VERMONT Magazine 2020 HOLIDAY | Page 49

As Stafne remembers it , the wheels were set in motion for the formation of FourScienceVT during a period of nationwide uncertainty . “ A few days before everything started to close down across the state , I got on the phone with the directors of the other three member organizations to talk about tentative plans for how to navigate the impending shutdown . From that moment , we have remained in constant communication with one another on at least a weekly basis . Each organization has its own marketing department , education department , development department , and finance department . In the early stages of our formation , we began to develop systems of inter-museum collaboration and communication between our various departments . First , our marketing departments met with one another to figure out how to get the word out about the great work that our education departments were doing . After that , our education departments met to discuss how to best approach digital learning . Our development departments then met to discuss fundraising strategies to help secure federal grants . What we found was that by coming together and sharing ideas , we were able to better understand how we could work together to help our organizations thrive in the current context .”

Stafne says that in order to continue to provide quality educational content in a time of crisis , it was critically important to remain flexible and open to new concepts . “ When we first closed down the museums , we had to pivot our focus to digital engagement rather quickly . We had to figure out how to continue to serve our communities and fulfill our missions as scientific educational institutions . We worked together to find effective ways to adjust to constantly-changing statewide mandates regarding public businesses . During this decisive period of transition , we brainstormed on ways to help galvanize digital learning . Although our four museums operate in almost entirely separate scientific niches , we decided to merge our resources together to ensure the maximum educational benefit for our respective communities . We created an online education portal so that people would be able to know what kind of unique digital learning programs were offered at each of our facilities . We partnered with local schools both in Vermont and across state lines to provide them access to compelling virtual education experiences . In a time where distance was growing between educators and students like never before , we were able to develop innovative new ways to help bring people together across geographical lines .”

According to the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium ’ s Director of External Affairs Anna Rubin , each institution has invested a considerable amount of time into creating new content . “ If you go to the ‘ Learn ’ tab on the Fairbanks Museum website , you ’ ll see a page that has links to some of our online programming . We ’ ve put a lot of thought into how we present our content online . That includes things such as filmed content that is going to be available to people watching from home . The aim is to inspire people to engage in safe and fun hands-on scientific activities , and then engage with us on social media to start a scientific discussion that both spreads the word about our organizations , and fans the flames of intellectual curiosity . It ’ s been exciting to figure out how to go beyond the walls of the museum and connect with our membership base in different ways . Here at Fairbanks , we ’ ve worked with local schools to create new virtual education options that include live-streaming and recorded programming . We ’ ve also developed new science kits to help teachers bring fun and engaging science activities to their classrooms . We ’ re doing things in ways we ’ ve never tried before , and we ’ re learning a lot as we continue to move forward . We want to ensure that everyone has access to a wonderfully immersive scientific education experience in the safest way possible .”

Stafne says that in addition to creating new programs , the layout of some of FourScience ’ s member museums has been restructured to accommodate changes in statewide health safety protocols . “ At Montshire , the entire museum experience has been redesigned to protect the safety of our guests . We reorganized all of our galleries to be safe , clean , and engaging . People can experience some really wonderful science phenomena up close , including our ‘ Bubbles : The Science of Soap ’ exhibition . The whole museum has been re-spaced so that people can maintain a comfortable distance throughout the galleries . We have also limited the number of guests who can come into the museum . You have to pre-register , which is really important from a health safety perspective – especially during the fall and winter seasons . In terms of our outdoor facilities , we have over 100 acres of pristine land outside with very family-friendly trails for nature exploration . In the wintertime , you can check out snowshoes and go for

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