Robert Semper
Executive Associate Director
Exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco CA
94123-1099
USA
http://www.exploratorium.edu
Rob Semper, a physicist and science educator, is Executive Associate Director of the Exploratorium, and is responsible for leading the institution's work in developing programs of teaching and learning using exhibits, media and Internet resources. He is head of the Exploratorium's Center for Learning and Teaching which contains the institutions programs in teacher professional development, youth programming, publishing, media and Internet development. He is the principle investigator on numerous science education, media and research projects including leading the National Science Foundation sponsored Center for Informal Learning and Schools, a research collaboration between the Exploratorium, U.C. Santa Cruz and King's College, London which studies the relationship between museums and formal education. He is also Co-PI on the NSF funded Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network, a national network of science centers designed to foster engagement of the public with the nanotechnology field. He leads numerous research and development projects in new media including wireless networks, handheld computing and advanced Internet applications.
Over the past ten years he has guided the development of the award winning Exploratorium Website that has explored the role of museums in the online world including the development of on-line fieldtrips to locations of scientific research. Before this, he was a Schumann fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and director of the creative collaboration between Apple Computer and Lucasfilm Ltd. formed to develop interactive multimedia education projects. Previous to this since joining the Exploratorium in 1977, he has lead numerous exhibit development, teacher enhancement and media development projects focused on science education for the public, teachers and students. He was elected to be a 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow and was the recipient of the 1994 NSTA's Informal Educator of the Year award, the 2000 Association of Science Technology Center's Award for Innovation for work on the Exploratorium's Website. He has served on numerous advisory boards including the George Lucas Educational Foundation National Advisory Board.
Robert will present From On-line Exhibits to On-line Experiences to On-line Community: Thirteen Years of Science Centers Experimenting with the Web. [Paper]
