The Canon G9 and S5-IS are usually pretty good recommendations for this. Both offer IS (Image Stabilization, by the way). The G9 cost about $475 vs $325, and is a smaller package. It has more pixels (12mp vs 8mp), but less of a zoom range (6x vs 12x). Both have the ability to let you explore shooting by using Aperture and Shutter priority, and have built-in flashes and allow you to add a hot-shoe flash. The G9 has a bigger LCD screen (3" vs 2.5"), but the S5's LCD can twist and flip (good for odd shooting angles). The S5 weighs about 50% than the G9 too.
For something smaller that still has some unique and interesting features for a "traveling road show" camera, look at the Olympus SW compact cameras. There are (4) of them, with the 850 SW and 1030 SW being the newest. They are waterproof (10 ft or 33 ft), shock-proof (5 to 6 feet, in case you drop them), and can be used in below zero conditions. They have a 3x zoom lens, but that might be all you need in a smaller pocketable travel photo tool.
Olympus 850 SW
Olympus 1030 SW