Ecsite, the European network of science centres and museums, will hold its annual conference this month. It will bring together science engagement professionals from over 50 countries to share expertise, learn from one another, and make valuable connections. Ecsite 2024 will be hosted by Kersnikova Institute at the GR—Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 5 to 8 June.
Well known for its welcoming atmosphere, the event offers over 75 educational sessions covering a variety of relevant topics and trends, from exhibit development to the relationship between science and society. There will also be two engaging keynote addresses as well as showcase events on the latest projects and exhibitions.
Meanwhile, over 50 companies will exhibit at this year’s Escite trade show element, the Business Bistro. This will allow attendees to discover new innovations and services in a professional yet relaxed setting, combining the trade show with a coffee bar.
There are also plenty of opportunities for quality networking, with the Gala Dinner and Nocturne evening receptions. In addition, those attending for the first time are welcomed to the annual Newcomers Breakfast, where they can meet the programming committee.
Meet the hosts
The host of Ecsite 2024 is Kersnikova Institute, a non-profit organisation and art platform focusing on contemporary investigative art. For nearly three decades, it has been a leading European centre where artists collaborate with scientists and engineers to research and develop their work.
The educational programme is driven by research, production, and exhibitions. Through inquisitive learning, children, young people, and adults can gain cultural knowledge about the latest advancements in science and technology.
Thrilled to host the Ecsite team and ACPC meeting in Ljubljana! https://t.co/ReueN2oz7h
— Kersnikova (@kersnikova) December 13, 2023
It is housed in a former printing factory near the city centre. The industrial setting provides a unique backdrop for resident artists, producers, and educators. Here, they collaborate across disciplines in laboratories dedicated to mechatronics, bionics, and biotechnology. The institute’s renowned Kapelica Gallery also offers visitors a glimpse into the future with thought-provoking installations and daring artistic expressions.
Kersnikova Institute says that it was motivated to host the Ecsite Conference to challenge the traditional perception of art and science:
“Within the Ecsite network, we’ve often encountered a view of art as simply embellishing scientific presentations or creating visuals. By hosting the conference, we aimed to showcase a more collaborative “art-sci” approach, where artists and scientists work together on complex themes that push the boundaries for both disciplines. This investigative and creative dialogue, we believe, is far more engaging and thought-provoking.”
“The 2024 Ecsite Conference hosted by Kersnikova Institute promises to be a groundbreaking event. For the first time in the conference’s more than thirty-year history, an art institution will take the helm. This unique perspective will allow participants to experience science communication and engagement through the lens of artists.”
The Kersnikova Institute is open for participants to visit throughout the Ecsite 2024. It is a 7-minute walk from GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre
Who will be attending Ecsite 2024?
Ecsite Conference attendees come from a diverse spectrum of professional backgrounds, covering every area of science involvement.
Professionals who work directly with the public, those who influence the programming at science centres and museums, developers of exhibitions, directors of education, CEOs and managing directors, students and professors at universities, managers and coordinators of innovative EU and international projects, senior managers of the top science engagement institutions worldwide, and more are all welcome.
In 2023, 49 countries from six continents were represented, making the Ecsite Conference a truly global event.
Keynote addresses
On Friday 7 June, Dr Hugh Herr and Dr Ana Rajčević will deliver a keynote address to Ecsite 2024 attendees.
Rajčević, an artist and designer, a lecturer at the University of the Arts, London, and a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab – Biomechatronics Lab, works at the intersection of sculpture, prosthetics and technology. Meanwhile, Herr is an associate professor of Media Arts and Sciences at The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science. He was coined by Time Magazine as the ‘Leader of the Bionic Age’ because of his revolutionary work in the emerging field of Biomechatronics – technology that marries human physiology with electromechanics.
Then, on Saturday 8 June, Jill Walker Rettberg, a professor of digital culture at the University of Bergen, will deliver a second keynote address.
Agenda highlights at Ecsite 2024
Day one
After a day of pre-conference sessions and workshops, Ecsite 2024 will officially get underway on Thursday 6 June. The annual Opening Ceremony will welcome attendees at 10 a.m. This will be followed by the opening of the Trade Show and a coffee break at 11 a.m.
A wide range of educational sessions will then take place throughout the day.
In Science museums, the public, and private funding partners: Choices and challenges, delegates will learn how to negotiate the changing landscape of partnerships in an increasingly polarised world. This event will feature speakers from Universcience, the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, the Deutsches Museum München, the Science Museum Group, and the Copernicus Science Centre.
Meanwhile, the AI Spotlight showcase, new for 2024, will highlight the importance of Artificial Intelligence. Speakers from IMAGINARY, Science Gallery London, Studio MAST, Experimenta, Universcience and more share their recent AI in science engagement case studies.
Mapping the (long) journey towards creating advocates for planetary health: Knowing and empowering your audiences is a two-part session. In part one, social scientist Dr Andy Moss will give attendees a top-line overview of what drives behaviour change. Then speakers from Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Chester Zoo, Experimenta, Universcience, and The Natural History Museum will give lightning presentations. These will cover how they currently understand and impact audiences through their work.
Part 2 takes place in the afternoon. It will dive deeper into the conversation and set up a more detailed path to improve and push further approaches.
Sustainability, STEM and outer space
Later in the afternoon, delegates can attend Building effective networks for STEM education. In this, they will hear from Copernicus Science Center, ESERO Poland, ESERO Greece, Tom Tits Experiment, and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre. Elsewhere, Keeping our fingers on the pulse of AI is a follow-up to the AI Spotlight showcase. It will include an in-depth discussion of the presented case studies.
Further highlights include the two-part Project Showcase, an overview of ongoing non-profit science engagement projects.
In Space for sustainable development: Connecting people to our planet, the European Space Agency will share best practices and outline how space brings solutions to worldwide challenges such as climate change, human health, energy, waste, water shortages, gender and oceans from a multidisciplinary approach.
Later, How do Natural History Museums ‘walk-the-talk’ in the face of a planetary emergency? will explore how natural history museums can both engage audiences and adapt themselves to become more sustainable and lead change. This will include speakers from the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, The Natural History Museum, Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
Other topics covered throughout the day include queering science engagement, when inclusion goes wrong, informal learning spaces, talent discovery, fundraising and more.
Day two
On Friday 7 June, Ecsite 2024 continues with another packed day of interesting and in-depth sessions.
Firstly, in Putting young children at the heart of our institutions: Designing quality learning experiences in museums, attendees will hear insights from the Natural History Museum, Young V&A, Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci and Universcience. Speakers will explain how to build lifelong museum relationships with young learners.
In Inclusion tools speed dating, delegates can discover five practical inclusion tools in a fun and interactive way. In Here comes the sun: Learning from energy transition exhibitions, they will find practical do’s and don’ts from exhibitions and outreach formats on energy transition.
Artful alliances: How to enrich art and science collaborations to deepen engagement will explore how interaction between science researchers, artists and communities shapes science engagement practices. This will feature speakers from Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Barcelona Ciència i Universitats, Vitenparken, Universcience, Trinity College Dublin, Kersnikova, and Exploratorium.
The latest travelling exhibitions
Sessions continue into the afternoon, following Friday morning’s Ecsite 2024 keynote address at 10:30. The annual two-part What’s new in travelling exhibitions? promises to be a highlight. This is a preview of current and upcoming science exhibitions touring across Europe and the world.
Part one includes the American Museum of Natural History, PHI, Deutsches Museum Nürnberg, Natural History Museum, London, Neanderthal Museum, Contemporanea Progetti, The DoSeum, Heureka, Imagine Exhibitions, Experimenta, University of the Arts Zurich, Universcience, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Flexhibit and the Science Museum Group.
Part two, later in the afternoon, features the National Geographic Society, Musée de la Civilisation, CosmoCaixa, Disgusting Food Museum, Experiential Media Group, National Museums Scotland, Mechanical Making Space, National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Nomad Exhibitions, MobilesMusikMuseum, Lucid Realities, Field Museum, Museum of Toulouse and National Museum of Natural Science.
Climate change and public engagement
For insights from neuroscience to help promote action for climate justice in learning settings, attendees can learn from Onl’fait, Trinity College Dublin, Center for the Promotion of Science, Sticky Dot and King’s College London in Finding resonance: Attending to the “human factor” in climate change education and public engagement.
Later, Designing game-based-learning for museums: What have we learned from escape rooms? will explore educational escape room games. Speakers include the University of Southampton, Espacio Ciencia – Technological Lab of Uruguay, Brazilian Institute of Public Communication of Science and Technology, and the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig Bonn.
In Would I lie to you? A climate misinformation gameshow, delegates are invited to test their critical reasoning skills against academics and museum practitioners who work on climate change and sustainability issues. This features speakers from Trinity College Dublin, University College London, California Academy of Sciences and The Natural History Museum, as well as Naturalis Biodiversity Center and King’s College London.
Other sessions cover subjects such as inclusive language use, multi-background teams, storytelling through scenography, museum podcasts, equitable youth practices, AI and more.
Ecsite members are also invited to the Annual General Meeting at 3.45. This is where the community comes together to reflect and strategise, as well as to chart the course for the year ahead. Community meet-ups and the annual Grand Bazaar session also take place in the afternoon.
Finally, the Ecsite Tradeshow Happy Hour is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. During this time, exhibitors showcase the flavours of their homeland and offer an array of food and drink.
Day three
Saturday 8 June kicks off with Navigating the global landscape of traveling exhibitions: Expertise in international partnerships. This will investigate the development of touring exhibitions to transcend borders when collaborations demand diplomacy, creativity, and adaptability. It will include speakers from the American Museum of Natural History, Imagine Exhibitions, Scitech, Universcience, Ontario Science Centre, Heureka and Arizona State University.
Meanwhile, in Moving the needle: Helping visitors develop skills to address today’s challenges, delegates will hear international perspectives on engaging local communities to inspire collective solutions to global challenges. This session features speakers from GSM Project, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Neuchâtel, Parque Explora, The Natural History Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry.
The tops, flaws, and flops of circular exhibition design will examine successes and failures in developing sustainable exhibitions. It will include insights from Studio MAST, NEMO Science Museum, Huettinger, Technisches Museum Wien, and YIPP.
An interesting local project will be explored in The Biobot project at Kersnikova Institute: An Unconventional Collaboration between a Puppet Designer and a Biotechnologist, with Kristijan Tkalec of Kersnikova Institute and Zoran Srdić Janeži from Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.
The morning concludes with Jill Walker Rettberg’s Ecsite 2024 keynote address. She will also speak in the first session of the afternoon, A soirée at Mr Babbage’s—a mini larp, facilitated by Brad Irwin of The Natural History Museum. This session aims to explore how social interactions, as well as art and literature, have influenced the development and promotion of technology. It will test out live-action role-playing as a mode of science communication.
Creating engaging exhibitions
In What makes a good exhibition brief? A battle between experts, attendees will have a chance to experience a discussion between the client, curator, designer, manufacturer and devil’s advocate to gather best practices in writing design briefs. This will include speakers from Universcience and Kossmanndejong, as well as Experimenta and Bruns.
Elsewhere, Looking for nature of science in a science centre will dive into the the theory and practice link between the perspectives of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and those of science centres and museums. Speakers include Experimenta, Ciência Viva, Vienna Museum of Science and Technology and Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
Later in the afternoon, annual programming Committee member Mairéad Hurley speaks to the 2024 Beacon of the Year Award winner.
A session called Cosmic conversations: Exploring astronomy and space technology communication focuses on how humanity can share the benefits of astronomy research and space exploration. It features insights from the University of Copenhagen, Tina Ibsen Formidling, Ciência Viva, and the Earth-Life Science Institute.
Climate change education
Delegates can also explore how to achieve socially inclusive climate change education with science centres, ethnographic museums, social workers and scientists in Fostering socially inclusive climate education for adults. In this session, they can hear from Universcience, Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Slovene Ethnographic Museum, Science Center Netzwerk and Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Science exhibitions made the art museum way will discuss how collaborations with art museums can result in new types of science exhibitions. Speakers will be from NEMO Science Museum, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Universcience, FRida & freD, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen and Grand Palais.
The agenda also includes session topics such as sustainable catering, building a corporate offer, effective employee onboarding, ESG culture, open schooling, funding opportunities and more.
The closing ceremony for Ecsite 2024 will take place at 6 p.m. During this, attendees will hear from the hosts, the Ecsite programming committee chairperson, and the Ecsite president. They will also learn who will host the event in 2025.
Events
The Gala Dinner and Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. This event is included in the main conference fee. Additional tickets may also be purchased at the Welcome Desk in Kuppola Hall.
Worldwide renowned Canadian artists Louis-Philippe Demers and Bill Vorn are coming to Ljubljana with a participative robotic performance. Conference attendees can join the robotic dance party after the Gala Dinner. Merged with the machine, the artists will remotely choreograph the performers, creating an immersive experience of a futuristic sci-fi scenario.
Then, on Friday 7 June, the annual Nocturne will take place at Ljubljana Castle from 8:00 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. This is a chance for the host to showcase their city and activities. There will be a buffet and drinks, as well as the famous Ecsite Jazz Band. This event is included in the main conference fee. Attendees can buy additional tickets at the Welcome Desk in Kuppola Hall.
Ecsite 2024 will close on Saturday 8 June with the Farewell Party from 9 p.m. Hosted at the Museum of Architecture and Design, this event requires an extra ticket.
The Business Bistro at Ecsite 2024
Attendees can meet a wide range of innovative suppliers during the event’s trade show, the Business Bistro. Highlights include the following companies.
American Museum of Natural History – booth #61
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), a major scientific and cultural institution, will exhibit at Ecsite 2024.
The team will showcase shows like T. rex: The Ultimate Predator; Nature’s Superheroes; Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids: Mythic Creatures; The World’s Largest Dinosaurs; Extinct & Endangered: Insects in Peril and more.
AMNH recently partnered with Fundación La Caixa, a major provider of accessible art and science exhibitions and content in Spain and Portugal. Together, they will tour original exhibitions including Mirrors and Talking Brains across Europe
Cosm – booth #18-19
Cosm is a global technology company that builds end-to-end solutions for immersive experiences. At Ecsite 2024, the team will showcase CX System, its premium LED dome solution for science and education. Cosm will power Europe’s first-ever LED dome at Planetarium Prague, Planetum. The team will also present the Cosm Studios fulldome content ecosystem, including the recently launched Premium Media Program for flexible planetarium programming.
The firm will be at booth 18-19, a double booth shared with Skypoint Planetariums. Attendees can meet Christophe Bertier, sales manager, and meetings can be booked via email.
Last month, Cosm revealed that its first venue will formally open to the public on 29 June.
Imagine Exhibitions – booth #54
Imagine Exhibitions, a leader in worldwide travelling exhibitions and entertainment, invites attendees at Ecsite 2024 to learn about its new exhibitions, Brick Master’s Studio, Brick Planet, Ice Dinosaurs and Trolls: A Field Study by Thomas Dambo.
This year, Imagine Exhibitions commemorates 15 years of leading the way in delivering awe-inspiring and educational experiences to global audiences. Producing more than 56 unique exhibitions in the last 15 years, Imagine Exhibitions has toured shows to over 354 venues across 193 cities and 55 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. These have reached over 26 million visitors worldwide.
Visitors at the Imagine Exhibitions booth can explore the company’s diverse portfolio of 40+ travelling exhibitions. These range from 5,000 to 25,000 square feet, with options tailored to every mission, venue, and budget.
National Geographic – booth #33
National Geographic is a leading creator of documentaries, live events, experiences, and travelling exhibitions. The team will present its latest catalogue at Ecsite 2024, including Root for Nature, which is new this year. OASIS Immersion, in collaboration with National Geographic, produces and travels this immersive experience.
Attendees can also pick up National Geographic’s catalogue of photo+ shows, immersive experiences, and large-scale interactive exhibitions available for licensing internationally and in the US. Cynthia Doumbia, senior director of business development (distribution – exhibitions & immersive products), and Alexa Fedynsky, manager of international traveling exhibitions, will be at the booth.
Triotech – booth #37
Triotech, an award-winning creator of media-based attractions, will showcase its latest dynamic, immersive, and interactive experiences. Over the years, Triotech has developed a reputation for the high quality of its customised attractions and its ability to create exciting ‘edutainment’ experiences for museums, zoos, aquariums, and tourist attractions.
Together with its technical and creative team, Triotech can help museums and science centres create immersive and interactive experiences. These include dynamic seat theatres, flying theatres, dome theatres, dynamic cabins, interactive dark rides, VR journey experiences, walkthroughs, or any custom project.
The firm specialises in turning any vision into a captivating reality tailored to both engage and educate diverse audiences. To explore how Triotech can elevate venues with its state-of-the-art experiences, attendees can book a meeting with Franck Baril here.
Universcience – booth #57
Universcience, an organisation that works to make science accessible to all, will also highlight its range of travelling exhibitions at Ecsite 2024. This includes IA, Dance, Metamorphoses, Banquet, Microbiota, Cats & Dogs, Crowdology, Cancers, Fragile!, Body and Sports, Jeans, and many more.
On Friday, during part one of What’s new in travelling exhibitions, the team will present Metamorphoses, a new children’s exhibition.
Members of the marketing team and project managers will be present. This includes Hélène Wang, Corinne Michellet-Boungo, Mathilde Curdel and Sandrine Delon. Meetings can be booked via email.
