NISE Network Blog
Partner Highlight: Through Hardship, Haile Planetarium Continues
January 3, 2020
Christa Speights, Planetarium Director
Haile Planetarium is a 61 seat, 30 foot planetarium that is part of Northern Kentucky University. In recent years, we have had about 10,000 visitors per year. One recent expansion that has helped us grow is the NISE Network's Explore Science: Earth & Space 2019 toolkit. This is helping us get through our largest obstacle yet.
NISE Network Year in Review 2019
January 2, 2020
Rae Ostman, Arizona State University
The NISE Network had a fantastic 2019! This past year we grew our Network to include many new partners and expanded connections across the United States and around the world. Our strength as a Network comes from our collaboration as dedicated professionals, and our impact comes from the work we all do to engage our local communities. Thank you to everyone who participates in our community! Here are some of our favorite Network moments of 2019.
Remembering the Apollo 11 Moon Landing – 50th Anniversary Event Celebrations
December 4, 2019
Brad Herring, Museum of Life and Science
Do you remember where you were during the historic Moon landing 50 years ago? Can you recall the emotions that ran through you at that time? Or, perhaps you weren’t born yet but this historical feat has captured your imagination...
All 52 Sun, Earth, Universe Exhibitions Now Delivered to Partners All Across the Country!
November 26, 2019
Kayla Berry, Museum of Science
All 52 copies of the NISE Network's Sun, Earth, Universe exhibition have now been delivered and are currently on display. Collectively, the exhibition is estimated to reach millions of people a year in Earth and space science. Thank you to...
Partner Highlight: A New Virtual Learning Program: Mote SEA Show Makes a Big Splash! Sarasota, FL
November 26, 2019
Ross Johnston, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Sarasota, FL
Looking for the intersection of education and entertainment? Marine science and museums? Look no further than Mote Marine Laboratory’s new virtual learning program, the “Mote SEA Show”! Mote’s team of marine science educators is taking learning beyond the classroom, literally, with a new interactive, livestream marine science morning show. This innovative, educational broadcast focuses on illuminating what goes on behind-the-scenes in marine science and research.
Partner Highlight: Science Education Helping a Community Recover From Disaster on the Island of Hawaii
November 19, 2019
Christian Wong, Executive Director, Hawaii Science and Technology Museum, Hilo, HI
Thursday, May 3 2018 started like any other typical Hawaiian day in paradise on the island of Hawaii, the state’s largest and most geologically active island, when without warning first responders began receiving calls of cracks in the roads and unusual noises in Leilani Estates Subdivision. To this day many residents continue to struggle to recover from this life altering event, buoyed only by hope and the Aloha Spirit of family and friends in this tight knit community accustomed to coming together to rebuild after natural disasters. The State and County of Hawaii continue to deliver assistance to the communities most affected by the eruption and have tapped the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum, a NISE Network Partner, to help rebuild the local workforce and industries through STEM education and programming.
Partner Highlight: A Summer-Long Community Library Program Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission
November 4, 2019
Jake Milliron, Mobius Children's Science Museum & Science Center
The Mobius Children's Science Museum & Science Center serves a large geographic community in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, reaching both rural and urban communities. This past summer, in support of the nation-wide program, A Universe of Stories, the children's museum created programming using their Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit and mobile planetarium engaging 1950 visitors across 24 different library events, which was a 20% increase from previous summer library programming!
Congratulations to NISE Network NanoDays partner M. Stanley Whittingham from Binghamton University, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on lithium ion batteries
October 29, 2019
Catherine McCarthy, Science Museum of Minnesota
The 2019 Nobel prizes were recently announced and one of the NISE Network NanoDays partners Stan Whittingham at Binghamton University, NY was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion batteries are able...
Lights, Camera, Action! Filming for a new set of training videos has wrapped for the 2020 Explore Science: Earth and Space Toolkit
October 27, 2019
Brad Herring, Museum of Life and Science
NISE Network project staff from the Museum of Life and Science, the Sciencenter and the Children’s Creativity Museum just wrapped filming a new set of content and facilitation training videos to accompany the hands-on activities in the new 2020 Explore...
Sustainable Museums, Sustainable Futures
October 22, 2019
Rae Ostman, Arizona State University
In September, professionals from 30 different museums joined forces to help create a sustainable future. They represented the first cohort of NISE Network’s Sustainability Fellowship program, which will include over 90 organizations in 2019-2020. This program is a key part of the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability in Science and Technology Museums initiative, which provides professional development, educational materials, and other resources to help museums integrate sustainability into their public engagement work, operations, and community partnerships.