Shawn Carlson's Museum Assignment

Forrest M. Mims III

A few months ago Shawn Carlson, Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists, called to discuss a major new opportunity. He was being considered for the post of Executive Director of the SciTech Hands-On Science Museum in Aurora, Illinois, near Chicago and wondered what I thought about the possible new position.

The Chicago area has great potential for both Shawn and SAS. The annual Citizen Scientist Conference could be held at the SciTech Hands-On Science Museum, and attendees might also want to visit Chicago's famous Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry. Moreover, the move could provide a major new forum for the Society for Amateur Scientists, citizen science in general and Dr. Shawn's Labrats program.

The more we discussed the possibilities, the more hopeful I was that Shawn would receive and accept the appointment. As you can read in the News section of this installment of The Citizen Scientist, Shawn was offered and has accepted the position.

In his announcement, Shawn mentions some of the important new opportunities that his museum appointment will provide the citizen science community, including, "My taking this position means lots of great things. First, the move will give the citizen scientist community a new brick-and-mortar structure to serve as its base of operations. From now on we'll have a great central location for our members to gather each year for our annual conferences. It will also give many of you a place to teach and to share your expertise with the next generation. If you've got your own books or science kits to sell, or if you want to get young people involved in an appropriate research project that you are working on, the SciTech Hands-On Science Museum could become a great resource for you. And there will be more benefits besides!"

Shawn's announcement also mentions a vision we both share. "Forrest Mims once proposed that everyone who enters a science and technology center should have the opportunity to do real science. In other words, Forrest argued that everyone who enters a science and technology center should have the opportunity to become a citizen scientist. I think he's absolutely right. And I am very happy to tell you that Forrest's vision is about to become the new mission at SciTech. This new focus on citizen science means great new opportunities for citizen science outreach."

Interactive exhibits and demonstrations have transformed science centers and museums. What do you think about visitors doing some real science when they visit museums? Please read the previous editorial about this, send your thoughts to Backscatter and consider posting your ideas on the SAS Community Forum.