, France Presentation
Dr Diana Issidorides, Science Centre NEMO, Amsterdam, Netherlands (tbc) deleted
Sara Calcagnini, Education and Learning Officer, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy Presentation
Giovanni Crupi, Head of Marketing and Fundraising, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy

‘Relevance’ is the key word that, today more than ever, defines the mission of science centres and museums in society. The community finds in them ground for debate, experience and information on cutting-edge science and on issues in which citizens are directly involved. In the context of this role, should science centres and museums speak openly about sensitive or controversial issues, such as sex, violence, Aids or other illness? How can they help people be better informed and overcome the fear of ‘knowing’? This session presents case studies of exhibitions and programmes through which museums and science centres address sensitive topics and analyses methods for presenting a subject and for engaging the public.

Convenor: Mikko Myllykoski, Experience Director, Heureka the Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland

Presenters: Dr Ros Birch, Operations & Education Manager, Satrosphere Science Centre, Aberdeen, UK Presentation
Vesa Lepisto, Senior Exhibition Coordinator, Heureka - The Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland Presentation
Larry Koolkin, Program Manager of Project Systems, Creative Projects Management, Museum of Science, Boston, USA Presentation
Julie Bowen, Associate Director, Development and Design, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada Presentation

How exhibition projects are managed at different phases and at different places? Two bird-eye’s views to management tools and methods from North America and two grass-root cases from Europe, one reviewing a huge exhibition renewal project and one researching and calibrating the usability of a focused thematic exhibition

Convenor: Eva Reussner, Scientific Officer, IWM- Knowledge Media Research Centre, Tübingen, Germany Presentation

Presenters: Alexandra Donecker, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany, Presentation
Gun-Brit Thoma, IPN, Leibniz Institut for Science Education, Kiel, Germany, Presentation
Jörn Töpper, IWM, Knowledge Media Research Centre, Tuebingen, Germany Presentation

Commentator: Dr Rob Semper, Director, Exploratorium's Center for Media and Communication, Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA

The session introduces a multi-disciplinary research project that examines how the use of new technologies in museum exhibitions can foster public understanding and engagement in science. After presenting a media concept for a new exhibition at the Deutsches Museum we will look at research methods meant to assess visitors' behaviour, opinion and attitude formation, and learning processes while interacting with new media in museums. We will then discuss those issues in view of first research results concerning the reception and behavioural effects of film in a scientific exhibition. A commentator will finally look at these issues from an international perspective.

Convenor: Anne Kahr-Højland, DREAM: Danish Research Centre on Advanced Media Materials, SDU, Denmark

Presenters: Professor Alexander K Nischelwitzer, University of Applied Sciences Joanneum, Graz, Germany
Dr Sergi Jorda, Music Technology Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
Will Jackson, Director, Engineered Arts Limited, Exhibit designers/Makers, Cornwall, UK Presentation

This session will be dealing with exhibits and interfaces which seek to extend the human experience in museums by means of tangible interfaces or so-called Augmented Reality. The session will be carried out in terms of a workshop. It will underline the importance of the hands-on experience and provide room for discussion. Thus, besides a brief introduction by the exhibit developers, the session will assign priority to more informal interactions and discussions.

Convenor: Ian Russell, Director, Interactives.co.uk, North Derbyshire, UK Presentation

Presenters: Jonathan Sanderson, Freelance TV Producer, UK
Dr Karen Bultitude, Senior Research Fellow, Graphic Science (Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England), Bristol, UK Presentation
Gerd Hombrecher, Board Member, KoelnPUB, Cologne, Germany Presentation
Wendy Sadler, Director, science made simple ltd, UK Presentation

What is going on out there? Beyond the world of the science centre are a whole range of people involved in science communication. Are freelance science communicators creating competition for science centres or providing a useful support service? This session will hear from speakers from four different non-science centre roles; the TV producer; the University based science communicator; the Freelance Science Communicator and the independent company.

Convenor: Manuel Cira, NAUSICAA, World Ocean Network Coordinator, Cedex Boulogne-sur-Mer, France Presentation

Presenters: Philippe Vallette, NAUSICAA, World Ocean Network Co-chair
Bruna Valettini Acquario di Genova, World Ocean Network Founding Member, Genova, Italy Presentation
João Falcato, Oceanario de Lisboa, World Ocean Network Presentation

Founding Member, Lisbon, Portugal Guglielmo Maglio, Fondazione Idis – Città dellla Scienza, Naples, Italy Presentation

The OCEANICS European survey showed that environment protection takes priority over other problems and that science centres, museums and aquaria are the most reliable information sources on ocean matters. Visited by millions, they play an important role in the understanding of ocean research and sustainable development. To engage Europeans they have launched The Passport Citizen of the Ocean and World Ocean Day. They build a multilingual portal to disseminate scientific aquatic expertise. They consult European youth about future European maritime policy and research. The session will present this coordinated effort through partnerships and European projects: OCEANICS, OCEAN 2 and AquaRing.

Convenors: Catherine Franche, Executive Director, Ecsite, Brussels, Belgium
Peter Trevitt, Chief Executive Officer, Techniquest, Cardiff, UK

Presenters: Andrea Bandelli, Freelance science centre consultant, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dr Jorge Wagensberg, Director of the Area of Science and Environment, Foundation La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
Rosalia Vargas, Director, Pavilion of Knowledge- Ciencia Viva, Lisbon, Portugal Presentation
Lesley Lewis, Director, Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada Presentation

Major changes can put pressure on an organisation, but our institutions must strive to remain strong and fresh and above all, be able to attract and retain the best staff for the job. How can we manage strategic change most effectively, balancing the need to bring staff with us, whilst also achieving the goals that the organisation needs? How can you involve staff in the process of change? This session will provide a chance to hear about techniques that can be useful when undertaking major changes and find out what worked, what didn’t, and what was learnt in the process.

Convenor: Walter Staveloz, Director International Relations ASTC, Washington DC, USA Presentation

Discussant: Guglielmo Maglio, Science & Society Projects, Fondazione Idis - Città della Scienza, Naples, Italy

On the 4th October 2007, ICLEI, Yale School of Forestry and Environment and ASTC/IGLO will organise an international day of conversation on climate change. For IGLO, the main idea is to build on the different uses of the DECIDE game. All regional networks participating in IGLO will be asked to analyze the outcomes of the use of the game in their Region and contribute to a session at the 5SCWC. This session will discuss the European version and introduce a dialogue on how to implement the DECIDE game locally in your science centre on the 4th October.

Convenors: Hannu Salmi, Head of Research, Heureka- the Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland

Presenters: Kati Tyystjärvi, Senior Coordinator, Heureka – The Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland Presentation
Leo van den Bogaert, Chief Education Office, Science Centre NEMO, Amsterdam, Netherlands Presentation
Dr Ernst van Groningen, Lecturer, University of Dalarna, Dalarna, Sweden Presentation
Dr Sara Galcagnini, Manager, Museum Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy
Poul Kattler, Experimentarium, Hellerup, Denmark Presentation

A network of 8 science centres is developing their educational programmes for primary schools in co-operation with school authorities, teacher education institutes, science communication research institute, and schools, to create a European network linking formal and informal learning with all-European organisations Ecsite, EUN and ESHA. The main target group is primary school teacher education. The goal is to use modern, interactive science exhibitions combining the best practices of informal learning and formal education. The science centres will use the pedagogical expertise of the teachers and teacher training institutes as well as the curriculum development input by the educational authorities. The 24 project is funded by EU/DG Research.

Convenor: Gerard Cobut, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences , Brussels, Belgium

Presenters: Honor Gay, Head of Learning, Natural History Museum, London, UK Presentation
Colleen M. Schmitz, Curator of "Evolution. Tracing the Odyssey of Life", Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden, Germany Presentation
Ilaria Guaraldi Vinassa de Regny, President, Associazione Didattica Museale Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milan, UK Presentation

Evolution is the key concept to understand biology. Unfortunately, it is often regarded as a controversial issue, and teachers tend to be frightened by its complexity. The Educational Department of the Natural History Museum (Associazione Didattica Museale) of Milan has tried to correct this. Both in the Museum and in its new laboratories (Biolab) students learn through direct experience, as a tool to acquire not only information, but a scientific method to approach reality. Displays and dioramas illuminate biodiversity, exhibits and activities allow to "live" evolution. Our experience with students of all ages and their teachers shows that hands-on methodology makes the understanding of evolution easier, fun, and long-lasting.

Convenor: Tobias Wolff, Exhibition Manager, Universum Science Center Bremen, Bremen, Germany Presentation

Presenters: Mikko Myllykoski, Experience Director, Heureka the Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, Finland
Per Velk, Head of Development, Experimentarium, Hellerup, Denmark
Achim Englert, Manager, Phaenomenta, Flensburg, Germany

This workshop brings together science centre professionals discussing their own favourite science centre exhibits.
What is your personal most favourite exhibit? And why? Is your judgement based on evaluation, observation or your own emotional and aesthetical attitude?
Each participant should bring information about his/her own favourite science centre exhibit: A picture, a sketch, or a short description. The favourite exhibits will be discussed in smaller groups along questions such as: How do our favourites relate to the perception of our visitors? And are there general criteria that make exhibits successful and become “favourites”?

Convenor: Fiorenzo Galli, Executive Director, Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy

Presenters: Lars B. Riemann , Director, Park Division, Danfoss Universe A/S, Nordborg, Denmark
Judith Lewis, Company Business Director, Techniquest, Cardiff, UK Presentation
Judith Harvey, Business Development Manager, W5 at Odyssey, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Presentation
Jack Parry, Deputy Director of the Science Museum of Virginia, and Executive Director of SciencePort, Virginia, USA Presentation

How can we operate science centres efficiently and effectively? In this session, three European institutions will serve as case studies to address the key issues of operations, using different approaches to ensure science centres reach out to as many people as possible. The issue of customer demand will be raised, looking at to what extent operations systems can be designed (or redesigned) around this factor. Questions of outreach and cooperation with schools will also be relevant in ensuring our operations remain sustainable.

Discussants: Jamie Bell, Director, Centre of Learning, Petrosains: The Discovery Centre, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia Maria Xanthoudaki, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy

Poster presenters: Dawn Sanders, Head of Learning Operations, Natural History Museum, London, UK
Guy Simonin, Palais de la Découverte, Paris, France
Luka Vidic, Activities Editor, Hisa Eksperimentov, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Thomas Brandlmeier, Deutsches Museum, Munchen, Germany
Susan Meikleham, Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow, UK
Noel Jackson, Head of Education, Centre For Life, Newcastle, UK
Piotr Kossobudzki,Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw, Poland
Massimo Abbamonte, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy
Anne Lise Mathieu, La Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris, France
Steve Owens, Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow, UK
Saiful Bahri Baharom, Petrosains: The Discovery Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Shan Richardson, Techniquest, Cardiff, UK
Dawn Sanders, Head of Learning Operations, Natural History Museum, London, UK
Carla Giusti, Science Centre Director, Città della Scienza s.c.p.a, Naples, Italy
Matteo Merzagora, Scientific leader - DOTIK project, SISSA – ICS, Trieste, Italy

Explainers, animators, pilots, facilitators: whatever their name is, these professionals have an essential role in science centres and museums. A key factor determining the quality of their role is training. Recent research studies show a great diversity among different institutions: rather than a limit, this can be seen as an enriching factor requiring more intense and organised exchange of best practice. Examples of structured, often very creative, “lifelong” training can be found; these usually involve external speakers, drama workshops, exchange of facilitators among different science centres, daily practice through which facilitators update their competences in terms of content, engaging schemes, etc. The poster session will aim to share experiences on the training of facilitators, and to discuss key problems, new challenges and old difficulties.

Convenor: Paul Cox, Learning Manager , National Marine Aquarium , Plymouth, UK

Presenters: Bart van de Laar, Project Manager Science LinX, University of Groningen, Netherlands
Alejandra León- Castellá, Executive Director Fundación CIENTEC, Executive Director RED POP Network for the Popularization of Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean, San José, Costa Rica Presentation
Karl Sarnow, Xplora Project Manager, European Schoolnet, Brussels, BelgiumPresentation
Maya Halevy, Director, Bloomfield Science Museum, Jerusalem, IsraelPresentation

A science centre website offers a wealth of opportunities from marketing and promotion to engagement and dialogue with the wider world.
Our websites cater for public who have visited our centres, who intend to visit our centres and also for those who may never visit our centre. The challenge is for the website to offer genuine experiences and learning opportunities for our web ‘visitors’ that neither compete against nor diminish a physical visit.
In this session, four speakers share their experiences of delivering virtual science centre experiences and online experimentation.

Convenor: Professor Mike Bruton, Director, MTN ScienCentre, Cape Town, South Africa Presentation

Presenters: Juan Nepote, Scientific Communication Coordinator, Trompo Mágico, Museo Interactivo, Jalisco, Mexico Presentation
Peter Donhauser, Vienna Museum of Technology, Vienna, Austria Presentation
Alfred Tsipa, President, Southern African Association of Science and Technology Centres, Pretoria Presentation
Ian Russell, Director, interactives.co.uk, North Derbyshire, UK Presentation

Dedicated staff at UNIZUL Science Centre, South Africa, have made remarkable use of extremely limited resources. We will be shown how this has been achieved. To attract repeat-visits, science centres need to offer new experiences. At Trompo Mágico in Mexico, low-cost, temporary interactive exhibits are being developed. The strategy for producing a low-budget exhibition at the Vienna Museum of technology will be described. The exhibition features scientific research, education and training. We will be shown how to prioritise simple, highly popular, ‘exploratory’ exhibits. We will learn that low-cost exhibits can often be more effective than expensive ones!

Convenor: Axel E. Hüttinger, Director, Kurt Hüttinger GmbH, Schwaig bei Nürnberg, Germany

Presenters: Dr Peter Anderson, Consultant, Lilac Cottage, Suffolk, UK Presentation
Mark Greenway, Director, Greenway Associates, Morden, UK Presentation
Dr Jack Rouse, Director, Jack Rouse Associates, Cincinnati, USAPresentation

According to the view of a wise old design consultant who has worked for science centres for the last 40 years, a goodly part of all projects, dealing with the enhancement of public understanding of science and the humanities, are massively flawed. Why is that so, and what are the secrets of those projects that were set up successfully, and their operations are solid? And what is the role these professional for-profit service suppliers, such as consultants, designers and fabricators, that constantly trundle from one project to another? This session should give representatives of the commercial suppliers - consultants in planning, design and financial control - a chance to say their truths, and help potential new projects to avoid pitfalls.

Convenor: Lizzy Cox, Head of Touring Exhibitions, Natural History Museum, London, UK Presentation

Presenters: Alan Draeger, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA Presentation
Terri Ruffley, Director, Live Events, HIT Entertainment, UK

How does licensing work and what are the pitfalls? Our experts offer advice, experience and case studies as examples of what to consider when entering into this area which requires expertise in a wide variety of fields - Intellectual Property; brand enhancement; licensing; international law and institutional governance.
What are the risks and rewards? How do you evaluate potential partners and establish a "brand match"? How is the institution's brand represented and protected? How do you relate the extent of the licence to the fee charged? This investigates "exhibition derivatives" and how they contribute to mission and margin in a world where exhibitions must deliver both.

Convenor: Sofoklis Sotiriou, Head of R&D department, Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Athens, Greece

Presenters: Anne Kahr-Højland, DREAM: Danish Research Centre on Advanced Media Materials, SDU, Denmark Presentation
Sampo Puoskari , Text Designer , Tietomaac science centre, Oulun Kaupunki, Finland Presentation
Jochen Leinberger, Diploma Designer, Institute for Technology oriented Design Innovations, Germany Presentation

New technological applications anchored in the digital content infrastructure enable us to personalise and interact with exhibits (and scientific content) in science centres and museums in innovative ways. These technologies provide us with the ability to access, use and understand today's digital information in the future, through innovative systems and tools. Creation and management of intelligent content need to be more effective. The new learning environments that are responsive, personalised and that intuitively adapt to the learner's and teacher's needs can motivate, engage and support development of skills and competences. This session presents a series of examples that demonstrate innovative ways of interacting with content.

Convenor: Claudia Bade, co-ordinator of International Relations, Le Vaisseau, Strasbourg, France

Presenters: Achim Englert, Manager, Phaenomenta, Flensburg, Germany Presentation
Erik Jacquemyn, Chief Executive Officer, Technopolis - the Flemish science center, Mechelen, Belgium Presentation
Asger Høeg, Director, Experimentarium, Hellerup, Denmark Presentation

In March 2006 the Vaisseau realised a large-scale report on its first operating year, and as a result it decided to organize a large benchmarking study to learn more about other science centres and children museums around the world. It is not easy to compare science centres which are in different countries, each with different cultural, financial and sponsoring situations. The international benchmarking of the Vaisseau was a first attempt to create a database. After a short introduction why and in which ways the Vaisseau organised this benchmarking study different partners who participated present how they participated, a member of the Ecsite board would explain the interest of Ecsite in similar studies, and a open discussion should help to identify how we should cooperate and work on this project in the future.

Presenters: Professor Anna Stetsenko, Developmental Psychology Department Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, USA

What do you envision when you hear the word "learning"? Is it children sitting in rows of desks quietly reading or with hands raised? Or is it children using science materials to explore, discuss, and imagine new ideas? What different possibilities are created by these different scenarios? How can science centers design for the richest kinds of learning? Professor Anna Stetsenko, from the City University of New York, will lead an interactive presentation, drawing on Vygotsky and the CHAT school, to explore what we know about how people develop and learn through social interaction and implications for science museums.