September 2020

#66

Uncertainty

FEATURES

IN DEPTH

The uncertainty of it all by Frank Kupper

LOOKOUT

Lessons learned from the pandemic

COLUMN

It's ONline by Stephane Berghmans and Mikko Myllykoski

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.
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The uncertainty of it all

In depth

We live in uncertain times. Months after the start of the pandemic, science is still trying to make sense of what exactly is going on.

The uncertainty of it all

Frank Kupper

Lessons learned from the pandemic

Lookout

Lessons learned from the pandemic

Margaret Honey

Bruno Maquart

Julia Pagel

Ed Rodley

Mizuko Ito

Mikko Myllykoski

Jeffrey Schnapp

Maria Xanthoudaki

Wiktor Gajewski

Our next two flagship events

Column

Fresh information on the 2020 Ecsite Directors Forum and on the 2021 Ecsite Conference.

Our next two flagship events

Stephane Berghmans

Mikko Myllykoski

From the Ecsite office

Ecsite Directors Forum: It's ONline

Don't miss this yearly gathering for Senior managers of Ecsite's Full Member institutions - this year online.

On 29 and 30 October 2020. Discover the programme and register

2020 Ecsite Directors Forum, 29-30 October - It's ONline

Welcome Aleksandra and Shane

“La rentrée” has brought us two fresh faces!

Shane and Aleksandra

Obituary

Sir Ken Robinson: 4 March 1950 - 21 August 2020. Maria Xanthoudaki says goodbye to the voice of creativity.

Ecsite Conference

Call for session proposals open

Team up and submit a great proposal by 23 October. All about the call

Session at the 2015 Ecsite Conference in Trento, Italy © Ecsite / MUSE

Our tools to help you shape a Conference session

The Ecsite app, our Conference Forum, the FAQs... Here's all you need to know.

Session at #Ecsite2018, in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit @Ecsite/NHMGeneva

BEST DISCOUNT FOR #ECSITE2021

Ecsite members get the best conference discounts. Apply for membership by 16 November and you will too. Here's all you need to know about membership

Exhibit at #Ecsite2021

Our booth bookings will open in October. Stay tuned!

#Ecsite2019 Business Bistro. Credit: Ecsite/Experimentarium. Photographer: David Trood

EU news

Cuts to R&D budgets could trigger EU brain exodus

Without sustained funding, scientists will leave according to Science Business.

ESOF Trieste

Tackling climate change improves general health and well-being.

Details of a report from the European Environment Agency

EEA

From Ecsite European collaborations

We won six new projects!

And over 20 Ecsite members from across the network will be involved with these projects.

Horizon 2020

Which topic for the next CoRRI Workshops?

The second cycle of the co-creation workshops developed in SISCODE takes place in November. Tell us which topics would interest you.

workshop

EU-Citizen.Science

EU-Citizen Science new functions provide a community forum, training resources and inter-operability between platforms- discover what has been developed over the summer

EU Citizen Science is live

Good reads and resources

Still relevant

Our Lookout from September 2019 extended the discussion of decolonisation to scientific collections. Re-visit 'Decolonising the Museum' here.

Permanent exhibition at the newly re-opened AfricaMuseum, Tervuren, Belgium

Cutting edge technology and storytelling at Belfast’s reefLIVE Aquarium

The £12 million reefLIVE Aquarium will be opening in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter in 2022, offering an immersive, fully engaged visitor experience with live displays and cutting-edge narrative technology.

Belfast’s reefLIVE Aquarium

Virtual Online Museum of Art opens online

The Virtual Online Museum of Art (VOMA), the world’s first virtual museum, has officially launched online with exhibits including ‘As We Meet’ and ‘Degenerate Art’.

The Virtual Online Museum of Art (VOMA)

Planet Word Museum to open on 22 October

Washington DC’s Planet Word Museum, debuting with interactive exhibitions and high-tech displays will open 22 October.

Planet Word Museum, Washington DC

Resetting the way we teach science is vital for all our futures

COVID-19 has forced big changes in the way lessons are delivered, but education worldwide needs an even more radical rethink as this article from the World Economic Forum discusses.

World Economic Forum

Misinformation

There are two new resources on the timely area of misinformation- the first is a recorded session from ESOF entitled "The quest for reliability in the face of an ‘infodemic’": handling scientific uncertainty in unfolding debates. Also, the Harvard Kennedy School has created a very useful and Misinformation Review journal.

Harvard Kennedy School

COVID-19 and Climate Change

Euroscientist examines how COVID-19 and climate change are connected crises and the lessons we can learn from the past few months in this regard.

COVID-19 and Climate change

Two new citizen science webinars

In May, ECSA and EU-Citizen.Science launched a new series of citizen science webinars. You can now watch these on ECSA’s YouTube channel. More webinars will be taking place in the autumn!

ECSA - European Citizen Science Association

Opportunities

Selection of international courses and conferences

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

Cross-network webinars - register now

Inviting all Ecsite members CEOs and Senior Management - spaces are limited and registration opened on 8 September.

All six networks are taking part in the forums

EMBL Science and society conference

The 21st EMBL Conference takes place virtually this year and will discuss biodiversity loss. Registration is now open.

The EMBL Conference - 4-5 November

Job: Director

The Natural History Museum of Geneva is looking for its next Director. Job description and application in French. Apply by 19 October 2020.

UN Summit on Biodiversity

The United Nations Summit on Biodiversity will take place as part of the UN General Assembly in New York on 30 September.

From Ecsite members

Mikko Myllykoski is the new director of Heureka

The temporary appointment was made permanent as of 3 September 2020.

Mikko Myllykoski

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 (on maternity leave)
Shane Heneghan, Acting 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
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

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

Frequency: monthly since April 2015 - issue 66, September 2020