Fun Fact: Meetings

Brian Koberlein

Fun fact: Project meetings can be enjoyable.

Most people have had to sit through a project meeting where you’ve thought about chewing your leg off to escape that bear trap of tedium. But every large project requires team meetings on a regular basis. +Prove Your World is no different. The logistics needed to develop a children’s television series are huge, and they require input from a wide range of professionals in media production, education, science, entertainment and academic administrations. I’ve been a part of research project meetings before, but those pale in comparison to this project.

Fortunately the core team members on Prove Your World are also good friends of mine. I’ve known most of them for years, and we actually enjoy each other’s company. So even when we have knock-down drag-out discussions about the project, we still like each other at the end of the day. It honestly makes this project the most enjoyable one I’ve ever been a part of.

Because the team members come from various institutions, with widely varying schedules, our weekly meetings have to be in the evening. And it turns out the most central place to meet is the home of two team members. This has given rise to another benefit. After our evening meetings, we all sit down for a home cooked meal (as you can see above). So we have our intense meetings, then hang out as friends again over dinner.

If anyone decides they want to develop a kid’s science program, I highly recommend holding meetings this way.