UW-Madison Science Alliance Updater
19 October 2020
Hi Everyone,
Congratulations to the planners, presenters, hosts, audiences, participants and sponsors of the Wisconsin Science Festival Oct 15-18. Seven months since the closure of nearly all science & arts venues, and the cancellation of nearly all in-person events, the statewide Wisconsin Science Festival shifted to a hybrid model that included lots of online events, either by one-way web streaming or by interactive web conferencing.
I’m fond of saying “Hospitality Counts, and Venue Matters,” a philosophy I learned from Ken Smith. When the venue can also be virtual, as it has been at least since the development of educational radio by pioneers including those at the UW-Madison physics department a century ago, then our hospitality runs even deeper. When in the 1950’s the venue grew to include educational TV, we could share images as well as voices & sounds for those who welcomed us as guests into their living rooms.
Now with the advent of zooms, some people are willing to welcome us into many rooms in their homes, and we are even more so their guests, now that we can see and hear them as much as they can see & hear us.
Hospitality counts in campus science outreach because hospitality is reciprocal: if we hope to be welcomed into communities around Wisconsin, then we in turn need to welcome people from communities all around Wisconsin to campus, to our place—which as a public land-grant university is also their place.
Wide-spread access to zooms & other multi-way web conferencing has made it possible for many of us to participate in and contribute to events in communities all over Wisconsin. The 2020 Wisconsin Science Festival and other events like it have shown what a welcoming and engaging expansion in our work can occur when people are willing to welcome us into their homes, and when people are willing to share their ideas & insights from their homes with the world.
For once, the year 2020—the Year of Ideal Visual Acuity—is living up to our hopes for it: in some powerful new ways, we can see clearer & farther than ever before.
Thanks again!
Tom Zinnen
Note: please visit https://science.wisc.edu/science-alliance/ for the updater archive.
Notable This Week
1. Science Alliance meets weekly by Webex at 10:00 am Mondays, including today, October 19. Email Liz Jesse at ejesse2@wisc.edu or Tom Zinnen at zinnen@biotech.wisc.edu to receive the link. The meeting notes are archived on https://science.wisc.edu/science-alliance/.
The draft agenda for October 19 at 10am includes:
-Welcome
-Updates from colleagues and their science outreach programs
-Wisconsin Science Festival review #1, October 15-18, on line, all across Wisconsin
-Engineering Expo
-UW Science Expeditions in April: suggestions for parallel planning for online, hybrid, and in person
-Other announcements or topics
2. Please add your upcoming online programs or resources with learners of any ages to the list at http://science.wisc.edu/ and be sure to include program events in the calendar at http://today.wisc.edu and tag them with “Science” and any other appropriate tag.
3. Programming Events coming this week and soon:
Badger Talks Live: – October 21 at noon. Mary Hark, Associate Professor, Design Studies Department
“Hand Papermaking: Fine Craft, Art and Community Catalyst.” https://www.facebook.com/UWConnects/live & https://badgertalks.wisc.edu/events/
“PLATO Frontiers in Life Sciences” public seminar, by Zoom. Wednesdays at 1 pm CT. September 30 through December 9 (except Nov25). https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvcOmqqDMiEtDdb9mSYczXmivRVETlkeUp This week: Allison Bender and Caryn Walder from the Wisconsin Energy Institute on “From Grass to Gas: A BioFuels Update.”
“Wednesday Nite @ The Lab” public science seminar, by Zoom. Wednesdays at 7 pm CT. Every Wednesday night, 50 times a year. https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUrce2vrDwtHNBMv0FxIcmw56npNOhu831_ This week: Ankur Desai from Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences on “Weird Effects of Climate Change.”
The UW Now Livestream. Tuesday October 20, 7pm CDT Speakers: Chris McIntosh and Matt Lepay
Virtual Saturday Science Workshop with UW Space Place. Oct 24 at 10:00am. Check at http://www.spaceplace.wisc.edu/#satworkshops
About Every Two Weeks: Maritime Archeology Webinars. Tamara Thomsen and Caitlin Zant. Wisconsin Historical Society. Archive of past talks at https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS16271 Contact Amy Wyatt for dates and times.
4. UW Students speak out about Climate Change. Give a listen to these 12 “elevator speeches” from summer 2020. https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/education/AOS102/
5. From the Wisconsin Energy Institute:
October 20, 4:30 to 6:00 pm Central: Energy and the Election – ‘Forward in Energy’ Forum
How will the next four years drive national energy outcomes, such as the future of the electric grid, addressing energy justice, and international energy and climate policy? Join WEI and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership on Tuesday, October 20, from 4:30–6:00pm CT, as we use the lens of energy and climate to consider the plans, policies, and agendas of the two major presidential candidates. More info and register here.
October 29th at 4:30 pm: Climate Solutions Workshops for Educators
The Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program and the Wisconsin Energy Institute are excited to bring no-cost interactive climate solutions workshops to your middle or high school classroom. Explore the En-ROADS simulation with us as you network with other teachers and imagine how this workshop fits into your curriculum. Learn more and Register here.
6. Upcoming Events from the UW-Madison Arboretum
Virtual Lecture Series – “Land, Culture, Identity: Roots of Resilience”
Tuesdays in October, from 7:00–8:30 p.m. More at https://arboretum.wisc.edu/learn/adult-education/public-talks/ Free. Advance registration required. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffX5C9FD4UhjYp5k0cl_lHKsR9rOiCMyc55p7CMcdBJPhXEQ/viewform
– October 6. Decolonization and Indigenization of Agriculture: The Foundation of Building a Resilient Regenerative System. Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin is the owner-founder of Regeneration Farms LLC, and founder and president of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance.
– October 13. Preserving the Wisdom of the Land and Traditional Food Systems through Education. Elena Terry is the founder and executive chef of Wild Bearies, and the food and culinary program coordinator for the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance.
– October 20. Honor the Guardians, Respect the Land. Pao Vue, PhD, is a wetland biologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
– October 27. The African American Land Ethic. Lillian “Ebonie” Alexander is the executive director of the Black Family Land Trust.
Arboretum Observation Stations:
Saturdays and Sundays, 1–3 p.m., through October 25. This fall Arboretum naturalists will be available outdoors to share knowledge and stories of the land. The station is located behind the Visitor Center in the Native Plant Garden. Participants are required to wear masks and maintain physical distance. Drop-in, no registration needed. Weather dependent, may be cancelled without notice.
Five Powerful Routes to Promote Your Events: The Updater newsletter (750 subscribers), the science.wisc.edu portal, the @sciencewiscedu Twitter feed (3.2K followers), the @UWMadisonScienceOutreach Facebook page, and the today.wisc.edu calendar.
* Add your news, requests and programming announcements to the Updater by emailing them to ejesse2@wisc.edu
* Check out www.science.wisc.edu for more science activities! We’re delighted to help you promote your upcoming science outreach events. Send a note to Liz Jesse at ejesse2@wisc.edu.
* Or post your events to the @sciencewiscedu Twitter feed and to the @UWMadisonScienceOutreach Facebook page.