Spaceship Earth: Educating Its Crew
Hosted by the Earth and Space Science Laboratory
at Frederick, Maryland
www.MAPSplanetarium.org
https://sites.fcps.org/essl
To all MAPS members and members-to-be;
Everyone interested in astronomy education and planetarium programming is welcome at the MAPS annual meeting. This year it is July 17-20 at Frederick MD, where the name of Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society was born many moons ago. Now in the 21st Century there are more professional issues and skills than ever required in our field so this is the time to collaborate, share, learn and revitalize to advance our various missions back home. Be aware, an extra attraction this year is a pre-conference LIVEFEST! workshop on Tuesday July 16, so come early if you want to do it all.
Another of the highlights planned for this year’s meeting is a panel discussion of the Next Generation Science Standards and their impact on planetariums. Our hosts have an interdisciplinary resource facility for their school district and have stunning examples of ways that other sciences are supported. (That might be valuable to our MAPS members that are not exclusively dome professionals these days.) All the meals are included this year- no ‘on your owns’- and four of those have speakers to enlighten us. Take time to peruse the invitation letter and attachment, and you will see that this is an extraordinary year for personal and professional enrichment at MAPS.
Registration forms are readily available this year online and by mail. Existing members and sponsors will receive snail mails, but anyone can download those same document packets here. And using Paypal & Google Checkout, for the first time, Delegates can complete conference registration online. Even joining MAPS is easy with a dues payment as part of your registration or at the online Membership page.
Our web committee has prepared the form and everything is included in the process EXCEPT for the forms for vendors and presentation proposals. Please be sure to bring your own valuable experience to share in the form of a talk, poster, or workshop.
Deadlines are important. Be sure to mark your calendar and take advantage of low registration fees and hotel rooms at the MAPS conference rate! (Hotel reservations must be done separately.)
Deadlines: Reserve hotel rooms: June 15, Submit early registration: June 8.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Downloadable Documents
Delegate Invitation Packet [PDF]
Delegate Registration Packet [PDF]
The Earth and Space Science Laboratory invite you, MAPS friends and colleagues, to join us July 17-20 in Frederick Maryland for what will be a historic conference. The meeting will be a great time of camaraderie and professional development, plus the chance to shop, dine, and discover historic cities and towns, wineries, orchards, and Civil War heritage sites in Frederick County. MAPS selected its name here in 1965 with a much smaller membership and simpler technology.
Livefest! – Preceding MAPS, Tuesday July 16, our facility will host a special small dome workshop sponsored by Powerful Interactive Planetarium Systems (PIPS) and MAPS. Livefest! will focus on lessons and guidance for portable and small dome educational presenters. See enclosed info page for more details.
Generous support from our sponsors has again allowed a low registration cost. The full registration is $130 before June 8. Take advantage of their support and expertise by joining us in the rich cultural region of Frederick County.
Please make your plans early. Frederick is a great city and county if you would like to bring your family! Come early and stay late!
See you under the stars at Frederick,
Patty Seaton, MAPS President
Jeff Grills and Mark Bowman, Your ESSL Hosts
Our facility: The Earth and Space Science Laboratory (ESSL) includes a Digistar 3/ Goto-Chronos Hybrid Planetarium Projector; 35 foot horizontal dome with seating for 90. Two classrooms, an elaborate salt water aquarium system, and a variety of life, physical, and earth science displays complete the facility.
A two acre arboretum and a 15’ observatory are a part of the campus and will be available for the conference. The vendor hall will be housed in the gymnasium at the adjacent school. The cafeteria will be available for certain presentations.
Vacation time too: Summer time is a perfect time to take in historic Frederick County. The tourist board even has apps for a visitor guide, walking tour, and Maryland Civil War trails for your i-stuff and androids. Check out the site www.frederick.org for those- and more- to plan your visit. Plus, Frederick is about an hour from either Washington D.C. or Baltimore.
Our conference hotel: Just 2.5mi. from the ESSL, has extended a low group rate for our members as long as they reserve by June 15. Contact them – Holiday Inn Frederick-Conf Ctr. at Francis Scott Key Mall, 5400 Holiday Drive, Frederick, MD 21703 Phone: (301) 694-7500 Fax: (301) 694-0589. NOTE: Not the Holiday Inn Express.
Travel directions to hotel:
Driving: From I-270 Exit 31A to Rt 85 N. Turn right at first light (Spectrum Drive). Bear right immediately onto Holiday Drive. Hotel is on the right. From I-70 Exit 53A to I-270 S. Take exit 31A to Rt 85 N. Turn right at first light (Spectrum Drive). Bear right immediately onto Holiday Drive. Hotel is on the right.
By air: Shuttles are available for $85 from three airports: Dulles (IAD), Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA).
Tentative schedule:
Up-dated schedules will be provided before the conference.
Wednesday
Pre-Conference Field Trip
Evening
Welcome Reception – refreshments
Vendor demos
Shoot your mouth off
Observatory Time- Weather permitting
Thursday
Welcome
Vendor Hall open ALL DAY
Paper Talks
Break w/vendors
Vendor Talks
Evening
Break w/vendors
BUSINESS MEETING
Paper talks
Dinner with speaker
Observatory Viewing
Friday
Vendor Hall open ALL DAY
Committee meetings
Panel discussions
Break w/vendors
Lunch and Speaker
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Banquet
Saturday Morning
Plenary talks (final)
Door prizes & Conclusion
Participate and Contribute:
There are three major ways to bring your talent and unique experience to the stage in a MAPS conference. Plenary talks are short 10-12 minute talks with or without hand-outs to the general group and a short question period. Some subjects for a number of reasons are better presented with display boards, hand-outs and one-to-one conversation and a Poster paper display allows that with a dedicated period of viewing. Workshops are longer 45-90 minute engaging sessions when small groups explore specific subjects together with a leader. Proposal forms for these are located in the Delegate Registration Packet and the Program Committee welcomes one or more with your registration. And you can send them ahead of your registration form to help our hosts with scheduling.
Style and Etiquette:
Conference attire is generally work day casual but July 2013 will be a summer casual event. Many choose formal / coat-and-tie dress for the banquet Friday night. Weather typically will be hot and humid but all facilities are climate controlled.
In light of the tech culture of the 21st Century: As a professional courtesy to all speakers, please turn off cell phones, tablets, and pagers during presentations. Texting, surfing or talking during talks are distracting to all participants.
Contacts and Important Deadlines:
ESSL Mailing and Shipping Address:
Earth and Space Science Lab
c/o Bowman/Grills
210 Madison St.
Frederick, MD 21701
Phone: 240-236-2694
Host email: Jeffrey.Grills@fcps.org
Holiday Inn Frederick-Conf Ctr At Fsk Mall
5400 Holiday Drive
Frederick, MD 21703
Phone: (301) 694-7500 Fax: (301) 694-0589
Important Deadlines:
Reserve hotel rooms: June 15
Mail registration: June 8
MAPS Treasurer:
Keith Johnson Science Hall, Rowan University 201 Mullica Hill RoadGlassboro NJ 08028email: Johnsonk@rowan.edu
MAPS Program Committee Chair:
Alan DavenportEmail: Davenport@galaxymaine.com
MAPS web: www.MAPSplanetarium.org
A great series of workshops, program offerings and guest speakers are being planned.
Possible Workshops:
• Blender for Beginners
• Cosmology Panel
• Earth, Sun, Moon Models in the classroom.
• Earth/Sun/Alpha Centauri/Light Speed/Size of the Universe
• Teaching the Moon to Elementary Students
• NGSS/Common Core Update
• Quarks to Clusters
• Shoot Your Mouth Off – Think about what you would like to contribute!
Speakers:
Thursday Lunch: Dr. Chris Horne – Finding Space under the Stars
Thursday Dinner: Stephanie Bednarek – SpaceX: Private Industry in Space
Friday Banquet: Don Knapp – Lost in Space
Questions? If you have any questions, please contact
Keith Johnson; johnsonk@rowan.edu; 856-256-4389