Dear MLC members and mobile lab community partners,
Wow! What can we say? I don’t think anyone could have predicted what we’ve gone through in 2020. Your presence and membership in our Coalition have meant more to us this year than ever. Collectively, we have been able to lean into our collegial group of like-minded individuals and organizations who are relentlessly dedicated to finding ways to further mobile science education… even during a pandemic.
For that, we thank you. Thank you for being a part of our community. It’s you who make the coalition so special.
As always, please remember that the MLC is here to help. Below you will find a recap of some of our Coalition’s highlights and updates. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly or any of the board members with questions, concerns, ideas or thoughts.
Wishing you a safe and healthy new year.
With gratitude,
David Garbe, Chair, MLC Board of Directors
2020 HIGHLIGHTS AND UPDATES:
Providing Virtual Events: Online Webinar Series and Informal Community Chats
We hope you were able to join us for one of our member-only educational webinar series aimed at providing guidance during the global pandemic. Topics included ways to successfully pivot programs for COVID-19, considerations for returning programs to communities and how to build at-home science kits. Special thanks to our members at Learning Undefeated, I Am a Scientist STEM and BioBus-NYC for hosting. Community members also participated in virtual informal happy hour chats. Recordings of webinars are available to members; please email mobilelabcoalition@gmail.com to obtain access.
MLC Membership Extensions
Many of our members experienced cuts or freezes to their program budgets. In light of this, we are offering a six-month complimentary membership extension to members during the pandemic.
MLC Annual Conference: July 2021
The MLC Annual Conference Planning Committee is closely following CDC, federal and local public health guidance to ultimately determine whether it is safe to host an in-person conference this July in Colorado Springs. If an in-person program is not possible, we will hold the conference virtually. We anticipate being able to replicate many aspects of the conference including keynote and plenary speaker sessions, roundtable discussions, networking and virtual poster presentations.
Social Media Directory
In an effort to foster member connectedness in the social space, the MLC created a social media member directory. You can access the PDF here. We encourage you to follow and interact with fellow member organizations via social media! We also hope you are following MLC on Facebook and Instagram.
Board Member Updates
In order to maintain stability, we have extended board terms until the summer of 2021 for the majority of our board members. Patrick Flanagan and Kimberly Cox-York declined in extending with the board due to personal reasons and will step down in January. In the meantime, we encourage you to consider a volunteer leadership role within the MLC community (you might even consider running for a board seat yourself this summer?!).
Finally, we’d like to highlight some outstanding work being done by members of the Coalition:
• Learning Undefeated has aligned with Spark 101 to create a hybrid STEM education ecosystem that includes interactive digital lesson bundles, career snapshots, at-home learning, and STEM skills videos
• BioBus-NYC’s Discover at Home program
• I Am A Scientist STEM social media engagement
• GSU Bio-Bus Virtual Presentations and Do It Yourself DNA Kits
• SPARC’s YouTube Channel
Do you have an accomplishment to share? Please email us, we would love to highlight you in a future newsletter or on social media. Contact us: mobilelabcoalition@gmail.com
To read or download the PDF version of this letter, please click here.