Visitor Studies Association (VSA)
Event: 21st Annual VSA Conference
Location: Houston, Texas
Description: As the field of Visitor Studies matures, one emerging need is to create bridges to understanding among researchers, evaluators and those who apply research and evaluation within organizations. The 2008 Conference seeks to create forums for conversations about bridging theory and practice. VSA is beginning to articulate a framework for professional development experiences that should be required of those who conduct research and evaluation and to assist those who use research and evaluation in their work.

Submission Deadline: December 15, 2007

IADIS International Conference
Event: IADIS International Conference on e-Learning
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Description: The IADIS e-Learning 2008 conference aims to address the main issues of concern within e-Learning. This conference covers both technical as well as the non-technical aspects of e-Learning. The conference accepts submissions in the following six main areas: Organizational Strategy and Management Issues; Technological Issues; e-Learning Curriculum Development Issues; Instructional Design Issues; e-Learning Delivery Issues; e-Learning Research Methods and Approaches

Submission Deadline: February 25, 2008

ISE PI Summit 2008
Event: Summit
Location: Washington D.C.
Theme: Increasing the Impact and Communicating the Value of Informal Science Education
Description: At the request of the National Science Foundation (NSF), CAISE is organizing a meeting for NSF Informal Science Education (ISE) Program principal investigators (PIs), July 25-26, in Washington, D.C. The ISE PI Summit 2008 will provide PIs of recent and active NSF ISE grants the opportunity to discuss the state of ISE with other leaders in the field and to get updates on the latest directions in NSF funding. ISE PI Summit 2008 will be held at the National Zoo and the nearby Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

This event is by Invitation only, based on recent and active ISE Program awards as determined by NSF.

Expanding Informal Science Education for Latinos Conference
Event: Conference
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Description: The conference will bring together informal science institutions and science research organizations together with Hispanic organizations, media, and educational projects. The conference will share best practices in designing culturally effective programs and resources, review current ISE resources, identify needs and gaps, develop new strategies and resources to enrich the informal science learning environment for Hispanics, and design initiatives relevant to organization's interests and needs related to ISE.

The Greater Potential of Giant Screen Experiences: Connecting Society with Science
Event: Symposium
Location: Jersey City, NJ
Description: The Greater Potential of Giant Screen Experiences: Connecting Society with Science is a one-day preconference symposium that will be held on September 8, immediately prior to the 2008 GSCA International Conference and Trade Show. The symposium will be held at the Hyatt in Jersey City, the official conference hotel. Developed by the Lifelong Learning Committee of GSCA, this symposium will focus on issues in science-and-society, provide multi-disciplinary inputs to inform innovative approaches in filmmaking with learning goals, and aim for the development of synergistic producer-exhibitor-distributor relationships. The symposium will include presentations by experts in cognitive neuroscience, education, science communication, and the evaluation and communication of science and scientific controversy. These invited speakers will provide participants with insights on how best to seize upon the greater educational potential of giant screen film experiences. The symposium will offer opportunities for dialogue between the invited experts and science communication researchers; and for giant screen filmmakers, exhibitors, and educators to address key issues in the giant screen industry.

Registration Limit: Registration for the Symposium is limited to the first 125 registrants.

GSCA Conference
Event: 2008 International Conference
Location: Jersey City, NJ and New York City, NY
Description: The GSCA International Conference and Trade Show is the most highly anticipated giant screen cinema event of the year, and it promises to be an event you won't want to miss. The conference will include: new films, films in production and films in development, professional development sessions, technology updates, the industry's only trade show, the prestigious GSCA Achievement Awards

Early Registration Deadline: July 11, 2008

The American Zoo and Aquarium Association
Event: 84th AZA Annual Conference
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Description: The Milwaukee County Zoo hosts the 2008 Annual Conference, September 15th - 18th. Visit Milwaukee for lots of information on what to do, where to eat and shop, as well as practical information on ground transportation and the convention center. Committee meetings will be held on Sunday, September 14 from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm and Monday, September 15 from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Conservation Program meetings will be held on Monday, September 15 from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. AZA might schedule some of the larger groups to meet during the conference program sessions that run from Tuesday, September 16th through Thursday, September 18th. If this is the case for your group, we will contact you regarding the scheduling details. The deadline for submitting requests for meeting space is Friday, March 21. All AZA Committees, TAGs and SSPs wishing to meet in Milwaukee must submit a request form. After March 21st, meeting space will become available to non-AZA organizations who wish to meet at the Annual Conference.

National Conference on Science and Technology in Out-of-School Time
Event: Conference
Location: Chicago, IL
Theme: STEM Learning in Out-of-School Time Settings
Description: This first-ever conference will bring together a national cross-section of program providers, researchers and policy-makers in the growing movement for science and technology in out of school time. Sessions will include research-based best practices, curriculum development, and evaluation, with a particular focus on equity and access issues for underrepresented populations. The conference is targeted at national and local leaders, researchers, program service providers, policymakers, executive directors and presidents of informal science institutions, leaders of community based organizations, and researchers and policy-makers tracking national trends in innovation and workforce development.

Western Museums Association
Event: 2008 Annual Conference
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Theme: No Limits: Museums Define the Future
Description: As open minded as we would like to believe we are, we museum professionals often surround ourselves with artificial rules and limits that stifle the potential and possibilities of our institutions. What rules have we imposed on our collections and exhibits? What regulates our institutional mission? What limits are there on our very definition of what a museum is? In an ever changing society, museums must undergo evolution to remain relevant. But change is often stifled by the artificial limitations of our museum traditions.

Proposal Deadline: November 5, 2007
Register to Attend [PDF]

Computers and Advanced Technology in Education
Event: 11th IASTED International Conference
Location: Crete, Greece

Proposal Deadline: June 1, 2008

Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)
Event: ASTC Annual Conference
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Theme: In the Public Eye: Science Centers at the Crossroads of Science and Culture
Description: For 2008, in addition to science center basics and fundamental professional development topics in our field, ASTC invites proposals that explore all aspects of civic science. We are particularly interested in session proposals that contemplate, challenge, and enrich our strategic thinking in one or more of the following issues as they support the conference theme, In the Public Eye: Science Centers at the Crossroads of Science and Culture - (1) Research in Learning, (2) Current Science, (3)Technology, (4) Public Policy and issues, (5)Marketing, (6)Leadership and Management

Proposal Deadline: December 7, 2007

Mountain-Plains Museums Association
Event: MPMA and AMM's 2008 Joint Conference
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Theme: Meeting in the Middle
Description: "Meeting in the Middle" reflects the special nature of this year's conference, as a joint meeting with the Association of Midwest Museums to be hosted by the dynamic destination of Kansas City, Missouri. Situated at the junction of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, Kansas City, MO lies just across the river from Kansas City, KS and offers a unique meeting location that embraces both the MPMA and AMM regions. "Meeting in the Middle" speaks to the always-challenging goal of meshing theory with practice, working collaboratively, and speaking across different disciplines. The Conference will highlight collaboration, best practices, and planning for your museum's future. Session proposals relating to any of these themes are warmly welcomed, along with proposals relating to other leadership, collection, programming and/or scholarly museum issues that address finding a good balance between innovation and tradition, theory and practice.

Proposal Deadline: January 18, 2008
Register to Attend [.doc]

New England Museum Association (NEMA)
Event: 2008 NEMA Annual Conference
Location: Warwick, Rhode Island
Theme: Sustaining Communitites: The Power of Museums
Description: What does it mean to “sustain a community”? Museums throw open their doors to hold public lectures and programs. They partner with schools to meet educational goals. They collaborate with arts and community organizations to enhance the cultural offerings in their areas. They help drive the creative economies of their regions. So think of the college art museum…the historic site…the science museum… Museums sustain and engage with communities in ways that are profound and immeasurable. Like the proverbial butterfly whose wings spark a tornado, museums gather forces and effect change even though we may not spot their subtle movements. It is our charge to increase the momentum, to engage partners, create and share ideas, and inspire people. Let’s rededicate ourselves to this endeavor.

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2008

California Association of Museums (CAM)
Event: Annual Conference
Location: San Francisco, California
Description: Like past conferences, this conference will bring together a diverse group of museum professionals from across California for a stimulating and enjoyable exchange of ideas, perspectives, and resources. San Francisco, a vibrant city of arts and culture, will be the backdrop for a notable conference with evening events at several cultural institutions. The conference will take place at the newly renovated Hotel Kabuki, located in the heart of Japantown. Join us in this vibrant city of arts and culture to share strategies and ideas for strengthening the future of museums.

Submission Deadline: June 13, 2008

Canadian Museum Association
Event: 62nd Annual Conference
Location: Toronto, Canada
Description: Is there a winning formula to enhance the relationships between museums and their communities? The CMA's 62nd conference will address the combinations of elements that represent the changing concept of citizenship. Young professionals, diverse cultural groups, stakeholders, youth, and international audiences challenge us to meet their needs for engagement, empowerment, entrepreneurship, and enlightenment.

American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Event: Annual Convention
Location: San Diego, CA
Theme: Disciplined Inquiry: Education Research in the Circle of Knowledge
Description: At a time when knowledge creation and use requires spanning boundaries between academic disciplines, education researchers can take pride in their long tradition of multi-disciplinary work. AERA's 2009 annual meeting will celebrate this tradition, and look ahead to assess new ways that education research and disciplinary inquiry might be more effectively integrated. Relations between education research and disciplinary inquiry have been reciprocal and multi-faceted. The disciplines have contributed a diverse array of theoretical insights and research methods to the study of education and its societal roles. Education research, in turn, has provided a major venue for testing theory and developing analytical methods, and its studies have helped refine and expand those theories in significant ways. More than multi-disciplinary endeavors in many other fields, education research has been inclusive in its application of disciplinary perspectives, and in its respect for quantitative and qualitative methods. The result has been a uniquely rich capacity for education research to draw on a broad range of humanistic and scientific disciplines, and to contribute widely to the improvement of education policy and practice. The 2009 annual meeting will be an opportunity for renewed discussion and expansion of the role of education research as a hub of interdisciplinary scholarship. Special attention will be paid to proposals for papers and sessions that demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary research, the significance of multiple methodological perspectives, and interactions between education and its sister disciplines in the sciences and humanities.

Proposal Deadline: August 1, 2009

Museums and the Web
Event: 13th Annual Museums and the Web Conference
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Description: Submissions are welcome on any topic related to museums creating, facilitating or delivering culture, science and heritage on-line.

Paper Deadline: September 30, 2008

Association of Children's Museums
Event: InterActivity 2009
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Theme: Declare Your Impact!
Description: Children's museums are one of the fastest growing cultural institutions in the United States. In 1975, there were approximately 38 children's museums. Today, there are more than 300 and there is a combined total of nearly $1 billion in capital campaigns underway. Why? Because children's museums uniquely provide something that has otherwise been missing from communities: a safe, enriching environment that nurtures creativity, play and lifelong learning. By demonstrating diversity in action, growing healthy families and communities and making the case for the importance of play in the learning lives of infants through adults, children's museums impact entire communities. Children's museums are helping to revitalize downtown economies; to advocate for afterschool program funding; to restore a child's natural connection to the outdoors; to save art, music, science and history education in the schools; and to ensure that cloud watching and bubble making not become lost art forms. InterActivity 2009 will showcase the many ways children's museums are making an impact. Join ACM in Philadelphia and Declare Your Impact!

American Association of Museums (AAM)
Event: 103rd Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo™ 2009
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Theme: The Museum Experiment
Description: The 103rd Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo™ will bring together the sharpest thinkers in the field and outside the field to explore the theme: The Museum Experiment. What does it take for museums to stay relevant, responsive, and real in today's society? While you're attending the annual meeting, you'll have a chance to get out and explore Philadelphia, a global city known for rich diversity, awe-inspiring architecture, a wealth of art and culture, and endless (tax-free!) shopping on clothes and shoes.

WebWise Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World (ILMS)
Event: Conference
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Theme: Web 2.0: The Power of Community
Description: The conference will explore the concept of Web 2.0 as it relates to the development of technological and digital resources in and among libraries, museums, archives, and related organizations. While museums and libraries have long been considered centers of community engagement, the new Web 2.0 "architecture of participation" offers expanded opportunities for organizations to engage audiences and provide access to their collections.

ECSITE Conference 2008
Event: Annual Meeting
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Theme: What is the Science Center of 2020?
Description: The external societal environment in which science centers operate is changing rapidly. Information is gathered and exchanged in new and often-uncontrolled or supervised ways, applied research is generating new and exciting tools of all sorts, basic research is revealing fascinating things about how the physical and biological worlds operate and intersect, and society itself is evolving along with all this. Science centers emerged in their basic current configuration in the last three decades of the 20th century. We have added some bells and whistles, are beginning to deal with Web 2.0 and various social networking systems, and are looking with interest at the emerging virtual worlds. In addition, science center leaders are examining the relationships between the public presentation of science and the academic and industrial research centers that are so rapidly expanding our knowledge and questioning the role of the science center as a research organization itself. Typically characterized as attractions for children, many science centers are struggling to be relevant to an older, adult audience, while revising the economic model to remain sustainable and viable. Where does the money come from and how is it used to further the broad science education and awareness mission? This session, an extended conversation among the panelists and the audience, will explore and discuss opportunities and challenges and attempt to visualize the science center of the near future.

International Conference on the Inclusive Museum
Event: First Annual Inclusive Museum Conference 2008
Location: Leiden, the Netherlands
Description: Main speakers include some of the leading thinkers in museum studies and leading practitioners, as well as numerous paper, colloquium and workshop presentations. Participants are also welcome to submit a presentation proposal either for a 30-minute paper, 60-minute workshop, jointly presented 90-minute colloquium session or a virtual session. Parallel sessions are loosely grouped into streams reflecting different perspectives or disciplines. Each stream also has its own talking circle, a forum for focused discussion of issues. Presenters may choose to submit written papers to the The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum, a fully refereed academic Journal. Virtual participants also have the option to submit papers for consideration by the Journal. All registered Conference participants receive a complimentary online subscription to the Journal when registration is finalised. This subscription is valid until one year after the Conference end date.

Interaction Design and Children (IDC)
Event: Annual IDC Conference
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Theme: Think outside the toybox
Description: The IDC 2008 conference will continue to present significant contributions to research, development, and practice in the field of interaction design for children. The goals of the 2008 conference are to better understand children's needs, and how to design for them, with a specific focus on creativity and innovation. We invite researchers to step outside the domains of learning and play, and to consider designing for civic involvement, for democracy, and for physical and emotional well-being, among other topics. We also invite researchers to stop thinking of "children" as a homogeneous group, and to reflect on interaction design for diverse groups of children (children from developing nations, very young children, issues of gender, race and ethnicity, children with special needs).

Canadian Association of Science Centers (CASC)
Event: Annual Conference
Location: London, Ontario
Theme: Learn To Play! Play To Learn!
Description: As professionals who believe in the power of learning through play, we know how important engaging, fun, hands-on, interactive experiences are for children and for grown-ups. We invite you to participate in an opportunity to share experiences and learn techniques about engaging audiences through play, and to have our own fun exploring emerging issues and opportunities, and celebrating all that is exciting, inspiring and successful about science centres in Canada and around the world today. We invite proposals in the following areas: (1) Playing Outside the Sandbox - New, innovative approaches to learning, programs and exhibits; (2) Playing For Keeps - Ways to build, develop, maintain, and grow relationships with government funders, donors, members, and customers; (3) Invitation to Play - How can we make new friends?; (4) Team Play - Do you have the right people in the right positions resulting in a winning organization?; (5) Playing with Science - Hot topics, breakthroughs, and emerging issues; (6) Just For the Fun of It - Share something that doesn't fit into one of our categories!

5th Science Centre World Congress
Event: 5th Science Centre World Congress
Location: Toronto, Canada
Theme: Science Centres as Agents of Change — Locally, Nationally, and Internationally
Description: Under the theme 'Science Centres as Agents of Change' the 5SCWC will emphasize the following cross-cutting sub-themes: (1) Planet Earth - Living On it, Changing It, Sustaining It: The Role of Science Centres, (2) Citizen Engagement - Increasing Engagement with Science and World Issues ... Social Responsibility, and (3) Role of Science Centres in the Future (Human Capital Building; Personal Well-being, Lifelong Learning).

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2007

Learning in Museums 2008
Event: Seminar
Location: Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN
Theme: Technology, Interpretation and Learning in Museums Description: Are you thinking about new ways to use technology in your museum? Have you been trying to develop new exhibitions, interpretive programs or virtual spaces? This program delves into the integral relationship between technology and interpretation. This two–day seminar will: address the role of technology and new media in reaching current and potential audiences; explore technologies that support interpretation programs and ways people learn in museums; research, plan, implement and evaluate interpretation programs supported by technology applications; access valuable technology and interpretation resources in technology program planning.

Registration Deadline: Friday, May 23

BRIDGES
Event: Museum/Community Partnership Conference
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Description: This conference will bring together museum and community pairs from 25 partnerships to explore best practices for developing and sustaining a shared vision of engaging underserved families in science enrichment activities. BRIDGES will provide opportunities for participants to share triumphs and tragedies and build an ongoing community of practice. A dynamic keynote speaker, poster sessions, and breakout discussions will form the basis for building a new museum/community network for science programs that serve families.

Registration Deadline: May 1, 2008

American Public Gardens Association
Event: 2008 APGA Annual Conference
Location: Pasadena, California
Theme: The Big Picture
Description: We want you to help us create The Big Picture. From out here on the Left Coast, we are worried about some Big Picture things: 1) Climate Change - We wonder what and how our colleagues are doing, saying, thinking, explaining, programming, and planning in an unprecedented time of climate change. 2) We wonder what business we are really in. Education? Entertainment? Edu-tainment? 3) Every garden is an act of conversation, but what are we saying and why? How green are our gardens and what difference does green really make? 4) Making ends meet - Are our gardens survival ready?

For complete description, please see "Pamphlet" PDF below.
Call for Sessions and Papers - Pamphlet [PDF]
Submission Deadline: October 15, 2007

International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS)
Event: Bi-Annual Conference
Location: Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Theme: International Perspectives in the Learning Sciences
Description: This conference will attempt to broaden the geographical, cultural, and intellectual scope of the learning sciences community, while maintaining its focus on the innovative consideration of learning as it occurs in authentic contexts. The International Society of the Learning Sciences sponsors two professional conferences, held in alternate years. Each includes keynotes, symposia, workshops, panels, submitted papers, posters, and demos covering timely and important issues of interest to the community and reporting recent research findings. The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), first held in 1992 and held bi-annually since 1996, covers the entire field of the learning sciences. The International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), held bi-annually since 1995, focuses on issues related to learning through collaboration and promoting productive collaborative discourse with the help of the computer and other communications technologies.

Submission Deadline: November 19, 2007

IPS2008
Event: the 19th International Planetarium Society Conference
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Theme: Explore the Edge
Description: The conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and at Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum and has something special for you whether you think Explore the Edge refers to the Edge of the Universe, Edge–u–tainment, or Edge–u–cation (with apologies to purists). The opening reception at Adler features behind–the–scenes tours of our exhibits and history of astronomy artifacts, shows, and our observatory, together with food and drink. Keynote Speaker Dr. Edward (Rocky) Kolb of Fermilab and The University of Chicago launches the conference into orbit by examining Cosmology through the ages, while focusing on the current view of the Universe. Additional, equally impressive and inspirational speakers join the lineup later. An optional mid–conference public talk will bring together Chicago–area science attentive public and IPS delegates. The Vendor Showcase using the Adler's three theaters and Vendor Exhibits at the Hyatt will stimulate you to dream of the tools and technologies you may need to enhance your theater or programming. All planetarians will enjoy another conference highlight — an Indigenous Peoples Panel. Native experts will discuss issues surrounding indigenous sky knowledge including how it is recovered and preserved, and how they would like it to be displayed.

Early Registration Deadline: May 15, 2008

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
Event: ED-MEDIA World Conference on Education Multimedia, Hypermedia, & Telecommunications
Location: Vienna, Austria
Description: Sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), this annual conference serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development, and applications on all topics related to multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications/distance education.

Submission Deadline: December 19, 2007