Muskegon café Scientifique
Muskegon, MI
Organized by: Alan Steinman, Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University and Arn Boezaart, Community Foundation for Muskegon County
Arn and I started the Muskegon café Scientifique because we wanted to (1) provide a friendly venue to discuss relevant scientific topics and hopefully develop a more scientifically literate community in Muskegon; and (2) use the café as a catalyst for growing a knowledge-based economy as part of the redevelopment of downtown Muskegon. This city's economy was foundry-based through much of the 20th century, and it is attempting to redefine itself. The science café is a perfect mechanism to fulfill our goal of attracting an intellectually curious crowd to a new downtown environment.
Meetings currently are held on a weeknight in the multipurpose room of the Lake Michigan Center, a research facility that houses the Institute that I direct. Our goal is to move next year to a new smoke-free brew pub being built in downtown Muskegon. Our current venue works well because of the attractive location overlooking Muskegon Lake, its ability to easily accommodate most audio-visual devices, and free and accessible parking. Light refreshments are brought in and paid for in advance, and a collection jar is put out to offset our out-of-pocket costs. The move to the pub location will allow us to offer more food and drink choices, and reduce the logistical burden on Arn and myself. Attendance typically ranges from 15 to 30 people, which is not unreasonable for a community of 25,000.
We start things off with a brief introduction of the guest speaker for the meeting. This is followed by a short NOVA scienceNOW video clip, assuming a clip is available for our evening's topic, and/or a short lecture/PowerPoint presentation (about 15 minutes) by the speaker providing background information on the topic of general interest. We then open the topic up to general discussion. Our relatively small size provides the opportunity for most people to speak, and we usually keep the discussion going at the whole-group level, although small groups will form, especially around the refreshments table! Our café usually goes about 90 minutes, with active discussion going right to the end. We terminate our café with a hearty round of applause for our speaker, and a conversation on what to cover at the next café.