Scoping Workshop for the International Year of Chemistry 2011

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Division of Chemistry, Dorothy Zolandz at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will engage a cross section of the chemistry community, informal science education community, and learning assessment community in a workshop to provide guidance in the planning and design of activities to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) in the US. The workshop will take place in Washington, DC, in late August or early September, 2010. At the workshop, approximately a dozen experts will provide guidance and input into an appropriate US celebration of the IYC. Participant expertise will include education, chemistry research, assessment, and communications. Input from representatives from societies that have participated in previous International Years will also be sought. IYC 2011 is a worldwide celebration supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). NAS (in cooperation with the American Chemical Society) is seeking ways to increase public awareness of the benefits of chemistry and to excite young people about chemistry by establishing a strong and diverse portfolio of activities related to the United States? celebration of IYC 2011. The ultimate goal is effective public communication of science through outreach, evaluation of that outreach, and dissemination of lessons learned about outreach effectiveness as a result of IYC activities. The workshop will bring focus and appropriate assessment to IYC planning efforts, and will help identify means of engaging underrepresented groups in the IYC.