ASTC's goal is to increase awareness of the contributions its members make to their communities and the field of informal STEM learning.

[citation needed] ASTC provides professional development opportunities for those who work in science centers and other institutions of informal learning.

[4] ASTC publishes Dimensions, which features in-depth analysis of news and trends in the science center and museum field, in addition to articles about noteworthy events and resources.

Founded in 2007 with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, CAISE was a partnership among ASTC and several co-principal investigators.

[6] CAISE managed the InformalScience.org website, which is a repository of project descriptions, evaluation reports and tools, and research papers and products that are collected and curated to provide informal STEM Learning practitioners with knowledge that can be used when developing new work and seeking potential collaborators.