Escape Velocity sparks student STEAM creativity

the museum of science fiction
ESCAPE VELOCITY 2016
prepared by Virwood Crow Communications

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Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................... 2
Key Audience Insights........................................................................................ 3
Storytelling Guidelines ..................................................................................... 11
Elastic Messaging for All Communications Tools ......................................... 22
Best Practices for Implementing Communications Tools............................. 23
Press/Event Advisories................................................................................. 23
Press/Event Advisory Follow-Up ................................................................. 24
Website Changes........................................................................................... 25
Timeline .......................................................................................................... 25
Phone and Email Scripts .................................................................................. 26
Reporters........................................................................................................ 26
Teachers and Teachers Associations ......................................................... 26
Appendix ............................................................................................................ 28
Press/Event Advisory.................................................................................... 29
Website Recommendations.......................................................................... 30
Conclusion......................................................................................................... 33
Attached
Key Audience Insights (previously sent)
Contact List #1 (Reporters)
Contact List #2 (Reporters)
Contact List #3 (Teacher’s Association)
Contact List #4 (Teachers)

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Introduction
Dear Greg Viggiano –
As your communications planning team for the Escape Velocity Teacher’s
Workshop, this is the communications implementation plan we have put together
for you.
Per our last discussion, this implementation plan focuses on three key audiences
– reporters, teachers, and teachers associations. We’ve included documents to
send to each of these audiences, as well as detailed instructions on when and
how to send them.
In this package, you will find a few items:
1. Key audience insights;
2. Storytelling guidelines;
3. General messaging guidelines for using communications tools effectively;
4. Best Practices for implementing communications tools;
5. Phone and email scripts for contacting and following up with teachers,
reporters, and teachers associations;
6. A press/event advisory;
7. Website Recommendations; and
8. Contact Lists for reporters, teachers, and teachers associations.
We hope this promotions package will help you to build a lot of excitement and
enthusiasm for the Escape Velocity Teachers Workshop. It has been a pleasure
working with you!
Sincerely,
AJ, Derika, and Kate

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Key Audience Insights
As we have continued to work with you to help achieve your goals for Escape
Velocity, we have been able to develop a deeper understanding of the Museum
of Science Fiction and future opportunities. In our Scope of Work, we outlined
the first component of our Master Narrative, which was to research and develop
key audience insights and provide an organized overview of the data we
collect. Consequently, in this document you will find our secondary research to
better understand the key audience, children 9-13 years old, an analysis of our
findings and recommendations.
We believe this group would get the most educational value out of Escape
Velocity and be likely to participate in our storytelling component of the Master
Narrative and elastic messaging: Teachers have the potential to inspire
students to STEAM careers using science fiction. After the target audience
was chosen, we knew it was critical to reach out to teachers, especially those
that focus on science and math, because the classroom is where the target
audience spends a majority of their time. Furthermore, it is in the classroom
where these students are introduced to subjects and ideas that are integral to
STEAM education.
To reach out to teachers in the area effectively, we put together a media list with
over 3,000 science teachers’ email addresses from the D.C., Maryland and
Virginia (DMV) school districts. Once we had this data compiled, we created a
seven question survey, and the teachers that completed the survey not only
provided valuable insight, but also got a free ticket to Escape Velocity. The
survey responses we received have provided valuable information and patterns
that have led to our recommendations, which you will find at the bottom of this
document.

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389,111
kids
389,111 kids ages 9-13
Male: 199,080
Female: 190,031
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
70%
30%
7 out 10 teachers recommend
digital submissions
100% of survey respondents
believe a contest would boost
student interest in Escape Velocity
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
artw
ork
video
w
riting
70%
20%
10%
Creating
Artwork
was the most
recommended
contest approach
digital
paper
Key Demographics:
Kids (ages 9-13)
Parents
Teachers (grade 4-7)
Email Survey
3,000 sent to area teachers
10 responses received
Summary of Insights for Escape Velocity
Student Involvement Campaign

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Survey Results & Analysis
We sent out a survey to over 3,000 educators in the District of Columbia,
Maryland, and Virginia. The following is a brief rundown of the questions &
responders:
Questions 1-2 asked for first and last names as well as email addresses to be
added to the Museum of Science Fiction subscription list for updates and news
about the museum and Escape Velocity.
Question 3 asked teachers how likely their students would be in creating a
video, story, painting or drawing about science fiction, and 70% of respondents
agreed that creating a painting or other artwork about science fiction would be a
medium our key audience would be more interested in. The video about science
fiction option comes in second place with 20% and the least popular was about
writing a science fiction story. The answers to this question are critical because
they showcase exactly what medium teachers believe their students would be
more willing to participate in Escape Velocity.
Question 4 openly asked if educators thought their students would be more
excited to participate in Escape Velocity if their artwork, story or video was on
display. 100% of the answers said ‘yes’ to the question, which proves that the
best way to get the target audience of school children ages 9-13 to participate in
Escape Velocity is to make sure their work and interpretation of science fiction is
part of the event.
Question 5 yielded results that 70% of survey respondents think students would
be more interested in making a digital rather than paper submission to Escape
Velocity. This is something we have spoken with Greg about to set up an online
submission page for students to upload their image or video to enter the
competition.
Question 6 required each educator to write their opinion about what they look for
in a competition to boost STEAM engagement. The answers were both
enlightening and exciting as we help shape the goals of Escape Velocity as a
STEAM education powered event.

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Answers to Question 6:
- “I look for criteria that adaptable for my curriculum and standards,
something with a reasonable time frame, and a prize that is motivating.”
- “Connection to their personal lives (make the project and competition
relevant); provide choice while maintaining program fairness. Provide the
materials (again, to keep the competition fair).”
- “Engaging for the students, allowing student choice for presentation style
and topic selection.”
- “Outreach programmes that visit schools”
- “Generalized interests of the students can engage at their own level”
- “making sure Art is a BIG component”
- “I look for the quality of art inclusion because I am the visual arts teacher”
- “A way to make the student effort relevant to their world.”
- “Problems that students would not normally see. Challenges that take
place in a advanced real world situations...You are an astronaut and have
to help with the following mission…”
- “Student engagement... a "hook" for getting them excited about the
science behind science fiction. In my class, we often talk about "science
FACTion" due to the importance of science fact that makes the plot or
artwork plausible.”
Question 7 asked for specific recommendations from teachers about how to host
a competition to boost STEAM education engagement and student interest at
Escape Velocity. The answers provided were valuable because they offered
examples of past successful competitions and knowledge about what garners
student interest in educational events.
Answers to Question 7:
- “I think my students might prefer doing a digital project, but I can't
guarantee access to technology at my school (we are stretched very thin),
so it is important that a non digital option is offered. It would be nice if the

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project aligned with NGSS science standards so that I could more easily
see how it could fit into my curriculum. I would like it to be flexible and
adaptable enough to fit into my curriculum. It would nice if there were
examplars or examples of student work so I could show my students what
was expected of them. If you prepared documents (for example rubrics) I
could hand out to students, I would also appreciate that! I map my units
out months in advance, so I would need some time to fit it into the
curriculum.”
- “Provide a kick-off webinar or in-person event, so that the project's scale is
visible to all.”
- “Making locations close by for our students who would benefit from this
event but do not have the money to travel.”
- “Have visitors come to school to launch and run workshops”
- “Find a way to engage the parents and the community in this type of
competition”
- “museum displays of student work more than just paper or digital, what
about 3D lessons possibly to include or incorporate”
- “Prizes!”
- “Themed competition (we did a STEM competition for local high school
students and it was Star Wars themed. Awards went out for best
costume), keep challenges short and have multiple challenges. This way
winning is not based on one sole competition.”
- “I'm not familiar with the museum and if there's an admission fee... but I
would suggest that students who enter the competition be given a free
pass. (You'll still make money due to the family member and friends who
attend.)”
Recommendations:
Combine art with technology. Based on the survey results, we see that
majority of educators agree that a digital based campaign is the based way to
engage their students.

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What does this mean for Escape Velocity? We’ve already proposed the idea
of a region-wide competition to encourage STEM/STEAM education, but what is
we took it a step further by bringing technology into the mix somehow? 70% of
those who took the survey stated creating a painting, drawing, or other piece of
artwork about science fiction would appeal to their students. The following are
potential ideas to combine the concept of digital and art:
Have parents share their child’s artwork on social media. Based on
research, we found that over 80% of parents between the ages of 30 - 45 are on
Facebook. In the midst of us being in the “age of oversharing,” a great way to
include parents into the equation is finding a way for them to share their child’s
artwork on Facebook in an effort to gain the support of friends and family.
Why this will potentially work? Based on survey results, educators agreed that
100% of their students would be more interested in attending Escape Velocity if
their artwork, story, or video was on display. Well, one can only assume at least
90% of these kids’ parents would be inclined to attend as well if their child’s work
was presented.
What does this mean for Escape Velocity? Allowing parents to showcase their
child’s work on social media would showcase the Museum of Science Fiction as
a supporter of STEM/STEAM, show the Museum is “family oriented,” and spread
the word about Escape Velocity 2016.
- Additional Insight:
o Parents today are opting for a "third-child style" of parenting
that's more relaxed and encourages greater independence.
§ They want to encourage and support their child’s
participation in activities that allow them to act individually
and creatively.
§ Today’s parents are most “enlightened”.

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• As more and more brands eliminate gender
specification on toys and clothes and beloved shows
introduce new characters with special needs.
Enlightened parents believe that showing
understanding and acceptance without necessarily
telling can be a stronger, more modern message to
kids when helping to breakdown stereotypes and
gender norms.
o They want to see little girls programming and
utilizing computer science, and little boys
writing and painting.
- Show “real world application”. Tie in how STEM/STEAM is impacting
the world today and in the future.
Kids Research:
In the DMV area, kids between the ages of 9 – 13 totaled approximately
389,111 individuals. Of these, 199,080 are male and 190,031 are female. The
majority of these children attend school at one of the 5,704 public and private
schools in the area – 296 in Washington, D.C., 2,370 in Maryland, and 3,038 in
Virginia. While only 11 percent of children in this area are living in poverty, that
number jumps to 66 percent when considering just children living in the District of
Columbia.
According to the survey data collected on children (see below),
responding teachers believed that students between the ages of 9 – 13 would be
most interested in submitting a piece of artwork (painting, drawing, or other
creative piece) for a contest to boost engagement with Escape Velocity and
STEAM related topics. These same respondents indicated that digital
submission of these entries would be the best for our targeted student
demographic. All of these respondents indicated that kids would be more
interested in attending Escape Velocity if their artwork, video, or story was on
display.

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Teacher research:
Teachers spend approximately 976 hours or 10 months per academic
year in the classroom so it is critical to draw those in the profession to an event
or concept by highlighting how the young people who come into each class per
day has the potential to challenge or change the world (Harvard Educational
Review, Fried, 2001).
Teachers are concerned with maintaining an engaging classroom while
teaching STEAM education topics, especially to change the gender stereotype
that boys are better than girls at math and science. With this in mind, teachers
need to feel empowered to revolutionize today’s classroom to ensure each
student is able to understand STEAM educational goals.
Parent Research:
• Opt for “Third- Child Style” Parents today are opting for a "third-child
style" of parenting that's more relaxed and encourages greater
independence. They want to encourage and support their child’s
participation in activities that allow them to act individually and creatively.
• Enlightened Parenting. As more and more brands eliminate gender
specification on toys and clothes and beloved shows introduce new
characters with special needs. Enlightened parents believe that showing
understanding and acceptance without necessarily telling can be a
stronger, more modern message to kids when helping to breakdown
stereotypes and gender norms. They want to see little girls programming
and utilizing computer science, and little boys writing and painting.
• The Era of Oversharing. Parents, particularly mothers, are heavily
engaged on social media, both giving and receiving a high level of support
via their social media network. 74% of parents who use social media get
support from their friends on social media. In addition, majority of parents
few comfortable sharing information and photos on their children via social
media.

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Storytelling Guidelines
This document is meant to serve as a landscape analysis of 3 case studies to
document how other museums or science fiction related organizations approach
storytelling, while identifying ways the Museum of Science Fiction can learn from
the findings in each ‘takeaway’ section.
Storytelling will bring the Museum of Science Fiction’s messaging package to life
by connecting with educators in an emotional way to drive them to action. The
museums listed in this document include:
• The Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum located in Hollywood, California
• The International Spy Museum located in Washington, D.C.
• Experience Music Project located in Seattle, Washington
The museums that were analyzed will serve as a model to help the Museum of
Science Fiction adopt a storytelling lens to its communication and marketing work
by focusing on educational resources for future educator workshops after the one
at Escape Velocity in July 2016.
The Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum
Takeaway
Similar to the Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum future plans, the Museum of Science
Fiction would do well to implement a Science Fiction Learning Center that
meets D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area requirements for STEAM
education so when the museum walls are built, it will have a space already
carved out for educational resources to be used by students and teachers.
The MOSF’s capabilities with a Science Fiction Learning Center have a more
expansive reach than the Hollywood Museum because it is not limited to science

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fiction films like the latter, but the MOSF taps into all areas of sci-fi as well by
including the science, technology, education, math and art aspects.
At every point possible, the Hollywood Museum bridges the gap between fiction
and real science by leveraging partnerships with NASA, the aerospace industry,
biotech firms and other “real” science to present real-world STEM careers in
tandem with the concept of science fiction. The MOSF has connections like
these in place, and it is very important to continue to reach out to these
connections by sending personalized updates about the museum to be able to
ask for help at a later date.
About
Located in Hollywood, California, the Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum’s mission is to
serve the needs of the community while reaching out to the global sci-fi network.
The Museum stands by the idea that science fiction breaks down demographic
barriers and its educational offerings reflect this by analyzing sci-fi as it pertains
to art.
The Hollywood Museum encourages its learners’ imagination at every
opportunity and helps people of all ages to hone their creative skills by mirroring
the sci-fi development process through activities like creative writing to using
cutting edge digital tools to envisioning imaginative ideas as they come to life.
Education
Like the Museum of Science Fiction, the Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum places
education at the heart of its story and uses science fiction to engage others in
science, technology, engineering and math-related fields by tapping into the
imagination and artistry of science fiction for people of all backgrounds and ages.
The Hollywood Museum draws from research-based methods of learning, and
the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Its programs and

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exhibits are designed to incorporate effective inquiry-based STEM techniques to
open-ended creative experiences. It focuses on developing strong ties to local
schools and around the world, while marketing the value that museums bring to
the overall infrastructure of learning. By some estimates, most people only
spend about 5% of their lives in school, and the Hollywood museum strives to
facilitate learning in the other 95%. The MOSF should do the same!
Contact
www.thehollywoodmuseum.com
(323) 464-7776
International Spy Museum
Takeaway
The International Spy Museum website has free downloadable brochures and
educational materials, which would be a very easy fix for the MOSF to offer
under the new education tab on the website. The MOSF should showcase its
connections to astronauts and science fiction actors like the Spy Museum lists on
their website because it helps give the MOSF more credibility (and donations).
The Museum of Science Fiction should mimic the Spy Museum and offer
educational resources like field trips, onsite student workshops as well as free
classroom lessons, resources and activities that support traditional curriculum to
use in lesson plans to not only ensure students learn the concept of science
fiction, but also taps into students’ imaginations and goals.
About
The International Spy Museum, a museum exploring the craft, practice, history,
and contemporary role of espionage, opened in Washington, DC on July 19,
2002. It is the only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to
espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on an all-

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but-invisible profession that has shaped history and continues to have a
significant impact on world events.
Education
The International Spy Museum is committed to educating students and teachers
about espionage in an engaging way that fosters understanding of its role in
current and past historic events. It provides unique resources for educators and
students through a page on the website dedicated to downloadable brochures
and hands-on educational materials for teachers and other educators to take at
will.
The Spy Museum also provides free classroom lessons, resources and activities
that support traditional curriculum that are easily downloadable online. Ranging
in subjects, lesson plans include step-by-step instructions for educators’
classrooms, and the Museum’s programs provide educators with an opportunity
to learn more about the topic and meet intelligence professionals face-to-face.
In addition to a series of public programs, the museum offers educator-specific
workshops and professional development opportunities. The workshops range
from two hours to a full day and can take place at the Spy Museum, off-site at
local schools or via distance learning and provides a packet of lesson plans,
publications and resources to bring back to the classroom.
Contact
Educational Programs and Exhibits
202.654.0932
www.spymuseum.org/
lhicken@spymuseum.org

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Experience Music Project
Takeaway
The Experience Music Project (EMP) is a great example of how to host events
throughout the year that integrate the subject matter of the museum into
professional development workshops specifically catered to educators. Use the
EMP as an example of hosting an effective “Teacher Development Day” open to
all DMV educators where they are able to learn more about integrating science
fiction and STEAM education goals into curriculum and how the MOSF is able to
assist in those efforts.
About
Experience Music Project is a nonprofit museum dedicated to the idea that risk-
taking fuels contemporary popular culture. With its roots in rock 'n' roll, EMP
serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through
collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, using interactive technologies
to engage and empower visitors. At EMP, artists, audiences and ideas converge,
bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the popular culture of
the present time.
Education
EMP works to inspire its audiences by providing unique and engaging
educational resources, programs and experiences. It is a priority for EMP,
whether online or on-site, to provide teachers with resources like lesson plans,
oral history interviews, and professional development workshops or events with
an email list to keep subscribers updated.
Summer 2016, the EMP is hosting an event called “Summer STEAM
Professional Development Week,” which is specifically for educators. The 30-
hour professional development week will focus on deepening best practices for
the integration of the arts into STEM education. Participants will engage in
hands-on, body-all-in projects—through creative movement, voice-over skills,

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sketching, paper engineering, sculpture—designed to actively and intentionally
address both teachers’ and students’ diverse learning styles. Teachers will be
provided opportunities to brainstorm and discuss with their peers the different
ways to apply and adapt these experiences into their own teaching practices.
EMP offers a biannual whole staff training specifically tailored to introduce
strategies for sparking and supporting student/teacher engagement at the
museum.
Contact
www.empmuseum.org
Email Bonnie Showers, Curator, Education + Interpretive Services, at
BonnieS@EMPmuseum.org or call 206-262-3250; main line: (206) 770-2700
Tell Your Story
What makes the Museum of Science Fiction unique? What are the effective
ways to drive emotional connection? How can the museum achieve more
donations? How can it engage more diverse audiences?
These are all important questions the Museum of Science Fiction executive team
should be asking to craft an effective story because storytelling is at the crux of
every nonprofit. It drives emotional connections, which lead to donations or
activism and puts a face to an idea or a cause.
As students at Georgetown University, there are many incredible of resources
available to ensure the Museum of Science Fiction tells its best story including
the Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC) recent study called “Stories
Worth Telling”.
Below you will find the five steps to create an effective story, and how the MOSF
can use the information about the three similar museums to tell its own story.

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This goes hand-in-hand with the elastic messaging that teachers have the
potential to inspire students to STEAM careers using science fiction. It is
critical that the MOSF tell its story to improve outreach and fundraising while
driving an emotional connection. The Georgetown CSIC highlights five essential
building blocks to tell an effective story to use as a frame of reference for building
out the Museum of Science Fiction’s story.
#1: Identify an Effective Character
As the Georgetown CSIC study notes, it is important to resist the temptation to
position the Museum of Science Fiction as the main character. This poses a
challenge for the current MOSF structure because much of the communications
structure and media conversation has centered around the museum
development, Escape Velocity and other events. Restructuring the thought
process may be difficult at first, but target audiences are more likely to relate to a
person rather than an institution. The MOSF will see an increase in donations
and advocacy for the cause when people are given an emotional reason to
support it.
The ideal character to share the mission and story of the Museum of Science
Fiction would be a student who was inspired to think about careers in science,
technology, engineering, art and math or STEAM in a different way, thanks to the
impact of the museum. It is imperative that the MOSF continues to work on
relationships with teachers in the DMV area to find a student to tell this story or
do research to invent a student that is not only realistic, but relatable.
In the meantime, to provide dimension to help tell the story of a student inspired
by the MOSF communications team should look to one of the many museum
volunteers. There are dozens of volunteers to call upon and ask specific
questions to create a narrative for a single story and focal point. Questions like:
How has the museum changed their life? How do they see it impacting the future

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of students in the DMV area? Why do they volunteer? Why are STEM, or more
importantly STEAM, educational goals critical for classrooms to embrace?
Sit down with 10 volunteers and interview them to determine the scope of impact
these people have experienced through involvement with the Museum of Science
Fiction. These people dedicate their time to the museum, for free, so they are
incredible resources for passion and drive that will help spark an emotional
connection to encourage outside parties to get involved or donate.
#2: Understand the Trajectory
Communications professionals refer to the elements of a story as the trajectory,
however, it means the story the MOSF character tells must have a beginning,
middle and end. One type of story the MOSF could employ is called the “hero’s
story,” which could go something like this: a student who gets bad grades and is
a trouble maker starts 5th
grade and the new teacher sees creative potential that
no one ever has before. With the guidance of the teacher, the student begins to
understand that science fiction is not just for nerds (sorry to be crass, but that is
the general thought process!), but is the point where imagination begins and
anything is possible. The student walks through the MOSF and discovers a
passion for designing movie costumes and has an idea to create one that can
light up on its own without the help of an electrical plug. Now you have a student
who started out as a “bad seed” and is going on to change the world of fashion,
all thanks to the Museum of Science Fiction.
As the Center for Social Impact Communication at Georgetown states, the
trajectory of the above story implies momentum or “energy that pulls the reader
or viewer forward, ideally to the conclusion of the story at which point they are
presented with a compelling call-to-action.” The call-to-action is critical because
that is what inspires action from the target audience – whether that be donations
or advocacy or participation in the MOSF efforts. If the story is relatable and
realistic, the possibilities are endless.

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#3: Make It Authentic
Another absolutely critical reason for the Museum of Science Fiction to continue
to work on relationships with teachers in the DMV area is to ensure authenticity
of the stories it tells about students impacted by the MOSF. The story needs to
show, rather than tell, the student’s transformation. One way to do this is to use
personal stories and quotations, which help make it more authentic. The story
needs to be detail-driven to get the message across that teachers have the ability
to inspire students to pursue careers in STEAM-related fields. It is important to
leave out science fiction jargon too because the majority of teachers and
students (as well as their parents) the MOSF is looking to engage with will lose
interest if they do not understand what is being said. Though science fiction has
unlimited possibilities, it also has its own language so while the MOSF is getting
off the ground, it would be wise to leave those terms behind in messaging
campaigns.
The MOSF may consider creating a video of students and teachers working
together on projects that erase the image of nerds in science coats mixing
potions to the cool inventor of a new start-up or the image of a glowing gown
transforming the face of science. Photos of students working on their own or
seeking inspiration from nature or a favorite video game are useable too. The
beautiful thing about science fiction is anything is possible as long as imagination
is used, and with technology rapidly changing, ideas that were once deemed “sci-
fi” are now found in the world. The MOSF needs to tap into the authenticity and
innocence of a student’s imagination to portray the story and mission of this first
of its kind museum.
#4: Action-Oriented Emotions
The fourth element that is critical for an effective story is to drive people to action.
For instance, after posting the video of students and teachers engaging with
science fiction and STEAM-related materials, provide a link to donate to the up-
and-coming museum. There are numerous crowd funding and fundraising

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options available to nonprofits, and many are free, that the MOSF can tap into.
The MOSF hosted a successful Kickstarter campaign and could do it again in the
name of education. The important thing is to make it as easy as possible for
interested parties to act after interacting with MOSF messaging.
Donations are just one possibility for action. Including links to sign up for the
monthly newsletters to stay up-to-date about the museum will further add to the
media list the MOSF uses that could eventually be broken into key influencers for
targeting specific publics. The Cause Consultants crafted a list with 3,000 DMV
science teachers from grades 4-8, which barely scratched the surface of potential
teacher relationships. The MOSF could create a link to fill out a volunteer
application form or create a hashtag for social media, promising if individuals
post a picture of them interacting with any element of STEAM in a unique way,
the picture will be featured on MOSF social media, which is another way to drive
engagement and awareness.
The other museums in this document may be referenced to understand how to
drive engagement with education as it relates to different subjects. The
International Spy Museum does a great job of engaging with educators year-
round, and the MOSF could tap into this idea through the message and visual
story that teachers are able to drive students to success in STEAM-related
career fields and interests. There are countless possibilities if instructors to tap
into their imaginations too.
#5: Hook the Crowd
The final element of an effective story, just like any presentation, is to hook the
audience. The Georgetown CSIC report cites a study by Visible Measures that
says, “20 percent of video viewers abandon watching after the first 10 seconds;
this grows to 44 percent who abandon after 60 seconds.” This leaves an
incredibly small window of opportunity to hook the audience and keep their
attention.

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Another way to hook the audience is to tap into the MOSF’s incredible
partnerships with NASA, the Science Channel, former sci-fi actors and actresses
and other world-renowned names that support the new museum. Tapping into
this resource will also benefit the authenticity of the story because not just
anyone can get quotes about the museum from Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard
Nimoy who played Mr. Spok on StarTreck. Imagine a video that starts with an
image of Mr. Nimoy speaking animatedly about the incredible possibilities the
MOSF can offer to educators and students that continues into a voice over
showing images and video clips of educators and students working together to
solve a math problem that then helps students build and create their own rocket
ship. This is one way to share the message of the MOSF by creating an exciting
hook that even people who have no connection to science fiction (yet) would be
intrigued to watch and find out more about it.
Conclusion
To conclude, this document is meant to serve as a roadmap to help the Museum
of Science Fiction tell its story by referencing how three other museums and
science fiction-related organizations tell stories. Using the five essential elements
of a story, the examples showcase how these museums integrate educational
goals with their unique subject matter while staying true to each individual
mission. The Georgetown Center for Social Impact Communication Study is
available for reference at: http://csic.georgetown.edu/research/storytelling.
The Museum of Science Fiction will be the world’s first comprehensive science
fiction museum, covering the history of the genre across the arts and providing a
narrative on its relationship to the real world that captivates the minds of school
children and inspires interest in science, engineering, technology, math, art,
and—ultimately—imagination. This is a story that needs to be told.

22
Elastic Messaging for All
Communications Tools
Following from the Storytelling section, this section is meant to give an overview
of how to integrate storytelling into communications when sending out messages,
making phone calls, or talking about the event to reporters or the media.
All communications for the Museum of Science Fiction should have one common
theme as elastic messaging: Teachers have the potential to inspire students
to STEAM careers using science fiction.
This theme should be consistent through all communications. For example, a
“theme” should be applied to specific “messages” like press advisories/ press
releases, social media posts, calls with reporters:
Message: social
media post could
be written about a
student who was
inspired by a
teacher to
pursuing a science
career
Message: a call
with a reporter
could focus
specifically on how
teachers will be
empowered to
inspire kids to
STEM through
science fiction
Message: the
workshop page
would focus most
of its content on
how teachers will
learn skills to
inspire their
students to STEM
through science
fiction
Message: email
correspondence
with teachers
would emphasize
the potential
teachers have to
inspire their own
students and
empower them to
change the world!
Theme: Teachers inspire
students to STEM through
Science Fiction

23
Implementation Best Practices
The following section outlines step-by-step best practices for implementing
communications efforts for the teacher’s workshop
Press Advisories (included in Appendix)
1. Press Advisory to reporters by May 4.
a. Press advisory should go to approximately 150 bloggers and 150
reporters (see attached contacts list #1 and #2).
i. Copy and paste text of press advisory right into the body of
the email. Reporters won’t open attachments, so the text
must be in the body of the email.
ii. Copy and paste email addresses of reporters in the “to” line.
iii. Subject line should read: “PRESS ADVISORY: First-ever
science fiction workshop for educators”
iv. Hit send!
b. Nico Pandi is familiar with sending press releases, so you can
follow-up with him if you have any questions.
2. Press Advisory to Teachers Associations by May 4.
a. Press advisory should go to teache’rs associations (see attached
contacts list #2).

24
i. Copy and paste text of press advisory right into the body of
the email.
ii. Copy and paste email addresses of teachers associations
into “to” line.
iii. Subject should read: “First-ever science fiction workshop for
educators”
iv. Hit send!
3. Press Advisory directly to Teachers by May 4.
a. Press advisory should go to approximately 3,000 teachers.
b. Greg has a media list prepared through a program called
MailChimp.
c. The same advisory sent to reporters should be sent to teachers.
d. The press advisory should be sent to Greg so he may forward to
the Teacher’s list.
i. Subject line should read: “First-ever science fiction workshop
for educators.”
ii. Hit send!
Press Advisory Follow-up
4. Reporters, Teachers, and Teachers Associations should be sent the press
advisory again on June 4th
, approximately one month before the Escape
Velocity event.
5. Another follow-up should happen on the Monday before the event on
June 27th
. If possible, phone calls should be made.

25
a. Potential attendees and reporters become much more excited
about going to or writing about an event when you reach out to
them personally via phone! This is an opportunity to sell them on
the event! (see below Phone Script if you’re planning on making
calls).
Website Recommendations
6. Website changes should be made by May 4.
a. Attached “website recommendations” have been forwarded to Greg
and MOSF’s web team.
b. These changes should be implemented by the time the Press
Advisory is sent out so teachers and reporters can check out the
workshop online.
Timeline
May 4 June 4 June 27
- Website
recommendations
implemented.
- Advisory sent to
teachers,
teachers
associations, and
reporters
- First follow-up made
to teachers, teachers
associations, and
reporters (just via
email).
- Second follow-up
made to teachers,
teachers associations,
and reporters (via
email and via phone, if
possible).

26
Phone and Email Scripts
Phone Script for Reporters
Hi, [NAME]! My name is [your name here!] and I’m calling from the Museum of Science
Fiction. I sent you a press advisory about a teacher’s workshop we’re putting on to help
teachers inspire students to STEM careers through science fiction. I was just calling to
ask if you had received the advisory, and if so, to ask if you are interested in covering
the event.
I’d be glad to resend you the advisory if you’d like!
Phone Script for Teachers
Hi, [NAME]! My name is [your name here!] and I’m calling from the Museum of Science
Fiction. I sent you an email about a teacher’s workshop we’re putting on to help
teachers inspire students to STEM careers through science fiction. I was just calling to
ask if you had received the message, and if so, to see if you’d be interested in covering
the event.
I’d be glad to resend you the email if you’d like!
Email Script for Teachers Associations
Hello, my name is _____, and I am emailing today on behalf of the Museum of Science
Fiction, which will be the world’s first comprehensive science fiction museum, covering
the history of the genre across the arts while providing a narrative on its relationship to
the real world. The museum is powered by STEAM education, which incorporates the
arts as well as science, technology, engineering and math. The museum is looking to
establish partnerships with teacher associations like ___ that work with science teachers
or emphasize STEM educational goals.
The museum is hosting an exciting event called Escape Velocity coming to DC from July
1-3, 2016. As part of the three-day event, there will be a teacher workshop that is meant

27
to get DMV teachers together to collaborate and discuss STEM education goals in the
classroom and the way the Museum of Science Fiction can help integrate those ideas.
Since science fiction is rich with ideas that serve as a springboard for curiosity and
project-based learning, children in particular will learn more about creative disciplines
and how they affect the human experience, and it is a critical goal to make sure
instructors in the area have access to resources provided by the Museum of Science
Fiction.
If you are interested in learning more or contributing to the teacher workshop on July 3,
please respond to this email. Looking forward to hearing from you!

28
Appendix
1. Press/Event Advisory
2. Website Recommendations
Attached
3. Excel Contact List #1 (Reporters)
4. Excel Contact List #2 (Bloggers)
5. Excel Contact List #3 (Teachers Associations)
6. Excel Contact List #4 (Teachers)

29
Museum of Science Fiction Washington, DC
USA: Earth: Sol: Milky Way
CONTACT:
Nico Pandi
+1-657-215-1701
nico.pandi@museumofsciencefiction.org
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE FICTION TO HOST TEACHER
DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
WASHINGTON – On July 3, 2016, during their first annual Escape Velocity
event, the Museum of Science Fiction (MOSF) will hold a Teacher Development
Workshop to show educators how they can inspire their students to STEM
related careers using Science Fiction in the classroom.
Led by esteemed educator Jessica Paul, the workshop addresses how science
fiction breaks down barriers to encourage students to pursue technical careers.
In addition to the workshop, the Escape Velocity event will host a mini gallery
featuring an exclusive preview of the Museum’s opening exhibits – including
exhibits on time-travel, robotics, aliens, and technologically advanced vehicles.
The Museum of Science Fiction, which co-sponsored the White House
Homesteading in Space Workshop and was recently featured in Washingtonian
Magazine, is holding the event to re-invigorate the interest of young people in
science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM).
The event is expected to include appearances by SciFi legacies Rod
Roddenberry, Jamie Anderson, Gigi Edgley, and others.
Sunday, July 3rd
Time TBD The Museum of Science Fiction will host a Teacher
Development Workshop accompanied DMV educators on how
to encourage students to use their imagination in the science
and technology industry.
Located at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
Visit http://escapevelocity.events/ for event details.
###

30
Website Recommendations
*This will be more useful for MOSF, but for your information
RECOMMENDATIONS – MOSF WEBSITE (Use the SPY Museum website as a
reference)
• Homepage
o Top Tabs
§ About: This section is all about the museum (welcome
message, product updates, press, and the MOSF Journal)
§ Exhibitions & Cool Stuff: This section will talk about all the
cool exhibits and artists the museum plans to feature. It will
also house the YouTube videos and related multimedia.
§ Events & Program: This section will talk about annual events
(i.e. Escape Velocity), teacher & student programs, and any
other activities.
• Escape Velocity
• Student & Teacher Programs
• Lecture Series
• Special Event
§ Support: This section will be how MOSF can engage with
current and future stakeholders and gain monetary support.
• Make a Donation
• Volunteer
• License Plate Program
o Right Side
§ Social Media Accounts
• Social media should be updated live/in real time.
• Overall Layout & Design
o Photo should be a banner
o Have upcoming events/updates in the middle
o Latest news and press on afterwards
o Refer to the SPY Museum for layout example

31
RECOMMENDATIONS – ESCAPE VELOCITY WEBSITE (Use the
SPY Museum website as a reference)
Homepage
- Top Tabs
o About: This section is all about the museum (welcome message,
product updates, press, and the MOSF Journal)
o Education & Programs: This section will talk about how Sci-Fi plays
a role in STEM education, why people should care, and how the
museum is helping to bring sci-fi into classrooms (i.e. the Teacher’s
workshop)
o Features & Exhibits: This section will talk about the confirmed
exhibitors, what will be showcase at the event (pictures, pictures,
pictures), and quest speaker bios. This section will also have the
full weekend schedule (and it should be available for download).
• Exhibits
• Speakers
• Full Schedule
o Ticketing & Pricing: This section is where they can purchase
tickets. You can include hotel information if need be.
o Contact
o Get Involved
• Volunteer
• Sponsor

32
Right Side
- Social Media Accounts
o Social Media Times should be on the right and live update.
- Overall Layout
o Use the USA STEM FESTIVAL for inspiration
o Add lots of color, big lettering, sci-fi movie references (that got
people's attention at the STEM Festival!)
o Have upcoming events/updates in the middle
o Latest news and press in the middle (in slide format)
o Have fun with it…kids love bright colors, big letters, tons of photos
(and Parents do too!)
o Emphasize the two “S” as much as possible SCI-FI and STEM!
`

33
Conclusion
Dear Greg –
It has been a pleasure to work with you over the past 15 weeks. Thank you for
the incredible opportunity to learn about the internal communications of the
Museum of Science Fiction and its upcoming goals. Your positive feedback and
appreciation of our work through the semester was much appreciated as we went
on a journey to become Georgetown Cause Consultants.
These final deliverables provide detail about key audience insights, messaging
strategy and storytelling all applicable to the elastic messaging: Teachers have
the potential to inspire students to STEAM careers using science fiction.
With these resources at your fingertips, the possibilities for the Museum of
Science Fiction, as it works with DMV area educators to combine the power of
imagination with STEAM-related career fields, are endless.
The efforts to produce these deliverables has not only been deeply personal, but
also a learning experience that we will carry with us through our professional
careers. The opportunity to work directly with you to create a hands-on
communications plan for Escape Velocity that aligned with the MOSF goals and
mission statement was a valuable experience. The knowledge we gained about
science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) and its relevancy in the
classroom was incredible to witness and learn about. The Museum of Science
Fiction will always have a special place in our hearts.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
AJ, Derika, and Kate

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