The email news buffet of ASPAC. Issue #2, October 2017.
ASPAC video for SCWS 2017 is On!
"This is ASPAC!" is the title of our video for the SCWS 2017. It is now in the cutting room (BIG thanks to Graham Durant and his Digital Team in Questacon for this)!
All out THANKS to the following for enthusiastically sending their fantastic photos and videos: Australian Museum, Dongguan Science and Tech Museum in China, Hongkong Science Museum, GNSM in Korea, Jiangxi Science and Tech Museum in China, Macau Science Center, Miraikan in Japan, National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan, National Science and Tech Museum in Taiwan, National Taiwan Science Educ Center in Taiwan, Otago Museum in NZ, Petrosains in Malaysia, Questacon in Australia, Science Center Singapore, Science Centrum in the Philippines, SciTech in Australia, Tech Dome in Malaysia, Terengganu Science and Creativity Center in Indonesia and The Mind Museum in the Philippines.
We will soon have the stitched snapshots of the work we all do in one animated tapestry in the ASPAC Session of the SCWS 2017 in Tokyo. We will also upload it in our ASPAC website as an inspiring reminder that we are better, stronger, together!
5-Step Gameplan for Celebrating ISCSMD on Nov. 10
The ASPAC gameplan is ON! It is a VERY easy 5-step game plan which any of our institutions could do, regardless of size. Below is a summary:
Plan and conduct an activity for Nov 10 which you are passionate about. For ideas, visit the ISCSMD website.
Fill up the SHORT form in this shared sheet. The DEADLINE is Oct 20, Friday).
Put your center's activity on the map!
By Oct 21, you will receive a broadcast of all the activities you have sent to me so you can see the big picture of what we will all be doing on Nov 10.
You will have a repeat "spark" moment when you will again realize that we are better, stronger, together! (We really think so!)
Read more HERE.
Send your ALOs please!
ALO-phants? No, your ALOs (ASPAC Liasion Officers) will not be burdened by loads and loads of work!
We just need ALOs as PORTALS so that s/he would:
Be able to receive ASPAC communications and communicate this to his or her management so they can respond if needed;
Ensure that ASPAC Bytes (newsletter) and other relevant ASPAC communications are also sent to all the members of their team.
Communicate to ASPAC the ideas of their member institution with regard to matters concerning ASPAC projects etc.
If you have not yet sent your ALO, may we count on you to do so? Please send their name and contact details to Maribel: maribel.garcia@themindmuseum.org
ASPAC to hold elections for officers in February 2018
To allow time for the smooth collaborations and full support needed for the SCWS 2017 in Tokyo, we have requested our current ASPAC officers to extend their terms until February 2018 when we will hold elections for a new set of officers. For the meantime, we have appointed Lee Fin Cham of Science Center Singapore to be the Interim Treasurer since Andy Giger, our former treasurer has left Science Center Singapore. We shall keep you posted. Thank you officers for agreeing to serve until February 2018!
Petrosains Holds Its Science Festival!
From September 15-17, Petrosains Discovery Centre in Malaysia held a massively awesome Science Festival which presented varied forms of science engagement with the public. With the theme "Little Plans for the Big Planet", the fun-tastic three-day festival was jam-packed with activities, workshops, and shows which promoted sustainable living.
Like last year, it also featured real-time collaboration with the Mind Movers of The Mind Museum for a science show. We hope to see more collaborations like this among ASPAC members!
ASPAC members share convenient time zones and our internet connections are just waiting to be the passageways of more ASPAC collaborations. When you have done a collaboration with another ASPAC member, please drop a note to Maribel (her email is at the end of this "news buffet) so it can be included in the next ASPAC Bytes to inspire others to collaborate!
Check out the Petrosains Science Festival official website and Facebook page.
Science Alive! will soon be back!
We received great news from Chris Davis of Science Alive! in Christchurch in New Zealand. We all know that this terrific science center was destroyed by an earthquake a few years back. But passion and determination to promote science to the public -- a kind of DNA that runs in all our centers -- will bring it back. Building plans are now ongoing and before we know it, Science Alive will be back as the National Science Center. We in ASPAC are all rooting for Science Alive!
Thank you for reading ASPAC Bytes!
Got a story to share with the rest of ASPAC? Send it to Maribel for inclusion in the next newsletter.