Dear MAPS Member,
The staff and volunteers of the Treworgy Planetarium at Mystic Seaport would like to invite you, MAPS friends and colleagues, to join us from May 30 – June 2, 2018, here in beautiful Mystic, Connecticut for the 2018 conference. The gathering, as always, is a great time for MAPS Members to re-connect, brainstorm ideas for education programming, and share with each other all of the wonderful things that we are doing at our home planetariums!
Here in Mystic, we are excited to be able to host our annual conference at the nation’s premier maritime history museum! Since 1961, the Treworgy Planetarium has served as the Seaport’s “science center”, inspiring visitors to draw connections between our maritime history and the world around us. The meeting spaces we will utilize for our workshops and presentations will provide picturesque views of the Mystic River waterfront, with historic vessels dotting the shore in a re-creation of a 19th century coastal New England village.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Full STEAM Ahead!” In the maritime world, this phrase is, “used to indicate that one should proceed with as much speed or energy as possible.” What a fitting way to summarize Astronomy Education in the 21st century! And of course, the reference to STEAM is no accident, as we encourage our workshops, lessons, papers, posters, and panels to celebrate the multidisciplinary approach we all take to fulfill the missions of our various organizations. We hope that, in addition to attending our conference, you will consider submitting a proposal to present a talk, lesson, workshop, poster, or panel discussion.
Continuing a long-standing MAPS tradition, our annual banquet will be highlighted by the Margaret Noble Address. This year’s address will be given by Patty Seaton, the Planetarium Specialist at the Howard B. Owens Science Center in Lanham, MD.
We are pleased to announce that, with the generous support of numerous sponsors, we will be able to maintain the low registration costs from past MAPS conferences. The full registration is $150 if paid by April 30, and you can register by mail or online through the MAPS website (www.mapsplanetarium.org). We hope to see you all here in Mystic at the end of May!
Brian J. Koehler & Your MAPS Executive Board
Supervisor, Treworgy Planetarium at Mystic Seaport
Conference Host