Session proposals are due by Wednesday, July 31, 2024

About the Theme

ACM and Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum of Albuquerque (NM) invite you to InterActivity 2025. The conference will provide ample opportunities to explore the ways in which our field lifts up children and families. From educational programs embedded in community centers and co-created exhibitions to wrap-around services and innovative partnerships, museums can help their communities reach new heights, while elevating our own museum community as well.

Proposals are selected by the InterActivity 2025 Program Committee, a volunteer group representing the field, who look for innovative, adaptable, and scalable practices. Since the conference is called InterActivity, activities and hands-on learning are requisite.

Tie your proposal to the theme using these questions to guide your thinking:

• How has your museum created positive community change?
• What strategies has your museum used to co-create in your community?
• What are they ways your museum intentionally listens and incorporates the voices of a diverse population.

We also seek proposals for nuts-andbolts sessions on topics relevant to children’s museums and museums that serve children and families.

Session proposals will be considered for one of the blocks of Concurrent Professional Development Sessions that make up a large part of the InterActivity program. These sessions may be scheduled on either Thursday, May 15 or Friday, May 16.

• All sessions are 75-minutes. If you are proposing a double session, indicate this in your title (e.g., Parts 1 and 2) and in the session plan. You may want to submit separate forms for part one and part two.
• Sessions have a maximum of one moderator and four presenters. The session chair must participate in the session.
• Presenters/moderators may not participate in more than two InterActivity sessions. See more about presenters below.

Trust us. Our reading of many session evaluations allows us to offer these suggestions as you develop a proposal:
• Pre-write your proposal. Download the non-fillable Session Proposal Form and use it as a guide before you start the online proposal form.
• Be mindful of how much content can be delivered in 75 minutes. Be realistic about the number of presenters and how much time activities take.
• Your session will provide professional development for attendees. Please, no show-and-tell, instead include how you did what you did and how attendees can apply the information you present at their institutions.
• Plan your session so that attendees will be actively engaged rather than passively receiving information. Think hands-one activities.
• Include multiple perspectives: presenters from small, medium, and large museums, from different job areas, from both inside and outside the museum field, etc. Use the What Size is Your Children’s Museum matrix so ensure presenters come from different size museums.
• Reach out to others through the InterActivity Session Ideas Exchange Groupsite. Get feedback on your ideas and recruit presenters. Open to all, though you may need to set up a new account. Need help with setting up an account? Email Membership@ChildrensMuseums.org.
• Watch the recording of the Session Proposal Writing webinar and review the PowerPoint slides.
• Need assistance? Email Victoria Garvin, Sr. Director, Professional Development.

The success of an InterActivity session is the result of careful planning, communication, collaboration, and cooperation. The session chair leads these efforts. Session chairs agree to fulfill the following responsibilities:

Secure and confirm session presenters:
• Gets confirmation from each presenter that his/her institution supports participation, including funding for registration and travel.
• Advises presenters that they are responsible for registering themselves by the Early Bird Deadline. ACM does not give complimentary registration, honoraria, or pay travel expenses to presenters at InterActivity. Note: presenters from outside the museum field, e.g., academics, non-museum nonprofit service organizations, may be eligible for a complimentary one-day registration at the discretion of ACM.
• Advises presenters that they may not use the session to promote products or services of any kind.
• Advises presenters that they will be required to complete and return a Session Presenter Agreement.
• Advises presenters that if the proposal is accepted, they must be available to present on either day of the conference, May 15 or 16, and that they may not participate in more than two InterActivity sessions.

Plan the session from start to delivery at InterActivity 2025:
• Meets all deadlines set by ACM.
• Maintains timely communication with presenters, ACM, and Program Committee “shepherd” who will be assigned to the session upon acceptance.
• Rehearses the session with all presenters in advance of delivery at InterActivity.
• Ensures development of useful handouts for distribution onsite and for posting to the ACM website after the conference.
• Review all session presentations and handouts in advance of the conference to ensure quality and consistency.
Note: failure to meet these obligations may jeopardize acceptance of future session proposals.
Session chairs agree to these responsibilities when they complete the Session Proposal form

Proposals submitted by July 31, 2024 will be reviewed by the InterActivity 2025 Program Committee and evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. The proposed session conveys innovative strategies, take-home tools, adaptable practices, or new research and its application. Content may support the theme and/or provide nuts-and-bolts training.
2. The proposal’s learning objectives are realistic and achievable.
3. The session plan outlines a clear picture of what attendees can expect during the session: who will speak on what topic and for how long, how attendees will participate, and what attendees can expect to take away.
4. Proposal describes useful handouts for distribution to attendees and/or for posting to the ACM website after the conference.
5. Presenters are confirmed and provide diverse perspectives on the topic (i.e., representing museums of all sizes, not different departments in the same museum). See What Size is Your Museum.

Proposals with content experts from outside the children’s museum field will receive extra consideration as will proposals from and for small museums.

All session proposals for InterActivity 2025 must be submitted through the online SurveyMonkey form. Only completed proposals will be reviewed. Note: once a proposal is started in SurveyMonkey it needs to be completed—you many not be able to go back in and finish or change it at a later date. We strongly suggest you pre-write the proposal before entering the text in the form.

TBA: Session Proposal Webinar
July 31: Session Proposals Due
September 12-13: InterActivity 2025 Program Committee Meeting
October 11: Decision Notices Sent to Session Chairs