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.
Vesna PajićDagmara SzawdynKarsten MadsenAntonia CaolaFriso Visser
Meet at the bottom of Experimentarium’s iconic helix staircase for a playful and entertaining session on the if and how of implementing the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in our science centres and museums. How far are...
Audrey O'ConnellJulie LeclairIraklis KalogeropoulosMichael BradkeCynthia DoumbiaAGAPIOS GRIGORIADISThomas HofbergerDong ZhangPhilipp HorstCorrado CanoniciAlanna DavidsonIlse WachtelaerJennifer ChowNoa HaimAsli SamadovaHeidi Pinchal
A preview of current and upcoming touring science exhibitions across Europe and the world. This fast-paced session will give you a glimpse of a large range of exhibitions on offer, leaving it up to you to make contacts and find out more.
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Vanessa MignanSarah FunkSebastian MartinMeie van Laar
How do we build capacity to engage and collaborate with communities outside our walls through tinkering and making? By offering the tinkering approach to learners and educators in communities and contexts outside our venues we can build genuine...
Kate KnealeJohn SearMalvina ArtheauRan PelegDaniela De Angeli
The GameLab is an informal space dedicated to gaming.
It will be open throughout the three days of the Ecsite Conference (even during coffee and lunch breaks). It is a drop-in space, with an exciting mix of workshops and demonstrations as...
Stacey FreemanSandra RodegherPaolo DegiovanniSara BaggeLeonardo Svarc
Games can push the boundaries of identity and knowledge by providing a safe space to explore actions and consequences. By taking on personas, visualising large systems on their table top, or wrestling with complex decisions, participants can...
All detailed information about this workshop can be found here.
Matteo MerzagoraMarianne AchiamChristine ReichMaria Isabel Garcia
What specific efforts can science centres make to be more inclusive and more welcoming, not only as public spaces, but also as science communication hubs? As a public space, they must improve accessibility and relevance for different audiences,...
The local Hellerup School just around the corner from Experimentarium stands out: no fence separating the school from the street, no walls dividing the school in classrooms. Instead, learning spaces that substitutes for classrooms and students in...
Rob SemperArne SchirrmacherMaurice BitranLindsay BiermanGillian Thomas
1969 was a significant year. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, the hippies came of age, the Beatles performed for the very last time and the Internet was invented. That same year the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto and the Exploratorium in San...
Luigi AmodioBecky GilmoreBaerbel AuffermannHaydn Antoniw
When visitors engage with a scientific topic, what role can the sense of place play? How important is it to them to encounter a place “where science happens” or where a notable discovery was made? What effect can this have on engaging with...
Sebastian MartinMeie van LaarMonika MayerShivani Singhal
In this conversation corner session, we’ll focus on some of the most common challenges encountered when facilitating tinkering activities. These issues can include how to work with parents in a drop-in session, ways of training staff and...
Patricia VerheydenChristel LE DELLIOUPaul VoogtStacy WakefordErik JacquemynBarbara Malinowska Pohoryles
When renewing or redeveloping a science centre or science museum, different challenges present themselves. Which hurdles did the speakers and the participants encounter? Which tactics were used (or will be used) to overcome them? What worked and...
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