10 Things We Did For The 1st Time During 2020
‍(and that we hope to continue...)

• New work trends:
  Increased remote working, revised job descriptions, and modified the organization’s structure to be more agile and responsive.
• New role for the MakeLab:  
  During the first months of the pandemic, in response to societal need, the Lab developed and produced protective masks and other types of PPE for health teams;  To support remote  schooling, the Lab developed and produced kits for students and  teachers to use at home.
• Creating 3 new digital studios:
  Two fixed studios and one mobile, with new equipment for filming and broadcasting; Professional development to the team in online filming and instruction.
• Live online family events:
  Live events via Zoom and Facebook Live on specific topics, during  National  Science Day,  EU Researchers Night, and holidays; Broadcasting science shows, short lectures, exhibitions  and “behind the scenes” tours- some  of which were synchronized  with activities at the museum (when it was opened to the public).
• Podcasts for kids and their families:
  12 podcast episodes, based on scientific articles written by well-known Israeli scientists and published in the free online science magazine for kids - Frontiers for Young Minds.  The podcasts are available for free on several platforms, including Kan (the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation), and are very popular. New series are in production.
• Online interactive science encounters for students:
  New formats for online science encounters for students in grades 4-9  and for after-school programs. The encounters were based on experiments- using personal kits developed by the Museum’s education team- and were distributed to schools, to reduce passive learning via Zoom  and  to increase student engagement.
• Online Young Scientists and Developers Competition:
  2020 Young Scientists and Developers Competition, scheduled to take place in mid-March at the Museum, was converted to an online format, including judging  process and final ceremony.  2021 competition will be all online based on experience gained.
• New format for the Jerusalem Young Science Parliament:
  The youth parliament of Jerusalem 10th graders was devoted to how Israeli society will look after Covid19. A special website was created to host the lectures of experts and the discussions and recommendations of the young people. The website now serves as a resource for other schools for open dialog.
• Israel Make Week going virtual:
  For the 4th Israel Make Education Week, a Phys-taly platform was created to host  lectures, roundtable discussions, tours, and workshops of the many different participants. The platform will become a common resource for formal and informal educators.
• Online Professional Development  for teachers:
  Helping teachers to think with their hands, learn how to code, how to use micro: bits to integrate digital and physical works - a new professional development program  for  the latest skills that are needed for the new roles of today’s teachers.