Science Expeditions is a month-long series of science outreach events, developed and produced by Science Alliance, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison each April.

What is the kickoff event?

The kickoff event for Science Expeditions, held the first Saturday in April, is the initial big public event of the month. First held in 2003, the kickoff event includes big lecture-shows ("Science Spectaculars"), a few dozen Exploration Stations, Open Houses or Extended Hours at campus outreach venues, and possibly other events.

Where is the kickoff event in 2005?

Unlike the previous two years, the main home of the kickoff event in 2005 will be the Engineering Centers Building, at the corner of Breese Terrace and University Ave. This 2002 building is one of the more attractive new UW buildings and offers some striking exhibit space.

Who is the target audience for Science Expeditions Kickoff Event?

The general public. However, we take an "all ages" approach. In other words, your exploration station should have some way to engage kids, but should have information that is attractive to and informs adults as well. The reality is that many families come as a group.

What's a Science Spectacular?

A Science Spectacular, usually held in a large lecture hall, is a science learning experience presented by an expert, and often featuring vibrant, colorful, fascinating or loud demonstrations of scientific phenomena at work. The two big Science Spectaculars in Science Expeditions are Bassam Shakhashiri's Chemistry is Fun show and Clint Sprott's The Wonders of Physics. There is usually at least one other Science Spectacular in each year's iteration of Science Expeditions.

OK, then what's an Exploration Station?

An Exploration Station is a booth or table containing items that attract the public to touch, feel, handle, smell, see, observe, manipulate or alter them, and in the process, become intrigued by a a puzzle, paradox or problem to examine, explore, experiment or resolve. The Exploration Station is staffed by a Puzzle-Giver who may or may not be an expert in science, but whose chief talent is in coaching, coaxing and cajoling a learner to explore the puzzle.

Sources for more information on Exploration Stations include the Science Alliance Exploration Stations page from 2004, the 2004 List and Description of Events, and the BioTrek website section on Exploration Stations.

How do open houses or extended hours fit in?

Despite the fact that UW-Madison lacks a large public science museum, there are science or nature venues that may or may not normally be open during the house of the Science Expeditions kickoff, Saturday afternoon. These include the Geology Museum, the Botanical Garden and greenhouses, other greenhouses, gardens and nature centers. These organizations participate by extending their hours on the day of the Science Expeditions kickoff, offering special exhibits or displays, hosting exploration stations, and booking extra staff time to welcome the public.

What's the benefit to my department or center in participating?

If your group has any kind of outreach mission or funding or desire, the extra publicity involved in Science Expeditions can ramp up participation. University Communications places advertisements in publications, Science Alliance team members go on television talk shows and morning programs, and flyers go out to school teachers throughout the region. There's no way to make a precise count, but about 3000 visitors came to campus for the kickoff event in 2004.

In addition, any student, grad student, post-doc, or young faculty member in your department or center can benefit from the experience of interacting with the public in these ways, becoming a better and more effective communicator and advocate for science in general. It seems clear that all the major grant-funding agencies and foundations are going to require increasing outreach efforts as an integrated part of the research enterprise, and Science Expeditions is a great way to gain experience.

Why do I have to register with Science Alliance to see so many of the team web pages?

For your privacy and to prevent spam. Since we want to list Science Alliance team member's names and often their e-mail addresses, we don't want to list these on 'open' web pages where anybody could gather this information and use or abuse it. Similarly, there are automatic programs that wander around the internet signing up for things and inserting their own marketing information into online databases. To prevent this, we require registration, and only allow automatic registration to people registering with a ".wisc.edu" e-mail address.

Why do I have to register my Exploration Station online? Why isn't it sufficient to just tell you I'm doing one?

We prefer that you register your Exploration Station or other Science Expeditions event online because that makes it much easier for everybody involved with this effort to keep track of what's going on. However, if it is for some reason impossible or even just annoying for you to register your Exploration Station or other event online, you can "phone it in" to us and WE will enter the information in our online database. Call 608 262-8637.

What happens to the information on my Exploration Station that I enter into the web form?

The information about your Exploration Station is immediately displayed on web pages within the team site, as soon as you click 'submit.' This way, you, as the organizer of your Exploration Station, can determine what information the public or other team members can find out about it. If at a certain point you want to rename your Exploration Station, or add or subtract features, you can login and update your information yourself. This allows Science Expeditions to be organized by a very small number of people, and for the website to be constantly updated. Follow the events tab above or this link.

Can Science Expeditions provide funding for Exploration Stations?

Yes, in 2005 Science Expeditions will be able to provide up to $200 to each exploration station at the April 2 kickoff event, up to the point where we exhaust our funding. We have enough funding to provide for about 28 -30 exploration stations. Funding priorities will be determine in part by the date at which your group first proposed its exploration station to us. It may be that some groups in 2005 are accepted to be part of the kickoff event, but are not eligible for funding because funding was exhausted on exploration stations which applied earlier.

Does Science Expeditions require receipts for the $200? Would we have to give back any money we did not spend on direct costs?

The limited funding for Science Expeditions exploration stations is intended to defray out-of-pocket expenses for handouts, give-aways, live organisms, printing posters, etc.

Several groups, which have adequate funding from other sources, do not accept their $200 stipend, which we appreciate, because that allows us to fund one more group which may not be able to participate without this help.

This year it looks like we will be using all the funding we have to assist groups in setting up and supplying their exploration stations. As of February 22, we have 27 exploration stations registered for April 2, and we are aware of several more which are in the works. Last year we funded 26. We have space in the Engineering Centers Building for up to 40.

The point is, money will likely limit participation in 2005. While we do not ask for receipts for expense items, we'd appreciate it if groups which do not need funding do not accept any. All of this is entirely voluntary on the part of the groups.

Can I ask a question that will be answered on this page?

You betcha. Fire away.

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