An Innovation Invitation: Local Sections Connecting Chemistry and the Community

One phrase you will likely hear and see a lot in the near future is ACS Local Sections: Connecting Chemistry and the Community. This focus for local sections was developed at the Local Section Summit held last spring. ACS members and the Local Section Activities Committee (LSAC) came together to articulate a vision for local sections and prioritize directions for the future to best promote the Society and chemistry at the local level. Another important idea that we heard was that local sections are looking for increased opportunities for innovation.

LSAC is working to respond to the ideas that came out of the summit, and with this column I would like to invite you to consider an exciting and innovative opportunity to host an event that connects chemistry and the community. The concept is the Science Café. A Science Café is where scientists and the public intersect to share a beverage and explore the latest in scientific innovation. It is where scientific researchers, scholars, and Joan and John Q. Public mix and mingle. The meetings take place in a comfortable setting at a bar or coffee house and are designed as a forum to debate science issues. The beauty of the event is that NO HOMEWORK, NO TESTS, and NO GRADES are given . . . just discussion about a relevant science issue of today! The goal is to engage the public in meaningful conversations about our passion science .

In San Francisco , ACS and the Ask a Scientist Network (www.aska scientistsf.com) cosponsored a Science Café called Future Energy Sources and Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Nancy Garland from the Department of Energy spoke to a crowd of about 30 ACS members and 50 community members for 20 minutes, and a discussion followed. To say the conversation was lively is an understatement! It was an eye-opening experience to see the chemists and the community so actively engaged.

Now, do you have to go it alone? There are a host of resources available to help get you started. PBS’s NOVA scienceNOW, based at WGBH in Boston which has helped spark the growing Science Café movement and is an active partner supporting Cafés throughout the country. NOVA's scienceNow, a popular television show, features short video segments on current science issues that can be used to get everyone at a Science Café involved and interested in a topic. There are currently over 25 NOVA scienceNOW segments available. ACS local sections may request these segments, available on DVD and video, at no charge.

Check out the scienceNow website for information on how to organize a Science Café and to get other helpful resources, including a sample press release, a guide for working with the media, and a customizable handout that you can give to Café participants. NOVA scienceNOW can also help you identify local partners that may assist with promotion and finding a speaker. They can also keep you connected to their network of Café organizers, and share the latest ideas and innovations for the café format.

To support your efforts, the Local Section Activities Committee (LSAC) has identified seed money (a limited number of $500 mini-grants are available) to assist sections with hosting a Science Café(s) before the end of 2007. Minigrant funds can be used to support speaker travel, for advertising and promotion or to help offset other cost associated with the hosting the Science Café. If your section is interested in hosting a Science Café, please submit request for funding request form by November 15, 2006 to the Office of Local Section Activities. Grant applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis.

This innovation invitation is in response to summit dialogue that local sections are Connecting Chemistry and the Community and need support for increased opportunities for innovation. What can you do? Talk to your Younger Chemists Committee groups, Women Chemists Committee groups, student affiliates chapters, executive committees, or nearest neighbors and get on board with the Science Café movement.

Will Lynch, Chair
ACS Committee on Local Section Activities

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