News Item
COPUS 2009 Year of Science
9 May 2008
The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) is making plans now for the 2009 Year of Science (YoS09). The goal of this national, year-long celebration of science is to engage the public and improve public understanding about the nature and process of science.
COPUS is a grassroots network of more than 200 participating organizations representing universities, scientific societies, science centers and museums, government agencies, advocacy groups, media, educators, businesses, and industry, formed in response to recent concerns about national scientific literacy. Regionally based hubs also are forming, including a tenth regional hub formed in Boulder, Colorado.
YoS09 activities being developed include:
- Free public lectures and programs at museums and science centers;
- Opportunities to spend a day with a scientist or participate in a research project;
- Roundtable discussions about important local science issues;
- Connecting COPUS-affiliated scientists with the K–12 community;
- Creating local Science Cafés; and
- Radio spots, editorials, and on-line resources that highlight the nature and process of science
Participants are registering their YoS09 events in the COPUS Program and Resource Directory where members of the public can search for resources and activities by topic interest, audience, date, and location. Web 2.0 tools are being developed to help spread the utility of this community directory by making it accessible via interactive online bumper stickers. For more information, visit http://blogs.aibs.org/copus/.