Association of Children's Museums

InterActivity 2009 Online Session Proposal Form

InterActivity 2009 will be held April 28-30, 2009, in Philadelphia, PA. Please Touch Museum is the host museum. In addition to inviting nationally recognized keynote speakers, ACM and the 2009 Program Committee are soliciting session proposals. All ACM members are encouraged to submit a proposal.

Proposals are sought that address all the ways that children's museums achieve impact, including but not exclusive to: building revenue streams, welcoming audiences of all abilities, making membership matter, promoting health and wellness, collaborating with community partners, embracing diversity at all levels, expanding educational impact, creating innovative exhibits and environments, modeling sustainable building practices, leading for organizational success, stating the case for play, conducting research, delivering exceptional customer service, advocating for children and families and revitalizing communities.

Proposals will be assessed on the following criteria.

Relevance of session proposal to the conference theme
Speakers provide diversity through their experience (including outside the museum field), background, location
Demonstration of innovative, and preferably data-driven, approach
Timeliness of the session topic to the field
Degree of audience participation worked into the session
Proposal meets presentation format guidelines

Online Session Proposal Deadline: July 14, 2008

Contact:
(full name, title)

Organization:

Address:

City, State, ZIP, Country:

Contact phone:

Contact email:

Session title:

Titles with more than 40 characters will be automatically shortened.

Session description:

Seventy-five word limit.
Write in the third person (Do use "participants will learn"; Do not use "You will learn")
First priority: describe the session content, second priority catchy language.
See examples of great session descriptions.

Discipline area:

Please check one (or two) discipline areas that categorize your session.
New for 2009! Four new session tracks have been added in response to professional development needs. If submitting a proposal that addresses Diversity, Health, Membership or Play, please check that box and check one major discipline area box.

Major Discipline Areas:

Finance/Development

Programs/Education

Exhibits/Environments

Leadership

Marketing/PR

Visitor Services/Operations

New Tracks:

Diversity

diverse boards, staff & volunteers
multicultural understanding
inclusive communities

Health

activating healthy behaviors
environmental improvements
collaborating on children and family health issues

Membership

acquisition & retention
creating a dialogue
anticipating needs

Play

research & evaluation
nurturing creativity
supporting free-play

Session format:

Please check one. All session times are 60 to 75 minutes in length.

Facilitated Dialogue: In this format, one to two session facilitators initiate discussion on a topic, open the floor to participants and summarize main points. Facilitators must be experienced in facilitating and should be experts on discussion issue. The abstract should include a topic description and the names, titles, affiliations and specific qualifications of all facilitators.

Research Session: In this format, two to three researchers share their findings around a central theme with practitioners, focusing on the application of research to practice. Each presentation should run 15-20 minutes and leaving at least 20 minutes for questions. Abstracts should include the main premise of each researcher's work, summary of supporting evidence and conclusions reached.

Panel Session: In this format up to four presenters provide an in-depth look into a common issue or content area. The session structure must allow for 10 minutes of questions following each presentation and provide handouts. Abstracts should describe presentations in detail and what supplementary material will be provided to attendees.

Roundtable Discussion: In this format one to two facilitators host a table and lead an informal discussion on a specific topic within a discipline area. Under the guidelines, no A/V support is available for roundtable discussions, but handouts are encouraged. Roundtables may be held during a meal function. Abstracts should include a topic description and summary of facilitator experience.

Audio/Visual

I understand that ACM will provide microphones for presenters

LCD Projector Needs:

No LCD projector for PowerPoint or other visual display is needed for this session.

Yes, a LCD projector for PowerPoint or other visual display is needed for this session.

If Yes, I understand that ACM cannot provide computers for use with LCD projectors and that it is the responsibility of the session presenters to supply their own computer/laptop.

Speaker information

You must read, agree and select the following five (5) statements.

1) I understand that as the contact person, it is my responsibility to secure session presenters and to disseminate all logistical and other information to session presenters.

2) I agree that neither myself, museum, nor session presenters will use the session as a platform to promote products or services of any kind.

3) I understand it is my responsibility to register myself for InterActivity and to inform all speakers that they too are solely responsible for registering themselves for InterActivity by the Advance Registration deadline.

4) I understand that speakers do not receive honoraria, complimentary registrations* or paid expenses to present at InterActivity. *Guests from outside the museum field, including academics, will receive a complimentary one-day registration for the day on which they present; eligibility for complimentary registration is at the sole discretion of ACM.

5) I agree that all presenters for this session will be fully-informed that they must be available to present any day (April 28, 29 or 30) at InterActivity 2009 AND I that they I will not participate in more than two InterActivity sessions.

Use the space below to list the suggested speakers for this session, however, you do not need to identify all speakers in order to submit your session proposal. The person submitting this form will be listed as the moderator unless otherwise noted.

1. Speaker Name and Title:

Organization:

Address:

City:

State:

ZIP:

Email Address:

Speaker is: Confirmed Not Confirmed

2. Speaker Name and Title:

Organization:

Address:

City:

State:

ZIP:

Email Address:

Speaker is: Confirmed Not Confirmed

3. Speaker Name and Title:

Organization:

Address:

City:

State:

ZIP:

Email Address:

Speaker is: Confirmed Not Confirmed

If needed, please use the space below for a short note about the session presenters.

Session proposal authorization

The executive director or CEO of my museum is aware and endorses this session proposal.

I confirm that I have submitted information and answered all questions truthfully and to the best of my ability.

**Please only press the Submit button once and wait for the Thank You page to appear to confirm that your email has been sent.

Samples of Great Session Descriptions from the InterActivity 2008 Final Program

Title:	Capital Dollars and Sense
Discipline area:	Finance
Format:	Facilitated Dialogue
Session description:	According to an American Association of Museums survey, 53 percent of museums are in the midst of renovating, expanding or constructing new facilities. This session will focus on options available for bridging the timing gap between when institutions incur expenditures and when they receive contributions, as well as discussing the practical "how tos" and "what fors" of initiating and running a successful RFP process.

Title:	Children’s Museum Investigation (CMI): Family Learning Episode
Discipline area:	Exhibits
Format:	Research Session
Session description:	What are effective ways to support caregiver-child interactions? Twenty children’s museums have formed a partnership to investigate how families play and learn in exhibits. Hear the results of this investigation and learn about the benefits and challenges of doing this type of research.

Title:	Promoting the Power of Play
Discipline area:	Promotion
Format:	Panel Session
Session description:	In July 2007, three children's museums from across the country set out to promote how play benefits lifelong learning. Learn about successful strategies for promoting play and receive template materials and guidelines for promotions that can positively impact your attendance, event participation and media coverage.

Title:	The CEO's Role as a Community Leader
Discipline area:	Leadership
Format:	Panel Session
Session description:	The CEO must be more than the leader of an organization. This session will discuss the director's role as a community leader and why this role is an important regardless of a museum's maturity, size and location. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss how a director can be at the table with other leaders to chart the community's future.

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