ASTC 2023 Annual Conference

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  • 1.  Welcome to the ASTC 2023 Conference.

    Posted 08-09-2023 16:00

    Welcome to the ASTC 2023 Annual Conference Community! We encourage you to use the community to connect with your fellow attendees – ask questions, get advice, start a running group, find a roommate, or even begin to develop session proposal ideas for 2024!

    Let's get the conversation started! We had so much fun in Pittsburgh last year and this year we are aiming to "engage" in a great time as well. 

    What's your favorite "conference attendee" tip? Comfy shoes (all that walking!), bring a water bottle and hand sanitizer?  Mine is to use my badge holder as a business card holder – that way you always have them handy, and you are not searching through your bag!  Share your tip – just click "reply to group" to respond in this thread.





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    Daniel W. Bateman
    Conference and Community Coordinator
    ASTC
    Washington DC
    dbateman@astc.org
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  • 2.  RE: Welcome to the ASTC 2023 Conference.

    Posted 08-11-2023 21:59

    Daniel, thanks for getting the ball rolling!  One of my favorite tips is to mark all the sessions I might be interested in on the app, even if there's more than one I'm interested in that are the same time, and add them to the My Schedule section.  That way, if I'm in a session that doesn't quite resonate, I can quietly slip away and I already have a back-up session chosen in advance.

    Maybe I should make that Tip # 1b.  Tip #1a is load the app in advance!



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    Barbara Punt
    President and Chief Project Manager
    Punt Consulting Group
    Hermosa Beach CA
    barbara@puntconsulting.com
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  • 3.  RE: Welcome to the ASTC 2023 Conference.

    Posted 08-17-2023 13:17

    I can't believe the conference is right around the corner! My favorite tip is to attend the Navigation and Network Gathering--while I think it's essential for first-timers, this will be my 10th(!) conference and I still make a point to attend every year. It's a great way to meet folks and get to know the host city!



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    Kalie Sacco
    Associate Director
    The Lawrence Hall of Science
    Berkeley CA
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  • 4.  RE: Welcome to the ASTC 2023 Conference.

    Posted 08-17-2023 13:50
    Edited by Melissa Reynolds 08-17-2023 13:50

    These are all great tips!!! My recommendation is to bring a spare mobile device charger - the conference app will be useful and folks may use QR codes/other links to interact during sessions or in the Exhibit Hall. There are opportunities from morning through the evening each day of conference, so pausing to charge your phone can sometimes be a challenge.



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    Melissa Reynolds
    Manager of Strategic Initiatives
    Carnegie Science Center
    Pittsburgh PA
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  • 5.  RE: Welcome to the ASTC 2023 Conference.

    Posted 08-17-2023 14:46

    Hi all! My biggest tip is to attend something outside your comfort zone/silo. Work in exhibits? Go check out something related to floor volunteers. Education? Try something related to memberships. Are you at a large institution? See how small organizations deal with their unique problems. Museum leadership? See what some of the concerns are that floor staff have. The advantage of a big conference like ASTC is you can learn about things you don't normally have a chance to. These have been some of the most useful ones I've ever attended as they help me understand issues from a viewpoint I haven't considered before. So squeeze in a session you might not otherwise consider attending!



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    Timothy Rhue II
    Principal Informal Education Specialist
    NASA's Universe of Learning, Baltimore MD
    NASA's Universe of Learning
    he/him/his
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