National conference on communicating science coming to Tucson

With the COPUS conference just wrapped up, this announcement caught my attention.

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), in partnership with the American Geophysical Union and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, has opened the registration for
its 124th Annual Meeting and its national conference on "Communicating Science."

Hundreds of education and outreach professionals, scientists, educators at all levels, authors of print and on-line materials, journalists, public information officers, museum staff, twitterers, and other involved in communicating science will be gathering in Tucson for panels, workshops, talks, posters, exhibits, and discussions.

The conference web site has more detailed information and is now accepting registration and abstract submissions at: http://www.astrosociety.org/2012meeting

There will also be a weekend workshop on teaching hands-on astronomy (with a focus on planetary exploration and reaching under-served minorities) on Sat. and Sun., Aug. 4 & 5,
for teachers in grades 3-12, and those who work with them.

Abstracts are welcome for poster papers, 10-minute oral presentations, one-hour hands-on workshops, and one-hour special-interest group discussions. Full instructions are available on the conference web site. The deadline for submitting an abstract is April 30.