9am – 10:30am Opening Plenary and Promising Practice Awards Presentations.
I had to look up what plenary meant! Merriam-Webster defines the word as an adjective meaning “complete in every respect: absolute, unqualified.” I had a Dorothy “we’re not in Kansas anymore” moment walking into the morning presentation. We were greeted with a riotous band playing When the Saints Come Marching in and various dancers along the ballroom waving/dancing around with signs emblazoned “Are we ready?” The question referred to the general negative influences and social, economic pressures effecting the quality of life for children. A quick slideshow emblazoned with depressing statistics played to Fatboy Slim’s Right Here Right Now riled up the crowd. “Yes! We are ready” everyone shouted!
An enthusiatic welcome from Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston and Janet Elman, executive director of ACM announced that to date this was their largest gathering - 800 attendees. ACM Conference in 2012 will be in Portland, OR. Next, a series of Promising Practices Awards by Metlife included: DuPage Children's Museum for the Kindergarten Match Initiative, KidZone, Truckee, CA for KidsReach programming - reaching underserved Latino populations, Stepping Stones, in Norwalk, CT for Multimedia Global Connections Initiative - media and technology for connecting with Guatemala and partnering with Nature Conservancy, Madison Children's Museum in WI for Only Local initiative which promoted local economic growth and reducing greenhouse gases by working with local businesses.
Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From: the Natural History of Innovation was the personable keynote speaker. I thought his presentation was very interesting. He spoke about how innovation takes time and are not "Eureka" moments. He said the human tendency is to tell stories or recount history with the approach that the protagonist has a "Eureka" moment but in reality that is a myth. His study of natural ecosystems and recurring patterns brought him to come conclusions about innovations.
#1 The Slow Hunch - innovation takes time to blossom. The seed of an idea that we can spark in a person can develop into something awesome. Innovations are built upon or borrowed from past practices.
#2 Liquid networks - fluid exchange of ideas. Great ideas come from the exchange of ideas across diverse disciplines. Gutenberg's printing press inspired from screw press from vintner.
#3 Diversity - innovators have large networks with diverse population. The variety of exhibits in children's museums challenges the child to create intellectual bridges and may create seeds of ideas which spark growth and curiosity.
He told intriguing stories about his book Ghostmap which outlined the eradication of a major cholera epidemic in 19th century London; the development of the Internet; and valuable screen space via a video game called Dawn of Discovery which his children are playing.
I had to look up plenary too. I need to work on my 21st century skills.
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