Location: Exploris, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A.

When :      March 12 and 13, 2004
Contacts: Robin White Mangum, After School Coordinator: 919/857-1044; [log in to unmask] 

                   Jamilyn Cole, Camp Experiences Coordinator: 919/857-1062 ; [log in to unmask]
Web page: www.exploris.org

Cost:  $50 for ASTC members

             $100 for non-ASTC members

               includes dinner Friday evening, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and an IMAX movie 

Who: Educators, Managers, and staff developing partnerships

Register: Registration ends February 13, 2004

                  Please contact Jamilyn Cole or Robin Mangum to register.

With enrollment more than doubling in its second year, Exploris's after school program for middle school students will be the spring board for our discussion. We will tackle many of the challenges that are faced by museums no matter their size or type. Topics include budgets, staffing, programming for different age groups, food, marketing, and community involvement. There will be an opportunity to observe the Exploris program firsthand.

Exploris opened in 1999. Located in downtown Raleigh, it is the world's first interactive museum about the world. Within the thirty-thousand foot facility are a charter middle school, an IMAX theater, and seven permanent exhibits (Exploris Journey Theatre, People & Places, Living in Balance, Trade Works, Many Voices, One Voice: From the Pen of Anne Frank, and Tibetan Portraits: Power of Compassion).

Students from two area middle schools attend Exploris's after school program five afternoons weekly. Snack and doing homework are followed by working on projects. Teens have focused on such themes as environmental sustainability, global economics, communications, and making a difference in your world. Activities in leadership development and performances by local artists have also been part of the program.

Jamilyn Cole, camp experiences coordinator and RAP co-host, has an MA in Museum Education from Tufts University. Prior to coming to Exploris, she was the director of education at the Loudoun Museum in northern Virginia.

Two ASTC-member institutions are located nearby. They are the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh and the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, in Durham, North Carolina.

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* "Roundtables for the Advancement of the Professions" (RAPs), respond to the need for year-round professional development for the science center field. ASTC RAPs provide a forum for museum professionals to network, to expand their knowledge base, and to identify resources. Please visit http://www.astc.org/profdev/raps2004.htm for more information and a calendar of RAPs offered in 2004.