Association of Children's Museums (ACM) Conference 2021

Association of Children's Museums (ACM) Interactivity Conference 

May 13-28, 2021 Virtual Conference

Theme: Care, Connect, Create Resilience

Registration: https://childrensmuseums.org/interactivity/interactivity-2021/registration

Program: https://childrensmuseums.org/interactivity/interactivity-2021/interactivity-2021-program

Session Recordings: All training sessions will be recorded and will be available for registered attendees to view for 30 days after the conclusion of the conference. 

Virtual Booth Office Hours

• May 13, 2021 - May 27, 2021 - Tentatively scheduled during the conference break each day: 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
• Use the Meet Now feature of the InterActivity Attendify App, attendees will be able to instant message us anytime. We will also have office hours daily, tentatively scheduled during the afternoon break. Stay tuned for more info about office hours, locating us in the exhibitor directory of the mobile app, and how you will be able to connect with us via Zoom or another platform.
  • Week 1
    • Thursday, May 13th, 12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m. AND Eastern 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • Friday, May 14th, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
  • Week 2
    • May 17th, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 18th, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 19th, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 20th, 12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m. AND 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 21th, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
  • Week 3
    • May 24, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 25, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 26, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 27, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern
    • May 28, 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern

Projects and Opportunities 

• Download a quick summary of NISE Network projects and opportunities (revised 5-10-21) the flyer  (PDF)
• NISE Network Fact Sheets (PDFs)

Brain Dates & Peer-to-Peer Roundtable Discussions

• Friday, May 21, 2021
  3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern

The NISE Network will moderate conversations as part of the conference Brain Dates and Peer-to-Peer Roundtable Discussions. These opportunities will take place concurrently, and participants will sign up by choosing a topic of interest (not by selecting a conversation moderator, thus you will not see the NISE Network listed with our topics).

For a list of all ACM Peer-to-Peer Roundtable Discussion and Brain Date topics:
 https://childrensmuseums.org/friday-may-21-sessions

• Brain Dates - "Engaging Children and Families to Learn about the Moon"
  NISE Network resources and activities:
  • https://www.nisenet.org/moon
  • How to see the Lunar eclipse May 26/26, 2021: https://www.nisenet.org/lunareclipses

• Peer-to-Peer Roundtable Discussions resources and activities for "Engaging Young Children and Families with STEM Content"
  ​​​​​​​NISE Network resources and activities:
  • Exploring Science Practices: Early Explorations: https://www.nisenet.org/catalog/science-practices-early-explorations
  • Exploring the Solar System: Hide and Seek Moon: https://www.nisenet.org/catalog/exploring-solar-system-hide-and-seek-moon
  • Exploring Earth: Bear's Shadow: https://www.nisenet.org/catalog/exploring-earth-bears-shadow
  • Exploring Science Practices: Measure Up: https://www.nisenet.org/catalog/measure-up

Sessions

• Thursday, May 27, 2021
  11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Eastern
  How to Make Your Museum Great: Evaluation Your Team Can Do to Improve Your Educational Offerings 
  The pandemic has led many museums to develop new types of products and practices. Yet, limited social interactions make it difficult to know what our audiences need and whether our new products are working as intended. Team-Based Inquiry (TBI), developed by the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net), empowers museum professionals to gather the data they need, when they need it, to improve their products and practices. A practitioner-led evaluation model, TBI involves posing inquiry questions, collecting data to investigate those questions, analyzing and reflecting on the data, and making changes to improve practice.
  This session draws on NISE Net’s TBI resources—including a published guide with handouts and activities, a suite of videos, and prior training materials—with a new, digital spin. First, participants will hear from a practitioner about how museum professionals around the country with no prior evaluation experience have used TBI to improve their work. Next, participants will learn about the four stages of TBI. Finally, participants will work in small groups with an evaluation mentor to design and implement a mini-TBI study about a digital product. Participants will receive follow-up resources to continue their learning.
  • Elizabeth Kunz Kollmann, Manager, Research and Evaluation, Museum of Science, Boston
  • Katie Todd, Senior Research Associate, Museum of Science, Boston
  • Allison Anderson, Senior Research and Evaluation Assistant, Museum of Science, Boston
  • Leigh Ann Caulfield, Strategy and Communication Manager, Museum of Science, Boston
  • Rae Ostman, Co-Director, Center for Innovation in Informal STEM Education, Arizona State University