Art of Science Learning Conference: San Diego, June 14-15

NEW YORK, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Learning Worlds Institute announces its culminating Art of Science Learning Conference at the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), University of California San Diego, June 14-15, 2011.  

The conference – part of a National Science Foundation-funded initiative exploring how the arts can strengthen science education and spark creativity in the 21st-Century American workforce – will bring together scientists, educators, teaching artists, business leaders and policymakers from across the country.  The proceedings will showcase arts-based educational methodologies that develop collaborative and critical thinkers for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) workforce; share the latest neuroscientific and educational research on arts-based learning; and explore the connection between the arts, innovation and economic competitiveness.

Conference highlights will include keynotes by Qualcomm co-founder Harvey White and Larry Rosenstock, founding CEO of High Tech High, and remarks by Calit2 Founding Director Larry Smarr.  Dr. Todd Siler will lead a Metaphorming Workshop where participants collaboratively model ideas using hands-on arts and science-based techniques.  The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center will host a special Art of Science Learning event in Balboa Park, sponsored by Life Technologies.

Post-conference working groups will develop an online knowledge base for science educators, a research agenda for future quantitative impact studies, and a workforce development report with actionable policy recommendations.

The San Diego conference builds on Art of Science Learning conferences held earlier this year at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.

The conference is open to all; please register at www.artofsciencelearning.org.

Major funding for The Art of Science Learning comes from the National Science Foundation.  Conference sponsors include Life Technologies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Seed Media Group.  

National partners include Americans for the Arts, the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the American Association of Museums.  San Diego partners include The Balboa Park Learning Institute, CISA3 and Calit2 at UCSD, High Tech High, The Fleet Science Center, San Diego Science Alliance, and the San Diego Visual Arts Network.

Harvey Seifter is the Art of Science Learning director and principal investigator for the NSF grant. David Green is the project's content development manager. Liz Dreyer, Learning Worlds Institute Executive Director, is the conference producer.  

The Learning Worlds Institute (www.learningworldsinstitute.org) provides innovation consulting services to non-profits focused on societal issues, and creates new projects that represent breakthrough models for social change.'

Contact:
Harvey Seifter
(917) 776-1020
[email protected]

SOURCE Learning Worlds Institute