NISE Network Blog

Partner Highlight: Introducing the #EPSpaceFestival, El Paso, Texas

November 1, 2018

Meghan Curry, Insights El Paso Science Center

On Saturday, September 29th El Paso, Texas celebrated its first space festival with over 500 attendees, 10 NISE Network Earth & Space activities, 10 local space organizations, and an astronaut! This was NEVER our intention. What started as a simple...

NISE Network's first participation in the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) Conference was stellar

October 31, 2018

Kayla Berry, Museum of Science

This year the Network explored new conferences, including SEPA/WAC (a joint conference of the Southeastern Planetarium Association and the Western Alliance Conference of planetariums) and more recently the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) Conference , which is a professional organization...

Celebrating "Out of This World" Chemistry Events Across the Country

October 31, 2018

Kayla Berry, Museum of Science

October has been a busy month for NISE Network partners hosting National Chemistry Week and spooky STEM events and festivities, and engaging their audiences in hands-on chemistry activities and other STEM activities from NISE Net's Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry and Frankenstein200 kits. We look forward to seeing partners' Let's Do Chemistry events online throughout the rest of the year!

vacuum apparatus for molecules in motion activity

Testing the Vacuum Chamber (Mini-Bell Jar) in Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry kit Molecules in Motion activity

October 10, 2018

Catherine McCarthy, Science Museum of Minnesota

We just wanted to remind NISE Network partners who received a physical Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry kit to take a look through your kit and become familiar with all the activities and materials before you hold your events. We’ve...

Partner Highlight: A World Record Breaking Event That Was Out Of This World!

October 8, 2018

Jen D'Agostino, Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium

When your Executive Director asks you to “dream up something big,” you dream up something big. And what could be bigger than breaking a Guinness World Record? On Friday, August 10th, the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium , located in St...

ASTC 2018 Conference Recap

October 5, 2018

Kayla Berry, Museum of Science

This year's 2018 Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Conference was another great opportunity for NISE Network partners and colleagues to reunite through participation in workshops and conference sessions, activities in the exhibit hall and Network booth, as well as...

Partner Highlight: Tackling the Future of Human Genome Editing One Conversation at a Time at The Franklin Institute

October 4, 2018

Jayatri Das, The Franklin Institute

What’s the future of human genome editing? The Philadelphia community tackled this question at The Franklin Institute’s Editing Our Evolution forum on September 15, 2018. As chief bioscientist at the Institute, I’ve been anticipating this event for a long time...

Partners Unpack Their Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry Kits!

October 4, 2018

Kayla Berry, Museum of Science

The NISE Network's Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry kit has been sent to 250 partners all across the U.S. for use during National Chemistry Week (October 21-27, 2018) or for other chemistry and public outreach events being hosted between October and December. Check out the partner excitement and anticipation as they receive, unpack, and prepare to host their own Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry events!

Editing Our Evolution Forums: Facilitating a National Dialogue on Human Genome Editing

September 11, 2018

David Sittenfeld, Museum of Science

Organizers at 28 informal science education institutions hosted the project’s newest Editing Our Evolution forum between February and September. Host sites have included universities, science centers, community biolabs, and other kinds of public spaces. The Editing Our Evolution forum was developed with input from synthetic biologists, social scientists, informal science educators, and other stakeholders. The three forum scenarios each focus on a different case study in which participants consider the perspective of an individual who is affected by a genetic disease.

Partner Highlight: Hands-On Demonstrations with Digital Visualizations: Creating Dynamic Learning Environments at the California Academy of Sciences

September 7, 2018

Hannah Kang, Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences

The Morrison Planetarium presenter team at the California Academy of Sciences was fortunate enough to receive the Earth & Space toolkits for 2017 and 2018. Planetarium presenters have featured these demonstrations on our museum floor multiple times, including at our weekly “cocktails and science” NightLife adult events. NISE Net hands-on demonstrations help us address some of the hottest topics in astronomy, from gravitational waves to the possibility of exoplanetary life.