Annual Conference sessions
Browse all conference sessions since 2010
Science ♥ society
2019
"The blob: a genius without a brain".
2019
"Mathematics as Material Play"
Equity & Inclusion
2019
A blindfolded experience to grasp visual accessibility requirements.
Business & fundraising
2019
The session explores different models for financing our institutions and tackling the biggest challenges we face in the search for a diversified and balanced model.
Strategy & vision
2019
The Supreme Court of the Ecsite Conference will decide whether virtual reality (VR) in museums and science centres is visceral reality providing vital reactions, or just virtually rudimentary and very rubbish.
Research, theory & evaluation
2018
James Beacham is a particle physicist involved in the ATLAS experiment at CERN. Watch a video of his keynote.
Science ♥ society
2018
“Go forth and collide, Multiply and create” is the motto of our Science Assembly. Inspired by religious revival meetings, we will offer you songs, laughter, inspiration, and meaning.
Exhibit development
2018
Are you facilitating creative team processes? Tired of always using the same old tricks? Interested in the wider potential of creative techniques? This session is for you.
Strategy & vision
2018
What is the future of science centre exhibitions? Do we need to stick to scientific phenomena, or focus on high tech and current science? Do we concentrate on objects or interaction? Or are physical exhibitions becoming obsolete in the digital era?
Research, theory & evaluation
2017
Professor Alice Roberts is an anthropologist, author and broadcaster, and Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. Watch a video of her keynote.
Science ♥ society
2017
Nina Simon has been described as a “museum visionary” by Smithsonian Magazine for her audience-centred approach to design. Watch a video of her keynote.
Research, theory & evaluation
2016
Dr. Frans de Waal is a Dutch-American biologist and primatologist known for his work on the behaviour and social cognition of primates. Speech title: Prosocial Primates: The Cooperative Background of Our Species
Equity & Inclusion
2016
Dr. Elizabeth Rasekoala is the President of African Gong – the Pan-African Network for the Popularisation of Science & Technology, and Science Communication. Watch a video of her keynote.
2015
Andrea Illy is the Chairman and CEO of illycaffè S.p.A., a family coffee business founded more than 80 years ago. Watch his speech on Ecsite's YouTube channel.
Strategy & vision
2014
Professor Ian Goldin is Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professor of Globalisation and Development at Oxford University. He delivered a speech entitled "Individual and Collective Wisdom and Failure".
Science ♥ society
2014
Ahmet Üzümcü is the Director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2013.
Strategy & vision
2013
Dominique Pestre is a social and political historian.Hos speech was entitled "What kind of innovation for the Anthropocene?". Watch the keynote on the Ecsite YouTube channel.
Strategy & vision
2013
Susan Greenfield is a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford and delivered a speech entitled “ The neuroscience of creativity – Making the most of 21st century technology”. Watch the keynote on the Ecsite YouTube channel.
Strategy & vision
2012
Martin Rees, Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, gave a speech entitled "Space exploration, life and the cosmos".
Strategy & vision
2012
Carlo Ratti, Professor at the MIT, gave a talk entitled "Future Cities - The real-time city is now real!"
Science ♥ society
2011
Derrick de Kerckhove, Professor at the Department of French and former Director of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto, gave a speech entitled "Navigating among the shoals and reefs of social, state and business controls in science and technology".
Strategy & vision
2011
Michael Jones Chief Technology Advocate, Google, gave a speech entitled "The Billionth Visitor".
The first Ecsite Conference took place in 1989. Here you can browse all Conference sessions since 2010. Use the search engine to look for people, topics...
Looking for an older session? Our digital records start in 2007, with programme pdfs attached to each conference page.
Tuomas OlkkuHeidi RosenströmClaudia VelhasIan Brunswick
As an industry, we are able to share and copy good practices more freely than many other fields of business. Sometimes the best way to learn is to move into a new culture and work side by side with peers there. A new face in the organization can...
Explainers & visitor services
Ian SimmonsJohn DowneyElin Roberts
Humour eases all sorts of communication – where does it work when communicating science? Panellists will share their thoughts on successful uses of humour in science communication and on not so successful ones and invite thoughts from the...
Michael CreekJan RiiseErnesto Paramo SuredaAntonio Gomes da CostaLeonardo AlfonsiLuigi Amodio
Science communication at the urban level has been in the spotlight in the very last years and thanks to European projects, building partnerships at the local level is becoming more widespread. At the same time experiences developed in some...
Luigi AmodioGuglielmo Maglio
Exhibitions on the human body are among visitors’ most remembered and enjoyed experiences. Even if the general topics tackled by human body exhibitions are similar, science centres and museums can deal with them in very different ways, reflecting...
Explainers & visitor services
Leonel AlegreIan BrunswickInês OliveiraCarmen Guerra
Everybody talks about it on the street, it stands on the front page of all newspapers and TV news programmes are fighting to get the best scientists in town. But how is your science centre addressing this hot topic?
In this gamified...
Research, theory & evaluation
Maria XanthoudakiPreeti GuptaAnne Kahr HällmanKevin CrowleyBrad IrwinJen DeWitt
Understanding the learning impacts of informal science settings is a topical and challenging issue. Learning in such places has been under-researched and under-theorised, hampering the field’s ability to address policy and broader concerns around...
Explainers & visitor services
Kayte McSweeneyJessica BradfordJulia EllrichLouise WindfeldtLucia MartinelliLing Lee
Science isn’t always appetizing. The nature and impacts of scientific research can sometimes be hard to swallow. This session explores the approaches taken by museums across Europe, including MUSE and the Science Museum in London, to engage...
Explainers & visitor services
Nathalie CapletAnna GunnarssonLa Vergne LehmannAlex Johnson
We throw things away because we want to forget them. But they don’t cease to exist. Dealing with the vast quantities of waste from our modern lives is a major environmental and economic concern.
This is an important message, but engaging...
Jan Alfred AnderssonKayte McSweeneyHolly HastedGunnar BehrensBaudouin Hubert
Assessing what makes a good exhibit is an important issue but definitely not an easy one. Defining objectives and assessment criteria for developing or purchasing an exhibit can easily become a wish list which isn’t easily attained. The...
Johannes-Geert HagmannMarit TeerlingCaroline TurreYuko Okayama
To work in a science centre or museum may sometimes seem like an exotic profession. Yet, while each institution faces different challenges, the professional knowledge acquired through many years of experience can benefit other actors in the field...
Selecting designers and other agencies in creative projects can be an ordeal on both sides of the table. Especially in a time when resources are scarce, we look for efficient ways of selecting and contracting. Classical pitches and modern...
Are you planning to set up a new science centre? If so, this is the session for you. We won’t give you all the answers, but will introduce some key people who have helped others with new science centre projects. You will hear about where...
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