Countdown to our online ASPAC Annual Conference! 7 Days to go
The theme for our Annual Conference this year is "New Horizons Revealed After a Crisis: Where Do We Go From Here?"
The Hong Kong Science Museum is hosting the 2021 Virtual ASPAC Conference from November 22 (CEO forum) and the Conference proper on Nov 23-24, 2021.
Plenary Sessions Subthemes are:
Session 1: Museum Challenges Under Pandemic
Session 2: Ways to Reach New Audiences
Session 3: Responses to Global Issues
Session 4: New Partnerships and New Opportunities
Session 5: How Do Technologies Reshape Science Centres/Museums
REGISTER for these below!
For the CEO (or their representatives) Forum on Nov 22, Monday, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (GMT+8), please register here.
For the Conference proper on November 23-24, REGISTER NOW on the ASPAC 2021 Conference website for more information. Please use this code - A1123!
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Busan National Science Museum: Sparking a Connection with ASPAC
My name is Juhee from the Busan National Science
Museum and I want to start a connection with you through
this newsletter. I have been working at the PR &
Communication Division of the Busan National Science
Museum (BNSM) since 2016. Before I came to BNSM, I had worked at a public relations team at a hospital. This newsletter was my first mission as a
person at BNSM in charge of ASPAC. In previous newsletters, 2 personalities in the ASPAC network are featured as they make a connection with each other. But since I just assumed this new assignment, I could not yet find a peer I could connect with for this newsletter. So I will let you know about the story of BNSM and maybe, we can start new connections.
BNSM in Covid-19 Pandemic
Due to the COVID-19, we quickly brought our programs online. We started the
first "Untact science-sharing activity" among the national science museums in
Korea to provide science education kits and educational videos to child care
centers. We also posted scientific experiment videos online and developed
remote education programs. Untact programs such as Online Kitchen Lab and
Science at Night were also prepared for adults.
Taking a Leap Forward We are now getting ready to make another leap forward with the construction of the Children's Science Museum. Under the main theme of "connection," the Children's Science Museum will cover basic science, the 4th industrial revolution, and future technologies. The first floor is a large-scale exhibition space, the second floor is a space for scientific inquiry activities such as creativity, imagination, and thinking, and the third floor is a place to experience power, electric current and sound, and look deep into robots and the earth environment. Currently, there is a Children’s Science Hall for toddlers on the first floor of the Busan National Science Museum, and permanent exhibition halls for teenagers as its main viewers on the second floor. But with the opening of the Children's Science Museum, we will now have a dedicated place for elementary school students.
ASPAC - the bridge that connects us with the world
At the very start of my work in BNSM, I visited Questacon when I joined BNSM to sign
an MOU for running the "Australia Questacon Science Experience Exhibition" held at
BNSM. It was my first overseas business trip, and my first visit to Australia. I was too
nervous that I didn't have enough experience and too worried about so many things.
However, I can't forget the beautiful Australian weather and scenery and Questacon,
which was full of things that made learning so much fun. If I can visit Questacon again
as well as other museums in ASPAC, I will be more deliberate in what I can learn from
those institutions.
BNSM joined ASPAC because we believe that ASPAC is a bridge that connects BNSM
with other science museums in the world. We participate in the annual ASPAC
conference and meet people from around the world. At our conferences, we build a
global network, improve our competitiveness, and are able to exchange ideas about
our common as well as institution-specific directions. By strengthening international
cooperation, BNSM aims to develop into a northeast asian base of science museums.
Being part of ASPAC has also helped us kick-of and sustain a variety of international
activities. Since 2017, as part of the BNSM supporters’ association project, we were
able to support in-depth exchanges on best practices on museum operations and
other aspects between BNSM and representatives from science centers/museums
from China, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore who came to Busan.
This event gives BNSM as well as our ASPAC visitors the wonderful opportunity to
refresh each other’s perspectives and establish human connections.
Because of our ASPAC membership, we have also been able to promote an annual
program for the socially disadvantaged youth and provide them with opportunities to
visit overseas science museums. In 2017 and 2018, they visited Japan’s JAXA
Tsukuba Space Center, Miraikan, and in 2019, Science Center Singapore.
The Science Center Singapore, which we visited in 2019, was highly acclaimed
by the participants for the lectures and workshops where ASPAC President TM Lim and
Ling Ling Chew were very generous with their time and ideas. Also in 2019, BNSM
was thrilled to receive Korea's first Science Communication Award from its peers,
for its Animalpedia Project at the ASPAC 2019 Annual Conference.
Thanks to ASPAC, we can have a much more diverse and broader perspective about
our purpose and how we can fulfill it. I cannot wait until we can resume our ASPAC
events in person, once we have learned how to travel and cope safely with the
COVID-19 pandemic. ***
Post your events on FB: Any ASPAC member can post their events and offerings in the ASPAC FB page. That will be the best platform for all our simultaneous announcements. However, should there be an event that you need the ASPAC leadership to officially endorse and solicit participation in, please click here to email details to the current Executive Director. OH and IF YOU LOVE TO WRITE...: Whatever your role in your organization, if you love to write, please send me your article on whatever it is you think would be worthwhile to share with ASPAC. I cannot predict or limit what that will be as there are so many connections between our work and the rest of what others in the world are doing, This is especially ripe in these strangest of times. We are excited to see your insights! Please send me your piece and we will see how it fits in our ASPAC human story. We are excited to unearth the evolving pool of ASPAC writers! Thank you!