| Date |
Event |
| 1991 |
- Dan Sudran’s garage in the Mission is open for local kids. Dan seeks supporters for his vision.
- Dan attends Exploratorium Teacher Institute summer program.
|
| 1992 |
- Space is secured at the Mission campus of City College of San Francisco and Mission Science Workshop is established.
- Curt Gabrielson first visits Mission Science Workshop
|
| 1993-1997 |
- In addition to the after school drop-in program, Dan works with staff at the Exploratorium Teacher Institute–Maurice Bazin and Modesto Tamez–to provide training to many Mission District elementary school teachers, and then open MSW as a field trip destination.
|
| 1994 |
- NSF grant is received for California expansion to 15 sites (later reduced to 10) within California through Dean Paul Fonteyn at San Francisco State University.
- Brookdale Discovery Center becomes a CSW with Rich Bolecek as director under the City of Oakland Department of Parks and Recreation. It existed prior to joining the NSF grant.
- Dan Sudran visits Dicky Playground in Fresno and meets Manuel Hernandez.
- Fresno CSW opens with Manuel Hernandez as director under City of Fresno Department of Parks and Recreation.
|
| 1995 |
- Capuchino High School CSW in San Bruno opens with Ron Wong as director, lasting only around 2 years.
- Curt Gabrielson begins working at Mission Science Workshop while still at Exploratorium Teacher Institute.
|
| 1996 |
- San Jose CSW opens at San Jose High School shop building with Javier Descalzi as director with administrative support of Dr. Jorge Castro from San Jose State University.
- Los Angeles-University of Southern California MESA Mission Science Workshop opens as CSW with Darin Gray as director.
- 1996 Bayview-Hunter’s Point CSW as satellite of Mission Science Workshop.
- Stockton CSW opens with Tony ?? as director under local nonprofit housing facility.
|
| 1997 |
- Watsonville CSW opens under the City of Watsonville Department of Parks and Recreation with Curt Gabrielson as director.
- West Oakland Discovery Center established as satellite of Oakland CSW.
|
| 1998 |
- April Parlier CSW opens with support of NSF expansion grant as satellite site of Fresno CSW, to last around 4 years.
- Vicente Oropeza becomes director of San Jose CSW and stays for two years. Dr. Jorge Castro later moves this CSW to Joseph George Middle School in Alum Rock after Vicente’s tenure.
|
| 1999 |
- March Huron CSW opens with support of NSF expansion grant as satellite site of Fresno CSW to last around 2 years.
|
| 2000 |
- September: Watsonville CSW has a new director while Curt works in Timor-Leste.
- Granny’s Science Workshop opens as Fresno CSW’s second site.
|
| 2001 |
- Second NSF grant through the San Francisco State University office of Dean Paul Fonteyn to expand to sites outside California, each of which was to be independent.
|
| 2002 |
- Houston CSW is established, the longest running of the NSF national expansion grant sites.
|
| 2003 |
- June: Curt returns to Watsonville CSW as director; City of Watsonville moves CSW to Department of Public Works.
|
| 2004 |
- August: Staff from all CSWs meet in Puerto Rico for a conference, including 6 national expansion sites.
|
| 2005 |
- MSW loses many staff and much funding, faces threat of loss of space.\
- August: Staff from all CSWs meet at a resort at Huntington Lake, California for a conference.
- September: California CSWs gather and prepare materials, then drive the Fresno CSWs Mobile Science Workshop to New Orleans to serve families displaced in Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans and Houston CSWs are also involved.
|
| 2006 |
- MSW moves to Mission High School with the rebuilding of the City College of San Francisco mission campus.
|
| 2008 |
- April: Most CSWs attend aconference at Marine Headlands Institute. This is the final gathering including the sites of the national expansion.
|
| 2010 |
- With support from the Foundations Bechtel and Moore, CSW Network is established with CSWs San Francisco, Fresno, Watsonville, and Oakland. Emilyn Green is hired as Coordinator, and a nonprofit is established.
- April: Erik Herman visits California CSWs while running Physics Bus and the short-lived Wildcat CSW in Tucson Arizona.
- José Sánchez works as coordinator at Watsonville CSW.
|
| 2010-2012 |
- Each site contributes several of their best projects in a standard write-up form for sharing as a catalog of projects.
|
| 2011 |
- Greenfield CSW established with José Sánchez as director.
- Coachella CSW established, lasting only around a year.
- August: San Francisco, Watsonville, and Greenfield CSWs collect bones from a baby grey whale from the Pescadero beach.
|
| 2012 |
- Ziggy Khan first begins volunteering at MSW.
|
| 2012-2017 |
- Watsonville CSW has two short-term directors (Curt again works in Timor-Leste).
|
| 2013 |
- March: Excelsior Science Workshop (ESW) opens as a satellite site of MSW.
- June: CSW Network presents at Bay Area Maker’s Faire with several CSWs taking part.
- September: Oakland Discovery Centers withdraws from the CSW Network, maintaining local operations.
- September: Sanger CSW is established.
|
| 2014 |
- Erik Herman finds partners including Claire Fox in Ithaca, and begins serving the community with a Physics Bus under his nonprofit Physics Factory, with an eye on starting a CSW.
- CSW Network hosts all CSW staff retreat in Butano Park near Pescadero.
|
| 2015 |
- Dan begins visiting Salinas regularly, searching for allies, spaces, funding, and support. Bart Evans is soon involved as well.
- May: Ziggy becomes assistant director of MSW
- December: Fresno CSW closes down operations at Granny’s Park due to neighborhood violence and insufficient support.
|
| 2016 |
- Dan and Bart operate from three temporary spaces in Salinas: Cesar Chavez Library, Frank Paul Elementary School, and Alisal Community School. None continue for more than two years.
- January: Fresno gains access to Highway City park, begins preparing it for opening Highway City site of Fresno CSW
- May: Future Ithaca CSW Physics Bus crew–Erik, Claire Fox, and other staff–pick up Physics Bus from Arizona and make a tour of CSWs (Greenfield, Watsonville, San Francisco, and Fresno) and present at the Bay Area Maker Faire.
- October: San Francisco City declares “Mission Science Workshop Day” in a Gala event under the City rotunda complete with students assembling the whale skeleton and officials with well wishes on MSW’s 25th anniversary.
- December: A fire breaks out at ESW in San Francisco in which much is lost.
|
| 2017 |
- January: Dan withdraws MSW from CSW Network citing irreconcilable differences. This leads to each of the remaining CSWs separating from CSW Network, leaving only Sanger CSW disconnected from others.
- Spring: ESW re-opens in its current spot at Mission and Excelsior.
- Spring: Darren Gertler becomes director of Watsonville CSW.
- March: Tibetan monks from the organization Science for Monks and Nuns visit Watsonville CSW.
- August: Nonference at Greenfield CSW. Dan shows new horse skeleton and solar power inverter and storage demonstration rig.
- October: Free Science Workshop opens in Ithaca, New York.
|
| 2018 |
- June: Nonference at San Francisco CSW, both MSW and ESW. Ithaca contingent present. Slater Harrison of Science Toy Maker presents. Ellen Conception from Martinez attends.
|
| 2019 |
- Discussions begin among five existing CSWs (San Francisco, Fresno, Watsonville, Greenfield, Ithaca) regarding the establishment of another umbrella organization for CSWs.
- January: Curt begins working with José at Greenfield CSW having returned from Timor-Leste.
- June: Nonference at Watsonville CSW. Curt’s crew of Timor-Leste teachers in attendance. Bryce Johnson of Science for Monks and Nuns in attendance. Working groups of participants draft 4 areas of CSW philosophy with subpoints to document uniqueness and distinguish from makerspaces.
- July: Dan leads a group from several CSWs to Fossil Lake Wyoming where he has been gathering fish fossils for years, termed Ancient Earth Adventure.
- September: Leadership of most CSWs meet at Fresno CSW’s Highway City site after an event there. Dan introduces his trust fund and the idea of a new CSW umbrella organization is discussed.
- West Oakland CSW site closed.
|
| 2020 |
- April: Dan is diagnosed with skin cancer and brain tumor. Ziggy takes on a full ED position at MSW due to Dan’s health.
- April: Leadership from San Francisco, Fresno, Watsonville, Greenfield, Ithaca, and Pittsburgh meet online to discuss vision for the Global Alliance of Community Science Workshop.
- August: Global Alliance of Community Science Workshops receives IRS determination letter.
- August: All CSW online sharing session in lieu of Nonference due to pandemic.
- November: Claire Fox Pittsburgh CSW opens with a non-profit, an empty lot with no buildings and her Physics Bus from Ithaca days. She primarily uses kits and videos for several months due to the pandemic.
|
| 2021 |
- Watsonville CSW is transferred back to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
- July: Ziggy passes directorship of MSW to Sonia Gondiaga.
- August: Salinas CSW begins programs at El Sausal Middle School with fiscal sponsor Community Initiatives (same as MSW)
- August: Nonference starting at MSW, then moving to Dan’s house in Pescadero. Ivan Rodriguez hosts at Dan’s house, and caters. Participants work on mission statements and goals. Sam Haynor and Vicente Oropeza attend. Dan is very sick, and attends one day at Pescadero. Marcello is there as a videographer, getting footage for Dan’s video. Group takes a trip to Pescadero tidepools, marsh. Many camp at Dan’s Pescadero house.
|
| 2022 |
- May: MSW 30-year anniversary event in San Francisco, attended by Dan Sudran and Sonia Gandiaga.
- June: Founder Dan Sudran dies.
- June: Nonference at Watsonville CSW. Dan Sudran memorial session. Lori Tennenbaum in attendance as new ED. Trip to whale watch on a small boat from Moss Landing. Many stay at AirBnB near Watsonville airport.
|
| 2023 |
- January: Darren Gertler resigns as director of Watsonville CSW, citing irreconcilable differences with the City of Watsonville. This starts a hard stretch with no director in Watsonville, and then directors chosen by the City without significant input from CSW staff.
- January: Bayview Science Workshop opens as third SF site (unrelated to previous Bayview site in the 1990s).
- Summer: Science My Way begins doing contract services for Watsonville area schools through GACSW, unaffiliated with the City of Watsonville.
- August: Lori resigns as ED.
- August: Nonference at MSW Excelsior Science Workshop. Much administration is discussed in extended meetings dealing with the loss of Lori. Ellen Concepcion attends one day, moves to become part-time temporary ED of GACSW. Mario Landau Holdsworth, 1990s MSW alumni, attends one day. Sam Haynor and crew from Exploratortium present exhiblets to kick off exhiblet grant project. Many stay at Sam’s place in Glenn Park.
|
| 2024 |
- January:Nonference at Barrios Unido, Santa Cruz. Ellen as part-time ED holds a full GACSW board meeting on the first day, plotting the road ahead. Manish Jain from Indian Institute of Technology presents his projects with his son. Many camp at Barrios Unidos’ Walter Guzman site in Aptos hills.
- June: Contra Costa CSW grand opening in Martinez, CA.
|
| 2025 |
- January: Nonference again at Barrios Unidos, Santa Cruz. Ellen is still ED, but a new ED is nearly identified. Sam Haynor attends, wrapping up exhiblet grant. Many camp at Barrios Unidos’ Walter Guzman site in Aptos hills.
- April: Jennifer Blankenship begins as half-time ED of GACSW.
- April: Rox Lab opens as satellite site of Pittsburgh CSW.
- July: Science My Way moves from GACSW to Community Initiatives as fiscal sponsor.
- July: Barrios Science Workshop begins programming in Santa Cruz, CA.
- August: Second 2025 Nonference at Watsonville-Greenfield-Barrios Unidos. Jennifer is present as the EDMany camp at Camp Cruz. Monday in Watsonville CSW. Tuesday in Greenfield CSW. Wednesday barn raising at Barrios Science Workshop, which holds its grand opening that evening with Science My Way’s Physics Bus and many CSW staff in attendance. Guests:Heather Michalak and Olivia Santiago from Little Shop of Physics, Lauren Big Crow from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Sam Haynor from Exploratorium.
- August: Andrea Hernandez from Houston CSW and Dawn Samaniego from Oakland CSW are reconnected to colleagues at GACSW.
- October: Jennifer resigns as GACSW ED. Ziggy, Erik, and Curt take on the role of joint leadership, together paid roughly what Jennifer was getting.
- October: All CSW Sharing Session, Timor-Leste groups presented.
- November: Northern Colorado CSW established with Olivia Santiago as director
- November: First Director’s meeting held online for all CSW leadership.
- November: CSW Manual is released for public viewing.
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