Headed to Anchorage for a two-day conference for the Outreach to Space exhibit. Unsure what to really expect when I get there, just a general outline of Day 1 - talk about exhibits; Day 2 - talk about how cool Outreach is when you need dog sleds to get you to your schools.
It should be an interesting experience. It is the first of what I hope will be many conferences and professional development opportunities for me this year. I've been teaching science outreach for several years, learning from those who have done the job before me, from research and websites, from experience. And now I'm starting to see it from other perspectives, expanding the resources of experience that I can call on when looking for solutions to problems. It can be overwhelming - there are thousands of educators in the world, hundreds who do outreach. Trying to gain the sum knowledge available from their experiences is more than an lifetime of work.
I was talking to one of the museum's many volunteers this weekend. He comes from the Silicon Valley and the technology-insanity with years of attempting to just keep up with the tons of knowledge that are being produced every day. And now, retired and comfortably living in a calmer world here in Oregon, we were contemplating the value of always being so concerned about knowing what everyone else is learning and doing. If you're always reading the new information, the reviews of the new discoveries, and the debates about them, how much time are you leaving yourself for learning something new yourself? On the flip side, without knowing what's out there, what opportunities do you miss out on? How do you find the balance?
Coordinating the exhibits for the next year or so was not necessarily an opportunity I sought out, but there is a good feeling involved in bringing science out to the community. Perhaps being here and talking with other people who work with these exhibits will help me find something to be excited about.
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