20-21 Nov - The Science Museum, London

Round Table Discussions

The popular discussion tables were a great success this year addressing a host of topics to hear and share new ideas and views across a host of topic areas. The session took place during the afternoon of the main conference on Thursday 21st November.

Each year, hand-picked delegates host around 20 discussion tables on a huge range of topics across every area of operations and content. The 2019 ASDC Round Table Discussions were a fantastic opportunity to hear from CEOs and senior experts from across the sector and to share best practice, skills and ideas in small, focused groups.

The full list of discussion tables is below and or you can download the Discussion Tables here.

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Sign up in the morning and during this session delegates will join a table for each 30 minute session, to delve into new content areas, learn new tips and tricks, and explore the sectors biggest challenges and our greatest successes.

You can find photos of the Discussion Table notes made from each session on our Flickr page.

Please follow the link below:

Discussion Tables

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Session 1

1. Engaging with Parliament and creating advocacy for your work (repeated in Session 2)

Chaired by Dr Grant Hill-Cawthorne, Head of The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, UK Parliament
  1. How can you engage more with Parliament and local MPs, and what are the benefits?
  2. How can Parliament better engage the public with the help of the Science Centres?
  3. How can the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology help with your work?

2. Designing the Future

Chaired by Anne Ramsay, Public Engagement Development Manager, Wellcome Trust
  1. What would an optimised vision for a future Science Centre look like?
  2. How would we collectively design this with our communities?
  3. What has been learned through the ISF Capital Programmes that brings us closer to an equitable partnership with our communities?

3. It's a rap. Using music and art to reach wider audiences

Chaired by Consensus, Rapper and Data Analyst, A/V Revolution
  1. How can we better reach demographics who are typically less engaged and under performing?
  2. How can art forms and music be used to increase engagement in the sciences?
  3. What tools can we use and how have we used rap?

4. How to create an engaging vision and strategy through participation

Chaired by Per-Edvin Persson, Independent Consultant & Linda Conlon CEO, Centre for Life
  1. How can you be bold, visionary and strategic?
  2. How do you avoid a top-down approach in strategy work and instead involve the team through a participatory method?
  3. How important are sustainability and inclusion and are they part of your core values and strategy?

5. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in our workforce

Chaired by Susan Raikes, Director of Learning, Science Museum Group
  1. What steps do we need to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our workforce and volunteers?
  2. Is there a set of principles that we might want to develop to align our efforts to address diversity and inclusion?
  3. Which organisations currently have a good set of principles we can work from? What are the next steps?

6. How should Science Centres respond to the Climate Emergency?

Chaired by Chris Dunford, Head of Sustainable Futures, We The Curious
  1. Do you think your Science Centre should declare a climate emergency?
  2. How would you declare a Climate Emergency?
  3. What targets and actions would you need to reduce your organisation's carbon emissions?

7. Does your Science Centre marketing reflect your values around inclusion and environment?

Chaired by Simon Jones CEO and Claire Van Dyke Marketing Manager, Digital Visitor
  1. Should the Science Centre's marketing channels show more of our support for inclusion and environmental issues?
  2. How can change be instigated with less traditional channels and messaging?
  3. How have you developed new audiences?

8. How much of climate change can we measure from Space?

Chaired by Catherine Fitzsimons, NCEO Outreach National Centre for Earth Observation
  1. Which of the Essential Climate Variables can we measure from Space?
  2. What schools and family resources and data does the ESA climate office have to share?
  3. Would you want to use this latest data? And how can we make it more user-friendly for Science Centres?

9. Exhibit Afterglow: Making connections beyond a visit

Chaired by Bridget Holligan, Director of Education and Engagement, Science Oxford
  1. Why is this worth doing and what types of exhibits best set up this potential?
  2. What can Centres do to encourage the continuation of an activity or interest so that the positive vibe lives on?
  3. How do you know if you've had an impact in-line with your intentions?

10. Finding climate scientists and engineers through the STEM Ambassador Programme

Chaired by Rui Octavio, STEM Ambassador Project Officer, STEM Learning and ESPERO-UK
  1. How can the STEM ambassador programme help you find climate scientists in your Centres or communities?
  2. What skills and experience should ambassadors have to support impactful engagement?
  3. What are the barriers to using STEM ambassadors in your Centres or communities?

11. Science Capital, our communities and social change

Chaired by Louise Dorrian, Senior Community Learning Coordinator, Glasgow Science Centre
  1. How does Science Capital impact on community capacity building?
  2. What approach to science learning best impacts community capacity building?
  3. How can we sustain our input to disadvantaged communities and support social change longer term?

12. Ethics and funding

Chaired by Tudor Gwynn, Operations and Projects Director, Eureka! The National Children's Museum, Halifax
  1. What happens when we follow the funding?
  2. The ethics of who we should be taking funding from and partnering with?
  3. How can we change the system if we marginalise big corporations?

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3:50pm Session 2:

1. UN Global Climate Change Conference COP 26 comes to the UK (Glasgow 9th-19th November 2020)

Chaired by Joanne Ward, Higher Education and Science Division, Scottish Government
  1. What can we do together nationally around the UK?
  2. Which UK Science Centres will be at this pivotal UN Climate Conference?
  3. Can we have a national social media campaign to reach widely through the Science Centres?

2. Taking positive action on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Chaired by Clio Heslop, Cultural Partnerships Manager, British Science Association
  1. What is the positive action?
  2. How can STEM events and activities use positive action?
  3. Where else can we use positive action in our organisations?

3. What do we know about our visitors? Findings from ISF (The Inspiring Science Fund)

Chaired by Rebecca Hurwitz, Projects Coordinator, Graphic Science
  1. Surprise or no surprise? How does this data fit with how we see ourselves?
  2. Where are the changes happening?
  3. Compared to now, what does a more equitable Science Centre look like? And are we the right people for the job?

4. Maths: Do we need to promote it more?

Chaired by Katie Chicot, CEO MathsWorldUK, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at The Open University
  1. How can inspiring a child with maths improve their overall educational outlook?
  2. Do you have or are you creating a maths exhibition or programme in your Centre?
  3. What areas of maths are most interesting for schools and families?

5. Environmental Sustainability-The strategies, teams and structures to future-proof your organisation

Chaired by Chris Dunford, Head of Sustainable Futures, We The Curious (formerly At-Bristol)
  1. How is sustainability embedded in your leadership and strategic vision?
  2. What are the teams, people and meetings you need in place to make your organisation sustainable?
  3. What structures and projects do you use to monitor and reduce your environmental impact?

6. The latest in VR technology for your Centre

Chaired by Dave Ranyard, CEO of Dream Reality Interactive, and Edd Stockwell, Head of Partnerships, MEL Science
  1. What great VR is out there now and what is it capable of?
  2. How are you using it in your Centres now?
  3. How else could we use VR and what are the considerations with headsets and costs?

7. Staff exchanges, internships and nurturing talent

Chaired by Susan Raikes, Director of Learning, Science Museum Group
  1. How are you nurturing people’s talent and capability for public engagement?
  2. How might funders and Science Centres foster staff exchanges between different organisations and between communities of practice?
  3. Are there staff exchanges, paid internships and schemes you can share?

8. How accessible are Science Centres to the needs of those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities?

Chaired by Ben Ward, CEO, Winchester Science Centre
  1. What pockets of good practice are taking place in our Science Centres already?
  2. What easy changes can we make to our programmes, exhibits and buildings to make them more accessible?
  3. How can we collectively address some of our shared larger challenges more effectively?

9. Collaborative environmental projects

Chaired by Natalie Walls, Science Engagement and ATLAS Project Officer, Dynamic Earth
  1. Are you running national and international environmental projects?
  2. Do you have resources to share?
  3. What would you do differently?

10. ASDC members feed the minds of tomorrow. Is the ethos of your exhibition reflected in your café?

Chaired by Hannah Caswell & Clare Clark, Development Managers, Soil Association Food for Life
  1. Can staff in your cafés talk confidently to the Greta’s of tomorrow?
  2. How can ASDC members factor in sustainable practices in their kitchens and menus?
  3. What are the benefits and barriers to you leading the way and setting an example in your cafés?

11. The impact of robotics and AI on venues across the UK

Chaired by Matt Parkes, Chief Commercial Officer, Tech Up and Go
  1. What can robotics do now?
  2. How can you use robots in your centres and venues?
  3. What messages should we be communicating to the public about robotics and AI?

12. Engaging with Parliament and creating advocacy for your work

Chaired by Dr Grant Hill-Cawthorne, Head of The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, UK Parliament
  1. How can you engage more with Parliament and local MPs, and what are the benefits?
  2. How can Parliament better engage the public with the help of the Science Centres?
  3. How can the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology help with your work?

You can see last years topics and questions here

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