Exploration Station is an open house for local families, teachers and kids to learn about the cool science currently occurring in the field of earth and space science. During the event, participants have a chance to meet scientists, do hands-on science and take home lots of cool resources collected during their visit. Exploration Station provides a venue where the local community and AGU members can come together to share the excitement of science.

Exploration Station is run in conjunction with AGU spring and fall meetings. The four-hour (12:00 - 4:00pm) event is always held on a weekend day. Which weekend and which day is directly dependent on the actual meeting dates.

At Exploration Station, exhibitors are expected to run some easy activities that are appropriate for a large range of ages and are conducive to a fluid and moving crowd. The more hands-on and interactive, the better! Giveaways, especially ones that can be used and are an activity in themselves, are also strongly encouraged and play an important role in exciting the public.

At Exploration Station, we generally encourage as much flexibility as possible. Some accommodations can be made for such activities as Starlabs and other immersive environments. Please contact Jake (jake@cis.rit.edu) if you wish to explore these possibilities further.

Exploration Station targets local families. In the past, the majority of the audience was comprised of elementary and middle school students and their parents. That being said, you can expect families to include everything from very young children to grandparents. We estimate about 500+ participants spread out over the four-hour period.

Giveaways of all sorts from stickers to activity sheets are strongly recommended. The best giveaways are ones that can be used for some sort of activity possibly even serving as an extension to the activity being presented at the booth during the event. Shipping information and details will be provided as they become available. All information will also be available on the website under the "For Exhibitors" link in the "About Us" section.

The actual room information and set-up will be posted on the website and sent to exhibitors as soon as it becomes available. Exploration Station is held in a large room and is set-up much like a mini exhibit hall. Each exhibitor will get a table and two chairs. We strongly encourage exhibitors to bring booth backdrops, table cloths and anything else that can help increase their visibility and impact on visitors. Exhibitor registration forms will be made available on the website under the "For Exhibitors" link in the "About Us" section. You can also contact Jake (jake@cis.rit.edu) if you have any questions.

10:00 - 11:45 | Exploration Station Set-up

12:00 - 4:00 | Exploration Station open to public

4:15 - 5:00 | Exploration Station Take down

• All items shipped for use at Exploration Station will be delivered to the event room prior to set-up.
• All exhibits and exhibitors must be ready to go by 11:45.
• Exhibits must be manned at all times while the event area is open to the public. Volunteers will be available to help in case of emergency or if an exhibitor needs to a break.
• No exhibitors may begin the take down process before 4:15.
• There will be volunteers around to help with set-up and take down.

If you do not wish to ship back left over materials, the organizers will provide various alternative options. Which ones available at any given meeting, depends on meeting location and logistics.