The P3 project was born of the sense that learning and education have become out of sync with one another.  With education often pointed to as a means to success, the Learning Committee questioned who defines success and how that influences learning. So we devised an experiment that the community could collectively observe and explore.  The P3 project asked 25 people, of all ages and from all walks of life, to intentionally pursue their passion for 9 months.  We paired these 25 Voyagers with 25 Guides (mentors) to support them as they challenged their assumptions, imagined new possibilities, and had the courage to expand beyond who they are to learn and grow.  The P3 participants offer us a window not only into how we learn, and how we support learning in our community, but how important an individual sense of passion and purpose is to achieving fulfillment, productivity and success.  Learn more about the project and the participants at www.thenextfifty.org/P3 

On August 13, 20 & 27, you are invited to join the conversation as P3 participants, researchers and the committee discuss their experiences and discoveries and we examine how that can impact learning and systems of learning in our society.  Each night focuses on a different aspect of the project.

Location: Playhouse/INTIMAN, 7:30PM

Tickets are free, but capacity is limited. 

Go to www.ticketmaster.com  in advance to reserve your ticket. 

If you are unable to attend, go to the Next Fifty Global Channel (seattlecenter.com) later to watch the recorded broadcasts. 

2 clock hours available per night. Attendance required at 2 nights, minimum. Register with Antioch University on-site. $1.50/clock hour check or cash.

In 1962 The Seattle Times asked 3^rd graders to predict the future and young Dick Hennacy declared, “Television will teach us.”  Join us and hear today’s youth explain their predictions for learning in the future as they present their projects from the Classroom of the Future Exhibition.  Which of their ideas will we point to 50 years from now?  Tickets are free, but capacity is limited.  Go to www.ticketmaster.com in advance to reserve your ticket. 

If you are unable to attend, go to the Next Fifty Global Channel (seattlecenter.com) later to watch the recorded broadcast.

Playhouse/INTIMAN    Exhibit opens 6:30PM, Youth Presentations 7:30PM

Classroom of the Future Exhibition (August 1 – 31)

Paretnered with League of Education Voters

We asked youth to predict where, what, how and with whom people will learn in the future.  This exhibition showcases their ideas about physical space, technology, curriculum, and the student/teacher relationship.  

Playhouse/INTIMAN, Tuesdays – Sundays, 10 AM – 8PM, FREE

• CHOPS (Aug 8 ) -  Synopsis: Each year Jazz at Lincoln Center hosts the prestigious Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, a competition of the absolute best high school jazz bands from across the country. Inspired by the entire community of jazz musicians, the students humbly recognize the honor of carrying on the legacy of the masters. Discussion: What inspires kids to do amazing things? What learning environments are most conducive to extraordinary achievement? What activities should we be steering kids toward in our curricula?

• HAPPY (Aug 15) – Synopsis: Does money make you happy? Kids and family? Your work? Do you live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being? Taking us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa, HAPPY explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion.  Discussion: What is the purpose of schooling? How can schools leverage social and emotional well-being into greater academic achievement? What is the role of the emerging field of positive psychology on education policy?

• FINDING JOE (Aug 22) – Synopsis: An exploration of Joseph Campbell’s studies dubbed The Hero’s Journey: the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home as a changed person. FINDING JOE shows how Campbell’s work is relevant and essential today and how it provides a narrative for how to live a fully realized life—or as Campbell would state, how to “follow your bliss.”  Discussion: In what ways can Campbell’s philosophy be applied to education? What might “follow your bliss” look like in school? How can we make school a place that explicitly teaches students to face their fears?

• THE LOTTERY (Aug 29) -  Synopsis: In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, THE LOTTERY uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year for charter schools and the chance of a better future. Discussion: What might be an effective strategy moving forward in educating socioeconomically disadvantaged young people? What is an appropriate role for charter schools? Why has change proven to be so difficult and what steps can be taken to overcome these challenges?

Series happens at SIFF Film Center at 7pm each night. 

Admission is free, but capacity is limited.  Email RSVPLearning@seattlecenter.org in advance to reserve your seat.

National leaders whose work shapes new ideas in education discuss:  What is the future we hope to realize for our children 50 years from now?  What are the skills today’s children need in order to become the architects of a better world tomorrow? How are new advances in areas such as technology and brain research opening up exciting new pathways for teaching and learning? How will we make innovations in education meaningful and accessible to all children in the Next 50? How will the investments we make in educating very young children today profoundly affect our community – for better or for worse – in the next 50 years?

 Presenters:

• Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., Creative Director of Social Chocolate, Director of Game Research and Development at Institute for the Future, best-selling author of Reality is Broken, named by The New York Times as one of 10 scientists with the best vision for what’s coming next.
• Milton Chen, Ph.D., Director Emeritus of Edutopia/The George Lucas Educational Foundation
• Bette Hyde, Ph.D., Director of Washington State Department of Early Learning
• Roger Weissberg, Ph.D., Psychology Professor at University of Illinois and CEO of Collaborative for Academic, Social & Emotional Learning (CASEL) 

 Moderator:

• Kristen French, Ph.D., Director of Western Washington University Center for Education Equity and Diversity

 $10 Student/Educator, $16 General Admission, $37 Premium Seating/Post-Event Reception (prices include taxes and fees). Tickets available at ticketmaster.com.  If you are unable to attend, go to the Next Fifty Global Channel (seattlecenter.com) later to watch the recorded broadcast.   [3 clock hours available.  Register with Antioch University on-site.  $1.50/clock hour check or cash.]

 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, August 16, 7:00PM

Seattle Center Foundation is partnering with a number of service organizations to host impactful volunteer projects at Seattle Center that relate to the monthly Next Fifty theme.

Volunteer activities will occur each month and be a great way for individuals, families and/or groups, to get involved.

Join us and make a tangible difference in the lives of many – near and far.

April – Oct Habitat for Humanity: House of the Immediate Future

May 12-13       Food Drive  benefiting the Ballard Food Bank

The Ballard Food Bank distributes food to those in the 98107, 98117, 98119 and 98199 zip codes, including home delivery to elderly and disabled clients, and several shelters, including Sacred Heart located across from Seattle Center.

June 9-10              Page Ahead    - New Book Drive

Help us provide new books to children to build strong reading skills and avoid the problems created by illiteracy. Page Ahead distributes new books to children who  receive free lunches or live below the federal poverty level, receive English language tutoring, or read below grade level.   

July 15                 Medical Teams International – Hope Kits for Children

Help purchase items for the kit and/or bring listed items and help pack up the Hope Kits. These kits will be sent to children in orphanages, children in refugee camps, families in disasters as well as families in our own community.

August 3             World Vision – Promise Packs and School Tools Kits

We have the packs….We have the items….We need hands to help us assemble the packs! The Promise Kits are for children living in AIDS-afflicted communities. The School Tools Kits will be distributed to public schools in south Seattle.

September 8      Union Gospel Mission Sock & Pants Drive

We’ll be celebrating the birth of Seattle Center on Sept. 8…..with 1962 music, cake and more.  Did I hear “Sock Hop?”
Come join us and bring new socks and pants for UGM.

• Last year, Union Gospel Mission distributed 32,132 socks though our Search and Rescue van, the Men’s Shelter and other programs at the Mission! That’s an average of 2,677 pairs of socks each month.

October 14    Operation Homefront – Let’s Have a Baby Shower for 200+ WA. Military Families

Seattle Center is hosting perhaps the largest baby shower for our military families in collaboration with Operation Homefront.  Your contribution of: gift cards for food and baby items, new and gently used baby items, and financial donations, will make this a success. Operation Homefront provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors. While the expectant moms are royally treated at the Baby Shower, dads and siblings can play at Seattle Center!

Watch for Updates on how you, your family, a group, can volunteer at one or more of the Seattle Takes Care projects.

Email: SeattleTC@seattlecenter.org to receive updates

Buy History Today!

The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy is a new book about the history of the 1962 World’s Fair and Seattle Center. Developed in partnership with HistoryLink.org and written by Paula Becker and Alan J. Stein,  this 300-page, image rich hardcover book will be released October 21, 2011.

Astronauts and space craft. Royalty and Cold War tension. Science and art. The Kennedys. Religion and sex. Fashion and futurist speculation. The Canadian Tattoo. Freakish weather and Belgian waffles. Elvis and his excitable fans. The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair had it all.

Officially named Century 21 Exposition, the fair drew 10 million visitors and even made a little money — remarkable success for an event staged in a little-known, geographically isolated city. But behind the commerce and entertainment was a larger vision. The civic leaders, businessmen, and publicists who made the fair a success were determined that when the lights went out and the tourists went home Seattle would be left with much-needed civic center. In the half-century since the fair, Seattle Center has become the artistic and cultural hub of the region — the remarkable legacy of a fondly remembered six months of fun long ago.

Order today >

Share your story here >

Winners will receive an autographed copy of The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and its Legacy, the new official commemorative book of the 50th anniversary celebration. All you have to do to participate is visit our site and publish your (or a family member’s) story from the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair between September 21, 2011 and October 20, 2011. Winners will be randomly selected at the end of the month. All ages are welcome to participate.