Museum of Science & Sustainability

Website Make-Over

admin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:42:39 +0000

It was time to get a more professional website online, as opposed to just having an “internet presence.” Kai Staats, Principal of Over the Sun (http://overthesun.com), friend of MoSS VP Dan Heim, and Fellow Earthling, knew of our project and offered to host our website at no charge on his Montreal servers. The MoSS domain name registration remains with GoDaddy, but it was the smallest part of our cost. Thanks to Kai and OTS for this generous offer.

At Kai’s recommendation, we also decided to switch from the adequate but antiquated FrontPage Express, used by Heim to establish our original internet presence, to WordPress. This open-source, widely-used app makes collaborative website maintenance a snap, looks more professional, has more powerful features, and is extremely flexible in terms of design and layout.

By unanimous vote, the Directors also decided to use Board member Deanna Biddulph’s provisional logo design (now featured prominently atop every page of this website). Some time in 2010, it will be replaced by the winner of our MoSS Logo Contest. See our Special Events page for more details.

If you are just joining us in this Milestones Blog, and never got a chance to see the original website design, you can take a look at our first official homepage by clicking on the thumbnail below.

The Original MoSS Home Page - December 2008

The MoSS website will continue evolving, adding pages and content as needed. Please bookmark us, and check back regularly to follow our progress. We appreciate your interest and support. It is our mission to educate and inform on all environmental issues.

MoSS Teleconferences

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:08:54 +0000

On September 3rd, 2009, MoSS held its first Board of Directors teleconference, courtesy of SightSpeed®, from 3 pm to 4 pm. Present were VP Dan Heim, Secretary-Treasurer Disa McAlister, member George Catone, and newly-elected member Danielle Tomerlin.

We were all extremely pleased with the teleconference audio and video quality, and assured that we made the correct choice, both in the selection of out teleconferencing provider, and the decision to replace physical meetings, whenever possible, with an alternative that involves no burning of gasoline. Of course, even the electricity used for teleconferencing creates a slight carbon footprint, except in the case of Board member Dan Heim, whose home office and computer are powered directly by solar energy.

First Official MoSS Events

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:44:38 +0000

Gingerbread Laboratory Contest

1st place winner 2009

Our first annual Gingerbread Laboratory Contest, held October 25th, 2009, was at the Copper Basin YMCA.

Pumpkin 2009

This event, open to all age groups, challenges entrants to create a model home or laboratory from completely edible materials. It was free to enter and free to attend. In addition to raising funds, it also provided public outreach for the MoSS project.

We opened the contest up to pumpkin carving at the last minute. Next year we will offer pumpkin carving in its own category, the jack-o-lanterns were very original.

Logo Contest

Information has distributed to area schools and libraries for our MoSS Logo Contest (targeted at students) in an effort to raise awareness about our project and get the younger generations involved. Contest deadline is October 2010. You can see our promotional poster/brochure below.

Logo-Contest.pdf (73kB)

SightSpeed Teleconferencing

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:21:45 +0000

At this early stage in our development, the MoSS Board of Directors needs to meet on a monthly basis. The seven Board members are geographically scattered around the Phoenix metro area, and physical meetings involved a total of nearly 350 miles of travel (round trip). We decided that, whenever possible, we would hold our meetings via teleconferencing rather than driving. It’s so much more sustainable, and all Board members have broadband internet access, so MoSS VP Dan Heim volunteered to set it up.

After extensive research into quality of service, customer reviews, and cross-platform compatibility, we selected SightSpeed® as our teleconferencing provider. After negotiation with their management, we arrived at an arrangement whereby they will receive acknowledgment on our website (and later in the museum itself), and MoSS will be provided a free 10-way teleconferencing business account. At the point where MoSS starts generating real revenue, we will switch to a paid account, at their reduced rate for non-profit organizations.

Until then, SightSpeed® is generously providing MoSS this service for free. They believe in our cause, and we appreciate their support. We’d like to personally thank Maurice Dowdell in Technical Support, who helped set this up, as well as all the managers who approved this mutually beneficial arrangement. To learn more about SightSpeed®, click on their logo below.

Brainstorming at Heimhenge

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:46:20 +0000

On March 3rd, the MoSS Board of directors met at Heimhenge, the home of MoSS VP Dan Heim, in New River, AZ. All Board members were present. The brainstorming session was led by George Catone, with his typical architect style, using an easel and sketch pad to help us think through several issues crucial to the creation of MoSS. Site plan, landscaping, building design, exhibits, and many other issues were discussed. We’ve included images of the four sketch pad panels (displaying our brainstorming output) below.

Interior Building Features

Renewable Energy and Sustainable Building

Exterior Site Planning

Block Diagram of Museum

Internet Presence

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:16:57 +0000

MoSS VP Dan Heim created a preliminary website for MoSS: www.themoss.org. This was the domain name registered by MoSS Secretary-Treasurer Disa McAlister prior to incorporation. The website has since grown significantly in content. Just for design purposes, we needed a temporary “official logo.” Heim’s design, seen below with proposals from other Board members, incorporated basic icons for “sun,” “water,” and “life,” all key components of sustainability. The MoSS website was originally created using Heim’s design, simply as a “space holder.”

by Dan Heim

by Deanna Biddulph

by George Catone (rough sketch cleverly forms the letter "M")

by George Catone

It was later decided that MoSS should run a logo design contest, open to all students in Arizona, rather than produce our own design.

Also this month, MoSS became a member of COPUS, the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science. COPUS is a grassroots effort to aid in increasing public awareness and understanding of science, and serves as a valuable resource for science museums nationwide. We applied for COPUS affiliate status, and were promptly accepted.

Genesis of MoSS

admin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:12:49 +0000

Disa McAlister, who had been developing the idea for a Museum of Science & Sustainability over several years, contacted many qualified people, each with their own areas of expertise, seeking interested individuals to serve on the MoSS Board of Directors. After narrowing the choices down to the top seven, they were invited to meet at a restaurant in Tempe, on November 11th, for the first official meeting of MoSS. After introductions and some discussion, the Articles of Incorporation (prepared by McAlister) were signed by all present, as well as individual agreements to serve as Board members. McAlister (who spearheaded the MoSS project) was voted in as Secretary-Treasurer, Sean Carney as President, and Dan Heim as VP. Heim also agreed to set up our website to create an internet presence, important for both visibility and credibility.

The next day, McAlister filed for incorporation of MoSS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in the State of Arizona, organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes. On November 14th, 2008, our application was approved by the Arizona Secretary of State, and MoSS became a legal entity.

Later that month, McAlister secured domain name registration and webhosting services with GoDaddy for the purpose of establishing the MoSS website.

Also, later that month, Board member George Catone, hosting from the server at his architectural firm Reset Studios, created a MoSS project board for the convenient exchange of files and images, project planning and tracking, and messaging between Board members.