27 February 2004

AAAS

Thousands Pack Annual Meeting, Setting New Record for AAAS

AAAS broke a record during its 2004 Annual Meeting, drawing 1200 members of the press, 5700 registrants, and 3300 children and members of their families to downtown Seattle 2 weeks ago—a total that more than doubles the number of people who attended the event in Denver the year before.

"I think we are seeing a new paradigm for large scientific meetings," said AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner. "We used the occasion to reach out to the broader community and to engage the public in the world of science. This demonstrates that AAAS can use its annual meeting to accomplish two of its main goals at once—to advance science and serve society."

The numbers of scientists and journalists who attended the meeting for its traditional scientific content were robust compared to prior years, but it was the newest category of visitors—3300 children and members of their families who came to celebrate the AAAS Family Science Days—that brought attendance levels up dramatically, according to organizers of the event.

Leshner noted that there were three components to AAAS's public outreach during the 5-day meeting held in mid-February. On the 12th, AAAS's Directorate for Education and Human Resources organized Public Science Day at Seattle's Pacific Science Center, which drew hundreds of elementary students from local schools. Children were also the focus of the Family Science Days, which took place 14 to 15 February in the AAAS Exhibit Hall at the convention center. Two local nonprofit organizations, the Institute for Systems Biology and the Pacific Science Center, helped design content for the family event.

The third public component of the AAAS Annual Meeting took place on the afternoon of 15 February, when a group of 300 local residents packed a room at the Seattle Trade and Convention Center to hear marine scientists Usha Varanasi, John Delaney, and former AAAS president Jane Lubchenco talk about the state of the world's oceans, and to provide their thoughts on possible solutions. The "Oceans for Everyone" town meeting was broadcast by National Public Radio (NPR) and moderated by NPR science writer Ira Flatow. It also served as the occasion of the launching of a new AAAS initiative, which Leshner said would create a forum to allow the public, policy-makers, and scientists to exchange ideas and influence policy.

"This is a historic event," Flatow told the audience, in opening the town meeting. "This is the inaugural event for the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology. It's important because we have a nationally and internationally known organization trying to get us all to do something about our future."