Educators in Infant/Toddler classrooms can feel pressure to "teach science" in their groups. Yet, infants and toddlers, allowed to freely explore, engage in science learning daily. The framework's dimensions are part of their world, but adults seldom recognize this.

TAKEAWAYS:
The everyday "play" of infants and toddlers include their attempts to investigate their world, to find out patterns and predictability of objects in their lives. Adults who work with the youngest children rarely understand the scientific concepts that are being investigated and learned.

SPEAKERS:
Ellen Cogan

Calling all Science Supervisors, department heads, principals, school coordinators. Please join us for a roundtable discussion on curriculum, resources and supervision of science departments. Participants will be adding to and have access to a shared Padlet full of various ideas and resources!

How to create hands on science and engineering activities using simple supplies of just paper, tape and scissors. Effective for grades K-8

TAKEAWAYS:
Remove the expense factor that often hinders the inclusion of STEAM projects

SPEAKERS:
Godwyn Morris

Connect with Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium to uncover how educators are bringing science to life for all students. At OHDZA, we know learning continues beyond the four walls of a traditional classroom. Join us to gain meaningful ways to connect students to the world around them!

TAKEAWAYS:
Meet with Omaha's Zoo and Aquarium education team to see how HQIM are used in our Zoo Academies, Zoo After-School Programs, Zoo Outreaches, and Citizen Science Programs. Take away innovative ideas using HQIM to build stronger instruction, deeper engagement, and higher achievements.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Bustos, Leah Litz

PAEMST Awardees are invited to a celebratory reception of the 40th anniversary of the PAEMST award. Come and meet your fellow alumni!

Learn citizen science activities to increase student engagement. Join a classroom teacher, National Geographic Explorer, and an education specialist at the Jacksonville Zoo, and integrate geospatial applications to help students build science skills through connections in their local community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Youth can drive change as citizen scientists in their local community while developing science skills in field research and data collection. Educators will learn how to empower youth to address community issues as young scientists and changemakers of tomorrow.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Blum, Alicia Pressel

Museum educators have known that motivation and interest are vital for engagement. Learn how to bring these informal strategies into your classroom so students can not only interact with science in a different environment but make connections that allow them to see themselves as capable learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Come prepared to take part in activities led by a pair of formal and informal educators that will combine the best of both worlds. Museum educators know how to rapidly engage an audience and you will take away strategies to reach the same level of participation in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Brady, Shari Brady

Research shows that time in nature is worth your WILD, with increased benefits for children. In this workshop, Denver Zoo will highlight the benefits of play in nature; how to build it into curriculum/schedules and ideas for implementing nature play tactics that engage entire school communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies to increase learning through play in nature and parent/caregiver participation in their school community.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Buckley, Emily Murgia

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek

Bring inquiry into your classroom with food science! Learn how to extract dyes from candy to analyze using agarose gel electrophoresis and paper chromatography. Students use the simple techniques as a starting point to design experiments, test hypotheses, and use STEM techniques to analyze results.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Snowflack, PhD, Tom Cynkar

Game-based learning is a powerful way to engage learners and introduce STEM topics. Working with experts, we designed an escape room for students and their families to increase their understanding of neuroscience phenomena and how the brain works. Try demo activities as you learn to design your own.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will demonstrate how to develop an educational escape room to serve informal and formal science learning objectives and get families actively interacting with science and engineering processes. It will also review methods of assessment, especially for out-of-school settings.

SPEAKERS:
Daisy Reyes, Lucas Leprince, Sandra Roberts

Come and see a model for an outdoor education day where invited scientists and environmental educators gather in a local state park to teach every student in our 3rd through 5th grade school. We have been hosting this event at a State Park near our school and it works. You can do it, too.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to successfully put together an outdoor education day involving local scientists, environmental educators, and conservationists. We have been putting together this event for over 10 years and can share what we have learned along the way.

SPEAKERS:
Jacob Tanenbaum

In this interactive PBL experience, attendees will LISTEN to the STEAM podcast “Wow in the World”, WONDER to generate ideas, TINKER to choose a testable hypothesis, and MAKE a multimedia scientific inquiry or engineering design project in the free, private, and NGSS-aligned TinkerClass platform.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to streamline PBL instruction, manage the classroom to develop 21st Century skills, and excite K-5 students about hands-on scientific inquiry and engineering design using TinkerClass’ modular LISTEN, WONDER, TINKER, and MAKE experience.

SPEAKERS:
Carole Paterson, Twee Mac

Get acquainted with New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas (NSTA District - 13 members) Science Teacher Association Officers and conference attendees. Learn what each state is doing to advance Science and STEM engagement in K - 16 settings.

The NSTA Research Division cordially invites all members - researchers AND practitioners- to join us for a discussion of the relationship between research and practice and how NSTA can best foster that.

Led by members of NSTA Early Childhood-Elementary Committee, the session addresses the relationship between science education & children’s literature by providing an interactive platform for educators to discover how literature can support & enhance science & engineering practices in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the integration of children's literature with science and engineering practices through cross-disciplinary connections and hands-on activities. Resources provided.

SPEAKERS:
Simone Nance, Jennifer Williams, Katie Morrison, Melissa Parks, Annette Venegas, Jenn Brown-Whale, Anne Lowry

Utah’s Informal Science Education Enhancement (iSEE) has been serving students and teachers across the state for 18 years. We’ll discuss funding, reporting, and collaborating with both other informal education providers and public schools to connect teachers and students with subject matter experts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how Utah has been bringing informal science education experts into formal classrooms across the state for 18 years with financial support from the state legislature and how this successful model can be adapted to other states across the nation.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Halvorsen, Laura Cotter

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Water is the single most valuable resource essential for life on Earth, yet is subject to increasing scarcity, pollutants, and overuse. The Tapwater Tour curriculum makes the real world connection between the phenomena explored in the lesson and actual hands-on laboratory activities.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans, Margaret Hill

CANADIAN DELEGATES WHO ARE ATTENDING THE NSTA NATIONAL CONVENTION ARE INVITED TO AN INFORMAL SOCIAL. PLEASE JOIN US AND SPEND SOME TIME NETWORKING AND GETTING TO KNOW OTHER TEACHERS FROM ACROSS OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

This meeting is open to NMLSTA members and those invited by a current board member.

It's science night again and you need an inexpensive, hands-on activity for somewhere between 50 and 1500 kids. We can help! Come experience ten “science night” booth activities that get kids involved, included, and active with informal science!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be resourced with 10+ science night ideas suitable for preK-12th, along with the science background and pedagogical content knowledge to deliver these to their students and parents in an inclusive and exciting way.

SPEAKERS:
Kate York, Katherine Donaldson

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Participants will learn how to use simple unit dose tablet reagents to assess water quality. Discover lesson ideas to turn your students into citizen scientists and advocates for their local watershed. Hands-on activities, curriculum connections and assessment ideas will be provided. Take aways.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans, Margaret Hill

Working meeting for the NSTA Early Childhood and Elementary Science Committee. Early childhood and elementary educators are welcome to join us if they are interested in learning about this NSTA standing committee and the work we do.

Annual luncheon for Presidential Awardees and guests.

This poster will share how science museums and informal spaces can address epistemic injustice by considering the narratives these spaces create about science, and how this can disenfranchise (or engage) groups who are often already marginalized from knowledge production.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about epistemic injustice, or the exclusion and marginalization of groups from knowledge production, and the ways in which we highlight contributions to science. We’ll share examples from a qualitative research project of a science history museum.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Hanuscin, Ariela Ikezawa

Climate change can affect us all differently, but it is still the biggest threat to humanity on our planet. Learn how engaging in STEM projects can elevate student voices and hope for the future through climate action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get ideas on how to incorporate STEM projects while teaching Climate Change and Environmental Science.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout

How can community partnerships inspire youth to explore locally relevant environmental issues? Learn how to activate untapped resources within your STEM ecosystem and build community partnerships to provide real-world connections to student investigations and exposure to STEM careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to build a network of community partnerships that can support efforts to increase youth interest in STEM careers. This poster describes a toolkit that you can use to develop a STEM partnership program to bring together students and STEM professionals from your community.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel

Through scientific ocean drilling, we have made countless discoveries about Earth’s history, climate change, and the origin of life, but we often forget the people who make it all possible. TALES FROM THE DEEP partners with StoryCorps to humanize complex science through the stories of those at sea.

TAKEAWAYS:
Free multimedia classroom resources, including audio narratives from the people involved in scientific ocean drilling and associated activities and worksheets, allow students to interact with the people who participate in complex science and engage in sensemaking about geoscience concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Maya Pincus

The poster will highlight and discuss some of the valuable technology resources that played a key role in allowing teachers to provide students with an equitable learning experience during the pandemic and how they can continue to be utilized as we return to the post-pandemic classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
The poster will discuss strategies using tools such as Classkick, Gimkit, Blooket, and Edpuzzle to differentiate instruction in the classroom while encouraging persistence and achievement in students.

SPEAKERS:
Selene Verhofstad, Faryal Shaukat

Engage with teachers and informal educators to learn about informal and formal partnerships in the largest school district in the country. Session will include a hands-on brainstorming session to inspire participants to think outside of the box when creating community partnerships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will glean insights from educators about their experience working with informal science institutions and the benefits to their teaching practice. Participants will brainstorm engagement with different informal science institutions and the steps needed to form partnership connections.

SPEAKERS:
Shannen Rivadeneira, Megan Janke, Jessie Scofield

The storyline approach has guided the design of high-quality instructional materials for K-12 science education. We will present an adaptation of this framework to a youth camp focused on design in the context of learning radio frequency communication technologies.

TAKEAWAYS:
The storyline approach is a powerful framework to guide the design of learning experiences that build upon student ideas in formal and out-of-school settings. Participants will see some of the adaptations of this framework in a camp engaging youth in coding, craft making, and engineering contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Diego Rojas-Perilla, Guy Ollison, Nancy Hopkins-Evans, Sherry Hsi

Come meet your fellow educators in District XIV (Colorado, Utah, and Arizona)!

Society for College Science Teaching Business Meeting for members and interested educators in higher ed.

Come learn more about underlying barriers and current trends in youth outdoor participation. Building life-long relationships with the outdoors benefits students and their communities. Explore strategies and resources to create more just and equitable outdoor student learning opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore strategies and resources to increase outdoor student engagement and participation for more inclusive and equitable science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Lizette Navarrete-Burks

"Every Rock Has A Story" is a free online YouTube series created by Prof. Ethan Baxter of Boston College. The stories of rocks—shared by diverse co-hosts—inspire children about the exciting and interconnected science of the Earth and Environment, and help kids see themselves as scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use "Every Rock Has A Story" in your classroom or informal learning space to inspire wonder, curiosity, relevance, and excitement in ESS learning. See how the diverse co-hosts help to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the geosciences for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Ethan Baxter

Using a Peer-assisted-learning model, you can learn how to establish a writing center at your school to support science literacy and foster student leadership. Doing so can also emotionally support students and build student self-confidence while communicating in multiple ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be provided an approach for developing a writing center at their schools with research outlining the necessity of science literacy and for science teachers to support and teach literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Brooke Whitworth, Ashley Hunter, Althea Roy

Come learn about ways that museums, science centers, and out of school time providers can help you improve your students’ learning beyond visiting for field trips or joining the program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about resources and opportunities that museums, science centers, and out-of-school time providers, such as Science Olympiad, offer classroom teachers to expand their students’ knowledge, borrow classroom resources, or develop themselves.

SPEAKERS:
John Loehr

This hands-on workshop is designed to provide attendees an opportunity to learn and experience an emerging environmental phenomenon on microplastics in our environment. Attendees will learn filtration and microscopy techniques to investigation microplastics in surface waters.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will receive instructions and materials in incorporating a five-day microplastics investigation pacing guide that will engage students in not only exploration, observation, and investigation, but will include critical science skills such as data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Ostrom

Sponsoring Company: EarthScope Consortium

Use simple and inexpensive models to engage your students to explore how ground deformation from plate tectonic and volcanic motions, and rapid glacial melting leads to earthquakes, eruptions, and sea level change.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Hubenthal, Shelley Olds

NSTA’s Informal Science Committee invites you to explore two of Denver’s most exciting informal science venues! This event is Friday, March 22 from 5:30 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. and is FREE for conference attendees and family members with an NSTA conference badge. Registration is required https://www.nsta.org/national-conference-science-education-denver-2024-special-events

TAKEAWAYS:
Formal and informal science educators alike will have the opportunity to network and learn while they enjoy exploring the Zoo and Museum.

Join middle level educators and enthusiasts for a social hour. Meet old friends and make new ones! NMLSTA officers and board members will be there to answer questions you may have about the organization.

Come and connect! Engage with informal science educators from museums, zoos, afterschool, media, non-profits and more. Discover resources, programs, organizations, and opportunities for science educators - formal and informal alike!

TAKEAWAYS:
You'll network with informal educational organizations from across the country, discuss best practices, and discover free, hands-on activities for your organization or classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Max Metz Jr, Rosie Arnold, Lindsay Milner

Sponsoring Company: EarthScope Consortium

Learn how geophysical instruments help to measure the changes in our environment such as landslides and river evolution using freely available lidar, measure volcanic deformation, space weather, climate change, and more! We will share and demonstrate FREE activities you can use in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Shelley Olds

Looking to pinpoint free supplemental interdisciplinary learning resources? Find real-world connections, internships, PD opportunities, classroom tools & swag; help students see themselves with diverse career role models, & more at the NIST Educational STEM Resource (NEST-R) registry session!

TAKEAWAYS:
Quickly find content that brings STEM curriculum to life, sparks interest, & keeps students engaged with NEST-R, a free, publicly available website! Real-world applications on topics like the metric system, engineering, and physics help students make sense of the interdisciplinary nature of science.

SPEAKERS:
Cara O'Malley

Learn how to create easy inexpensive science and engineering activities using just paper, tape and scissors.

TAKEAWAYS:
Fun engaging projects can be made with inexpensive easily accessible supplies

SPEAKERS:
Godwyn Morris

eCYBERMISSION’s virtual STEM competition for 6th-9th graders promotes self-discovery as teams compete for awards while also supporting teachers with a wealth of resources. eCYBERMISSION's table will provide details regarding the competition along with a fun interactive activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Throughout the competition, students and teachers are provided access to eCYBERMISSION staff, standards-aligned resources, grant opportunities and much more.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Kutsch

Science Friday, your trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science, is more than a radio show. SciFri also creates exciting, free STEM activities developed by educators like you that make cutting-edge science accessible to everyone. Discover why every day is Science Friday!

TAKEAWAYS:
Stop by the Science Friday table to explore demo activities and grab free resources. While you’re here, sign up to receive free materials for our “Hack Your Brain” escape room and register for our Down to Earth program with the ISS. Plus, learn to make engaging audiograms to share with learners.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Roberts

Learn about Lincoln Park Zoo's resources that support student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Lincoln Park Zoo resources are available to teachers across the country.

SPEAKERS:
Rosie Arnold

Connected Science Learning (CSL) is one of five journals produced by NSTA and is the perfect place for informal science educators to publish their work or serve as a peer reviewer. Attendees will learn about the journal's author guidelines and peer review process from the journal's field editor.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about NSTA's journal Connected Science Learning and how it is a great resource for the informal science educators – especially those that collaborate with schools and teachers. Information about writing and peer reviewing for CSL will be provided.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Murphy

A qualitative study to determine how students learn best through text - physical books, audio books, and e-books. We tested comprehension, conducted interviews, and created journals.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to understand how to determine which type of reading media will work best for their students. Attendees will see how they can test their students and how to draw conclusions to find the best fit for their classroom and individual needs.

SPEAKERS:
Kaylyn Hoth, Mikayla Prusha

The radio spectrum is invisible, yet it enables our cell phones, contactless payment, and air travel. Learn approaches to facilitate diverse youth, families, and museum visitors using hands-on activities, mobile apps, and guides in Spanish and English from the NSF Making Waves with Radio project.

TAKEAWAYS:
Hands-on activity using everyday materials, conversation prompts, and mobile apps together can engage youth and families in playful experimentation to learn about the science and technology of radio waves and wireless radio communications. Get free educator guides and lessons in Spanish and English.

SPEAKERS:
Sherry Hsi

Want more of a school—home connection? Want to get more community involvement in your science program? Come hear how we plan, promote, and run a variety of science-themed community events in our district.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with several ideas for community science events and helpful hints on how to plan and promote these events.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Newburger, Samantha Levine

By learning new skills and continuously gaining knowledge, teaching and learning can be easier than ever!! After 25+ years in the classroom, I will share a toolbox full of shortcuts & techniques to make the planning & implementation of your content more efficient and effective.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will take away an abundance of ideas that will maximize time and minimize effort in planning and implementing activities and lessons. The presented ideas will make the classroom more teacher-facilitated, focusing on student-driven learning.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Rodgers

Learn tips and tricks used as a naturalist to take students outside, including helping reluctant students enjoy time spent in nature. Using easy to find creatures found in almost every schoolyard to teach concepts that can be tricky to make connections with inside in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover easy preparations to see animals in their natural habitat while teaching about adaptations, habitat, and life cycles, as well as food chains and food webs. Learn activities, songs, and games that can be taught indoors or out to connect our natural ecosystem to classroom concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Lori Dorn

Can classrooms and labs be more engaging with more frequent use of materials while not being more stressful? Identify factors that reduce the frequency of meaningful hands-on learning. Embed organizational strategies into lesson delivery. All students can access procedures and retain concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will consider how non-verbal instructional cues impact students' active engagement and participation in procedures. With specific strategies, teachers can increase academic vocabulary, student independence, and concept retention.

SPEAKERS:
C Walsh

How can we combine soft skills with science? Learn how to incorporate 21st century career and post-secondary options into your science content lessons!

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover more ways to expose your students to the REAL WORLD relevance of science after graduation.

SPEAKERS:
Aliyah Johnson

Soil is a natural resource that provides the foundation for producing our food, shelter, and provides the foundation on which to build our buildings and cities. Learn what is under our feet by comparing soils in different habitats and examining the past environment in which they formed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore soil using simple tests and easy-to-find tools that allows us to examine soil structure, unique soil characteristics, and test for the stability of soil. Learn activities, songs, and games that can be taught indoors or outdoors to connect our natural ecosystem to classroom topics.

SPEAKERS:
Lori Dorn

Come learn about ways that you can help advance the field of Science Education and improve your teaching through the many different leadership opportunities that exist which also allow you to stay in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how participation in teacher advisory committees supporting museums and science centers, or other organizations such as Science Olympiad, NSTA, and NSELA can allow them to improve their teaching and be Science Education leaders while remaining in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Joshua Smith, Leah Litz, Roy Arezzo, John Loehr, Shari Brady, Tim Lundt

This project shows how informal science spaces provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to build their knowledge in STEM disciplines, develop their STEM teaching skills, and take on leadership roles. A set of best practices will be shared with specific examples and lessons learned.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the affordances of partnerships between university programs and informal science spaces through a model of engagement consisting of: distributed expertise, agency, learning and growth, transformational leadership, community engagement, creating change-makers, and longevity.

SPEAKERS:
Carmen Vanderhoof

Biophilia a term coined by Edward O. Wilson stating humans innately want to interact and be surrounded by living things. Biophilia is positively correlated to productivity, happiness, and longevity. We examined the effects of biophilia on secondary science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students completed an online dissection and a natural dissection with two specimens: an earthworm and an Egyptian star cluster flower. When students were involved in the natural dissection (Biophilia lesson) they had higher student motivation compared to performing an online dissection.

SPEAKERS:
Keli Potter, Annie Dietz

This session presents a replicable model used by a university professor, school system leaders, and industry leaders to blur the lines of STEM learning into informal spaces enabling students from marginalized populations to see themselves (STEM identity) as future STEM participants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using a replicable and intentional model of collaboration can positively impact STEM identities of educators and youth, while also creating a K-12 pipeline into the STEM industry.

SPEAKERS:
Taylor Lamon, Melisa Fowler

Community Science includes learners in exciting real-world, hands-on research. In this activity, we take it one step further by adding a design activity after an exploration in nature. Participants will apply knowledge about habitats and adaptations to make a clay model of a new frog species.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will provide participants with everything they need to share this all-ages, all settings activity with learners. They’ll receive a presentation, a worksheet and student explainer, resources for citizen science projects to complement the activity, a lesson plan, and more.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Roberts

We invite educators from both formal and informal science learning environments to come and engage with the Informal Science committee. Learn how the committee can support you, and connect with professionals from museums, zoos, aquaria, out-of-school-time programs, and more!

TAKEAWAYS:
Meet the Informal Science Committee, and find out how to connect with them in their work to support informal educators, expand the role of informal learning institutions, and strengthen the bonds between formal and informal science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Hays, Lindsay Milner

In this session, you will learn about how Lincoln Park Zoo and Chicago Public Schools have created spaces for teachers, informal science educators, and researchers to come together to increase student understanding of the natural world in ways that support both formal and informal curricula.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn methods for more robust collaboration between school districts and informal science partners that will increase student critical thinking and science literacy to make informed decisions about their communities and the environment.

SPEAKERS:
Rosie Arnold, Laura Decker

Interested in having a whole ecosystem within the walls of your classroom? How about growing food in a one-gallon recycled pickle jar? During this session we will learn how to use Aquaponics as a teaching tool in your pk-12 classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the immense benefits of having an aquaponic system in their classrooms. Specifically, research explaining how to grow pineapples in one-gallon systems.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Heithoff

Explore Science Near Me, a free STEM database connecting you to citizen science, museum, festival, afterschool, and maker programs to bring back to your classroom! Those with their own events to share can discover new resources, partners, and connect with the public for additional promotion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through engagement in a hands-on citizen science project featured on Science Near Me, attendees will contribute to real scientific research while also discovering relevant STEM content, experts, field trips, and potential partnership opportunities to enrich their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Brenda Britsch, Karen Peterson

Looking to pinpoint free supplemental interdisciplinary learning resources? Find real-world connections, internships, PD opportunities, classroom tools, & swag; help students see themselves with diverse career role models & more at the NIST Educational STEM Resource (NEST-R) registry poster session!

TAKEAWAYS:
Quickly find content that brings STEM curriculum to life, sparks interest, & keeps students engaged with NEST-R, a free, publicly available website! Real-world applications on topics like the metric system, engineering, and physics help students make sense of the interdisciplinary nature of science.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Benham, Cara O'Malley

Our STEM research camp uses an inquiry-based curriculum to engage non-binary and female middle schoolers in authentic research. Campers develop and test hypotheses, increasing their self-efficacy. Further, our female and non-binary undergraduate counselors are empowered to see themselves as leaders.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ensuring that middle school girls and non-binary youth have role models like them while pursuing authentic research increases feelings of self-efficacy and belongingness in informal STEM education.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Patnott, Bethany Lucas

Denver Zoo embarked on an initiative to enhance and expand opportunities for outdoor learning for students, their parents, and teachers. In this presentation, DZ will summarize successes/challenges, methodologies/results, and procedures for implementing nature play tactics in your school community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies to increase learning through play in nature and parent/caregiver participation in their school community.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Murgia

Students today are more stressed and anxious than ever. A school of philosophy called Stoicism offers practical advice on how to interact with the world and come out stronger and more capable. This poster will share tenets of stoic philosophy and suggest ways to use this wisdom in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will obtain tools and strategies to improve their students' resilience, confidence, and outlook on life, as they take on the challenges of learning science.

SPEAKERS:
Ron Kinser

NASA’s Astrophysics UoL network of partnerships provide STEM educators programs ranging from exoplanet searches to image analysis of supernovas and galaxies, to implement programs specific to individual audiences, and provides a wide variety of supporting webinars, tutorials, activities, and investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA’s UoL team connects the public and learners to data, discoveries, and experts from NASA’s Astrophysics missions. The team of scientists, engineers, and educators have direct connections to these missions, and provide a range of projects and interactive activities for any educational setting.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young

Join the Click2Engineering.org team for an introduction to this free website for informal STEM educators. Engage in a ready-to-teach engineering activity and learn about the Ten Practices for an Engineering Mindset, as well as best practices for teaching engineering to elementary-age youth.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, attendees will be briefly introduced to the website and it’s resources, and will then engage in a hands-on, authentic engineering activity focusing on one of the ten Practices for an Engineering Mindset (e.g., using a systematic design process).

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Swanson

We present an out-of-school-time curriculum where machine learning is taught through hands-on scientific inquiry. We highlight one day of instruction where Artificial Neural Networks are introduced through digital interactives and kinesthetic activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students can see themselves as those who use and understand the value and application of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence when those fields are embedded in a natural history curriculum focused on scientific inquiry and how science is practiced.

SPEAKERS:
Juanita Martin, Devin D'Agostino, Sofia Schembari, Mark Weckel

In this workshop, participants will put hands-on experiments and learning scenarios used in a research study that focused on the contribution of non-formal activities to a pre-service science teacher education program about the nature of science, inquiry-based science learning, and STEM learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
All participants explore hands-on STEM experiments (e.g. planets’ orbit) with daily materials and inquiry-based learning scenarios (e.g. how to eliminate noise). In groups, they discuss and propose a new one. All materials will be available to participants, including some extra learning scenarios.

SPEAKERS:
Isabel Borges

Participants will receive a hands-on introduction to several of Next Gen STEM’s newly developed camp and formal activity guides. Guides covered: Artemis Camp Experience, First Woman Camp Guide, Earth Observation Camp Experience, and the Lunar Surface Exploration educator’s guide.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive tips and gain experience conducting hands-on activities from the four NASA guides. Participants will also receive an overview of Next Gen STEM and instruction on how to engage further with NASA and other educators through NASA CONNECTS and ENGAGES.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Dotson, Wendi Laurence

Countless studies have found that teachers are struggling to support students in maintaining focus, finding self-worth and being intrinsically creative learners. Gamification provides the building blocks for engagement, community, healthy competition, and self motivation, and works with any grade level and any subject. With gamification, students can use their creativity in learning choices and earn incentives based around curricular and extracurricular themes. Student examples from a sixth grade science classroom include review challenges that emphasize content and game elements. Participants in this session will gain the initial building blocks to create their own game for their classrooms that is manageable and can be enhanced over time. Activities will include defining gamification and creating their own game theme. During the session, the participant will participate in a game challenge by using a choice board to explore and expand the strategies and methods of gamification.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will begin the journey of gamifying their classroom right away. They will also leave with resources to use to continue their gamification journey.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Simmons

This session provides an overview of strategies, including technology tools, that can be used to engage students with a variety of classroom STEM topics across grades 6-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave inspired to use at least 2-3 new engagement strategies in their own classroom setting.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Moskalik

Virtual Reality has recently emerged as an impactful tool in education, revolutionizing the way we deliver content. This session aims to explore the multifaceted landscape of using VR as a teaching tool, and give participants the opportunity to be the learner and experience virtual reality.

TAKEAWAYS:
Practical insights for implementing virtual reality in a way that is effective and equitable.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Dunn

This session will provide an overview of the National Girls Collaborative Project, a robust network of educators and other professionals, our high-quality, research-based resources and professional development focused on engaging and inspiring girls in STEM, and how to connect with our network.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the National Girls Collaborative Project, our research-based resources, and professional development opportunities focused on building educators’ capacity to engage and inspire girls in STEM, and how to connect and collaborate with our robust network.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Peterson, Brenda Britsch

STEM experiences are not limited to the school day. Learn about fun & creative STEM outreach events, and get motivated to roll up your sleeves to work on planning a STEM event for your organization!

TAKEAWAYS:
STEM outreach events can be a way to engage students and families in equitable STEM learning to encourage and support all learners. This session will provide information on successful STEM outreach events & how to design your own!

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Moore, Leslie Suters, Jennifer Meadows