Ecsite Space Group annual meeting: the next steps
On 3–4 November, the Ecsite Space Group held their annual meeting at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Italy.
The Space Group includes more than 80 institutions that exchange ideas and design collaborative projects to raise awareness amongst the general public of European space activities.
The group is led by Marc Moutin, Director of Exhibitions at Cité de l’Espace, Toulouse, France; Ana Noronha, Executive Director of Ciência Viva, Lisbon, Portugal; and Maria Menendez, ESA’s Head of Corporate Exhibitions and Events.
In Milan, representatives of museums, science centres, Ecsite and ESA discussed: new collaborative projects around the theme “Space for life”; updates to the kit developed for the ESA–Ecsite campaign “Hook up with Rosetta” 2013-2014; and contributions for the next Ecsite annual conference, “The Colour of Cooperation”, in Graz on 7–11 June 2016.
Science centres and museums have agreed to develop one collaborative project each year. This decision was based on conclusions from a workshop in Trento and a feasibility study carried out by Ecsite. It is also in line with ESA milestones in human spaceflight, Solar System exploration and Earth observation.
The space group will meet again in Graz during the Ecsite annual conference in 2016 for a two-day workshop on 7–8 June. The first day will be dedicated to the project of 2016 about the International Space Station, including the presentation of the new kit. The second day will cover the projects planned during 2017–18.
During that workshop, co-leaders Cité de l’Espace from Toulouse and Tycho Brahe planetarium from Copenhagen, Denmark, will present a set of panels for an exhibition on “The International Space Station: Living and working in Space”.
In 2017, the Science Museum Principe Felipe of Valencia, Spain will produce an educational project related to the ExoMars mission called, “Is there life out there?”
In 2018, Ciencia Viva, in Lisbon, Portugal will produce audiovisual material on “Climate change: monitoring the atmosphere and oceans from space”.
Museums and science centres across Europe will work with the leaders of each of these projects and ESA, to develop a ready-to-use kit that will be disseminated and promoted by Ecsite.
During the Ecsite Annual Conference 2016, in Graz, a dedicated session will be held on “The Colour of Cooperation in Space”, chaired the Nemo Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
In addition, the traditional Business Bistro will provide the ideal platform to present and share communication tools to promote European activities in space.
For more information about the Ecsite space group, please visit:
www.ecsite.eu/activities-and-services/thematic-groups/space-group
Report of the pre-conference workshop 2015:
To join the space group and receive the newsletter:
http://ecsite.us3.list-manage2.com/subscribe?u=b9bd22e3c78a3b9e398b3d061&id=fc05378598
