Free downloads of the new howtosmile.org mobile app for iPhone and iPod touch made the perfect giveaway at this year’s Association of Science-Technology Centers annual conference in Baltimore. The free mobile app’s debut marked a year since the howtosmile.org collection—now up to nearly 2,400 STEM activities—officially launched at the 2010 ASTC conference. Carla Thacker (in photo) from the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago was the first ASTC 2011 attendee to download the mobile app.
“This year, we were so happy to learn from informal educators working in museums, afterschool programs and scouting that they have discovered howtosmile.org and are using it to support STEM education in their region,” reported SMILE co-PI Sherry Hsi. “Conference visitors thanked us for the iPhone app and yes! We heard an equal number of loud cries for the Android version, which is around the corner.”
The mobile app gives users immediate access to howtosmile.org activities any time, anywhere, including on the museum floor or at outreach events. Hsi, co-PI Darrell Porcello, and project manager Ken Bell showed off some of those SMILE activities, like Sound Sandwich, Cuica (Laughing Cup) and Radial Chromotography, at the “Indie Styles That Work” conference session which featured hands-on, STEM-focused, low-cost, high-impact science experiences guaranteed to work—in theory and in practice!