Dear Colleague,

If you are interested in helping the general public understand what it is we do 
and why it is important, please consider participating in our theme session on 
this topic at the upcoming GSA meeting in Denver. This theme session (Earth 
System Science in Museums) focuses on addressing the widening gap between 
developments in scientists’ understanding of the complexity of the earth 
system, and our ability to convey that knowledge to the general public. 
Museums are at the front line of this issue because of their role in informal 
science education, and as this gap widens, they are positioned to become the 
leaders of earth systems science education. The problem is that most 
museums don’t know how to effectively teach the complexity of earth systems 
in a way that spans demographics and yet still engenders the spark of 
discovery. 

To investigate this issue and share ideas on how to address this widening 
knowledge gap, we have designed a GSA topical session to bring together 
scientists involved designing past/future earth science exhibits to discuss the 
challenges and potential of conceiving, designing, building, and implementing 
effective exhibits and programming that address earth system science. The 
basic goal is to explore how to move beyond the classic geology exhibit of 
systematically displayed mineral specimens to compelling and interactive 
displays and programming that address and teach the underlying processes of 
the earth system from the center of the planet to the top of the atmosphere 
while engaging the public at multiple levels (i.e. across a range of 
demographics) and engendering the spark of discovery in visitors. The 
overarching themes to convey will focus on effectively delivering the 
complexity of earth systems in a museum setting. The themes will include 
temporal and spatial scales, remote sensing, the use of models, and 
uncertainties. Additional education topics could include mechanisms for high 
impact outreach and the citizen science research opportunities that are 
unique to museums. 

We are looking for a wide range of perspectives on this broad topic and would 
greatly appreciate a submission from you. The session, titled “Earth System 
Science in Museums: Tapping the Potential to Engage the General Public in the 
Complexity of the Earth” is sponsored by the Geoscience Education Division 
and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. To submit an abstract to 
session T80 please go to http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2010AM/cfp.epl. We are 
planning a reception following the session to continue with informal discussion 
of the presentations. If you have any questions or would like to discuss ideas 
for a submission please don’t hesitate to contact one of us. 

Sincerely,

Ian Miller, Kirk Johnson and Whitey Hagadorn
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO 80205
[log in to unmask] 
[log in to unmask]