August 2020

#65

Reinvention

Entering the scicomm field
PORTFOLIO

Digital exhibitions by Emily Cronin

Spokes – expressing the voice of the community by Maria Xanthoudaki

From the Ecsite office
Ecsite Conference
EU news
From Ecsite European collaborations
Good reads and resources
Opportunities
From Ecsite members

Spokes is edited by Ecsite, the European network of science centres and museums.
Sign up to receive the magazine each month for free.

Entering the scicomm field

Lookout

Facing and overcoming the challenges when building a career in science communication

Entering the scicomm field

Clara García-Gorro

Daniela António

Mohamed Soliman

Emer Maguire

BÁrbara Teixeira

Digital exhibitions

Portfolio

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many organisations have created or moved their exhibitions online. Emily Cronin takes us on a journey from Pixar to the Mayans, and everything in between.

Spokes - expressing the voice of the community

Column

A word from our Spokes Chairperson on the current call for articles for Spokes 2021 and new committee members.

Spokes – expressing the voice of the community

Maria Xanthoudaki

From the Ecsite office

#DF2020 goes digital

Technopolis will now host the Directors Forum online.

Technopolis, Mechelen, Belgium

Manchester to host the 2021 Directors Forum

The move online for the Directors Forum means that Manchester will now host us in 2021.

Manchester Science and Industry Museum. ©Science Museum Group

Ecsite app - connect over the summer

Don't forget you can use the app to connect and network over the summer months.

Install the Ecsite app now

Ecsite office changes

Changes are afoot in the Ecsite office - we say farewell to Project Manager Maria Zolotonosa and Special Projects Assistant Marie Couëdic. We wish them both the best of luck in their future endeavours!

Goodbye Maria & Marie

Call for Spokes Committee members

The Editorial Committee is looking for three new members to join them from September. Find out how and when to apply!

The Spokes Editorial Committee in January's meeting. Photo: Ecsite/Helen Wilks

Spokes call for articles

The call is open until 31 August - read more in this month's column from Spokes Chair Maria Xanthoudaki.

Ecsite Conference

Save the date

The 2021 Ecsite Conference will take place in Stavanger, Norway, on 10-12 June 2021. It will be jointly hosted by the Jærmuseet and the Norwegian Petroleum Museum.

Join us in Stavanger in June 2021

Call for session proposals

The call opens on 19 August - why not use the Ecsite app to connect with peers and bounce session ideas?

Create or join a meetup to discuss potential session ideas

EU news

Building resilience to future crises

Commission launches new scheme to boost innovation in regions hard-hit by coronavirus pandemic

Germany vows to push EU budget

For its stint at the head of the Council of the EU, they will prioritise pandemic recovery, research, innovation and tech.

Angela Merkel. Photo: German government, Bundesregierung/Denzel.

Bid for a strong Horizon Europe budget

EU commissioner for research and innovation Mariya Gabriel backs call for strong funding in the delayed budget.

Mariya Gabriel. Credit: Science Business

"Together for Europe's recovery"

Read about Germany's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

eu2020de logo. Credit: eu2020.de

Horizon Europe missions

Initial details on the scope of the programme have been released and focus on climate, cancer, ocean, soil and cities.

Horizon Europe. Credit: Science Business

EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030

Find out details on focus and budgeting.

The EU's new Biodiversity strategy aims to bring nature back into our lives

From Ecsite European collaborations

Citizen science and Covid-19

The project looks towards the future following the pandemic.

Citizen science and COVID19

CoRRI workshops

In July, SISCODE ran 4 sessions to get familiar with online co-creation.

SISCODE CoRRI workshops

Space in your Living Room

A series of spaceEU online events from 6 July to 30 August 2020.

Space in your living room

Good reads and resources

Still relevant

This time last year we published a Pseudoscience article from Stefaan Blancke, (re)discover it here.

March Against Monsanto, Washington DC, USA, 24 May 2014.

This 'Frankenfood' protest sign reflects an intuitive teleological understanding of nature that underlies the opposition to GMOs. 2014 March Against Monsanto, Washington DC, USA, 24 May 2014. Pic by Stephen Melkisethian.

Leading Groups Online

A guide to leading online courses, meetings, trainings, and events during the coronavirus pandemic.

Leading Groups Online booklet. Credit: Jeanne Rewa and Daniel Hunter

Smithsonian and WHO teach kids about Covid

"COVID-19! How Can I Protect Myself and Others?" helps children learn about coronavirus response.

"Covid-19! How can I protect myself and others?" Credit: @SmithsonianScie on Twitter

New ICOM President

Alberto Garlandini has been appointed new President after Suay Aksoy's resignation in June.

How much do people care about climate change?

TheConversation survey from 40 countries seeks to find out.

Tinkering as an inclusive approach

A summary from the project ‘Tinkering EU: Building Science Capital for All’ on how Tinkering pedagogy can be used to develop more engaging, inclusive and equitable STEM learning experiences for learners facing educational, social, cultural or economic disadvantage.

Tinkering as an inclusive approach for building STEM identity and supporting students facing disadvantage or with low science capital: Considerations from a reflective practice experience with teachers Published in 2020

Pandemics result from destruction of nature

UN and WHO call for legislation and trade deals for green recovery.

LEGO Study on children, tech and play

The Lego Foundation and various universities' study on children's learning and development through interplay with technology.

Lego Foundation Study: Children, Technology & Play. Credit: legofoundation.com

How technology is bringing museums back to life

MuseumNext explores tech in museums all over the world (including our members Science Museum in London and Miraikan in Tokyo).

Is this the end of touchscreens in museums?

The Science Museum Group Digital Lab investigates and proposes alternatives.

How to run a citizen's assembly

A handbook from the RSA for social distancing times.

How to run a citizens' assembly by RSA. Credit: thersa.org

Decolonising botanical collections

Kew's director of science discusses tackling ‘structural racism’ in plant and fungal science.

Autism in outdoor museum spaces

The Natural History Museum in London runs interviews and workshops to improve engagement of families with autistic children.

Anti-racist scicomm

LSE article on the misconceptions and culturally limited understanding of scicomm history and its present.

Astrolabe. Credit: LSE blog

The Future of Nature and Business Report

The World Economic Forum released the report on 15 July - read it here.

Future of Nature and Business Report. Credit: WEF

Report on digitisation and copyright

NEMO and Digitalisation and IPR have compiled a detailed report. Read it here.

EU4Ocean platform launched

More than 90 participants attended the first meeting on the EU4Ocean platform on 18 June, where they heard about successful ocean literacy partnership stories and planned for EU4Ocean events in September.

More than 90 participants joined the EU4Ocean meeting in June

News from Blooloop

Blooloop, our partner in the attractions world, has a feature on Museums after Covid-19, as well as exciting news on a new Eureka! in the UK.

The future of museums post-Covid-19?

Opportunities

Selection of international courses and conferences

Upcoming (and postponed) international conferences, calls for papers and courses in science engagement.

Cross-network executive forums

The six regional networks of science centres and museums that span the globe are offering three online forums for their members’ chief executives

All six networks are taking part in the forums

Call for video editing company

Ecsite is looking for a company to help produce a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for the EU project SISCODE. Deadline 16 August.

Video production

MuseumNext Disrupt

A four-week online professional development programme for museum leaders, innovators and makers.

'Disrupt' online conference. Credit: MuseumNext

Online NEMO conference

NEMO and the German Museums Association are co-organising "Museums and Social Responsibility - Values revisited" from 17-18 September 2020.

Ars Electronica 2020

The festival for art, technology and society will take place in Linz, as well as 120 locations around the globe.

To register for the festival, head to the website

Call - fact-checking hubs

Proposals required for the EC's creation of national/multinational digital media research hubs across Europe.

EU Presidency Trio Conference

Museums and Social Responsibility: Values revisited, on 17-18 September.

Museums and Social Responsibility Conference. Credit: eu2020de.

Two jobs at Universcience, Paris

Universcience is looking for an Export Project Manager and an Interpretation and Exhibition Lead to join their team in Paris.

European Green Capital / Leaf Awards

Apply for these two prestigious Awards by 28 October 2020.

European Green Capital Award 2023 & European Green Leaf Award 2022 - Call for applications is open

Job: Education & Learning Officer

The Wellcome Genome Campus in the UK are recruiting - apply by 17 August.

Job: Audience Research and Evaluation Manager

At the International Centre for Life in Newcastle upon Tyne. Apply by 13 August.

Internship at Effektschmiede

The Cologne-based art collective and laboratory is looking for an intern to join their team.

From Ecsite members

Life appoints new Chair

And creates its first all-woman leadership team

Life has appointed Fiona Cruickshank as Chair of its Board

A 'refreshing' collaboration

Summer, sweltering temperatures, sunshine, and …refreshing mist? A large-scale fog installation has been created for phaeno science centre by Effektschmiede.

Refreshing mist outside phaeno, Wolfsburg, Germany

Ecsite thanks the writers who have generously contributed to this issue of Spokes. Have an idea for Spokes? Check out the contributors' guide and get in touch.

Spokes is the monthly digital magazine of Ecsite, the European network of science centres and museums. It is put together by the Spokes Editorial Committee:

Maria Xanthoudaki, Head of Education and International Relations, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy – Chairperson
Helen Wilks, Communications and Events Officer, Ecsite, Brussels, Belgium – Editor
Michèle Antoine, Director of Exhibitions, Universcience, Paris, France
Andrea Bandelli, Executive Director, Science Gallery International, Dublin, Ireland
Marie Couëdic, Special Projects Assistant, Ecsite, Brussels, Belgium
Emily Cronin, Partnerships Manager, Cultural & Commercial Partnerships, Science Museum Group, London, UK
Raquel da Cunha, Communications and Events Manager, Ecsite, Brussels, Belgium
Wiktor Gajewski, Events Director, Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw, Poland
Frank Kupper, Assistant Professor of Science Communication, Athena Institute - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Elvira Rey Redondo, Communications and Events Intern, Ecsite, Brussels, Belgium

Responsible editor: Catherine Franche, Executive Director for Association européenne des expositions scientifiques, techniques et industrielles, aisbl

Frequency: monthly since April 2015 - issue 65, August 2020