Still basking in the enthusiasm birthed during the Year of Science 2009, The Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) keeps the momentum and hosts it first invitational conference On March 16-18, 2012, at the Biosphere 2 facilities outside of Tucson, Arizona. Actually it is an UnConference, bringing together artists, educators, scientists, technologists, hobbyists and more to discuss and demonstrate who we share science and technology to others. Over 60 participants have signed up to attend the meeting; and they are coming from every walk of life and from all over.
The COPUS UnConference will be a participant-driven meeting and we'll focus on three major themes: 1) Building a community of public science engagers, 2) Defining the overarching issues in public science engagement, and 3) How to measure the impact of public science engagement locally, regionally, and nationally.
The goals of the meeting are to
- strengthen and expand the COPUS network by creating new connections among attendees during and after the meeting;
- create an architecture of engagement for future science convenings that cross domains of science outreach (informal, formal, academic, and corporate) that do not normally interact, but need to;
- provide direction for future activities of the COPUS community by evaluating what is currently being done, identifying new needs, and building upon ongoing successes; and
- provide a new forum and recognition for those conducting public outreach.
True to the grassroots mission of COPUS, the UnConference program is being crafted in real time by the attendees and non-attendees alike at the COPUS Unconference Wiki. You can also join the conversation by following us on Twitter - @COPUScore and using the hashtag #sci4all - for anything related to public engagements/outreach of science. You can also join the COPUS Facebook Group.
Stay tuned for more upcoming COPUS UnConference details.
