Place-based education enhances learning when students have purposeful activities to engage them. From the school playground to exploring the neighborhood to botanical gardens to zoos to environmental learning centers, nature offers opportunities for teaching and learning. Come hear about a variety of activities and experiences and receive handouts you can adapt for your elementary students as they learn about life science topics such as needs for survival, growth and development, life cycles, food webs and chains, and interconnectedness of living and nonliving materials . Learn how to maximize student focus and attention through observations, hands on activities, and explorations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to identify and apply engaging activities for students to help them learn about life sciences in natural environments.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Boulden

Problem- and place-based units are highly engaging, and they lead students to develop real solutions to problems in their community. How do we know which of the solutions is best? A decision matrix is a mathematical engineering tool that students can use to evaluate and rank possible solutions when making complex decisions. Useful across a spectrum of real-life situations, it’s especially appropriate for classrooms deciding the best actions for solving local problems. Attendees will work through several phases of our free 5E lesson introducing students to the Decision Matrix tool. Anchored Science by Mi-STAR is a middle school curriculum project, created by classroom teachers in collaboration with engineers and scientists from Michigan Technological University, and dedicated to quality NGSS-aligned curriculum since 2015.

TAKEAWAYS:
A decision matrix is a sophisticated tool used by engineers to evaluate and rank potential solutions to make objective, informed decisions. After experiencing a variety of classroom-tested activities, teachers will be ready to use our free 5E, NGSS-aligned Decision Matrix lesson with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Tony Matthys, Lindsey Watch

This poster leads participants through a minds-on experience that challenges them to consider how sound data can be used to monitor the human impacts on bat populations in North America. The lessons displayed aim to increase learners' knowledge of biodiversity and provide insight into sampling methods for assessing ecosystem health, thus providing data to identify high-priority areas for conservation—the activities center learners' lived experiences to illustrate how sound can give valuable insights into ecosystem health and help mitigate human impacts. Learners are encouraged to incorporate their unique perspectives and newfound knowledge to develop and revise models using bioacoustic data. Visitors to the poster will receive access to all materials, sound files, and data to support successful classroom implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
The phenomenon of bioacoustics applies physics concepts to identify and measure human impact on biodiversity using bats as an indicator species.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Miller

Inquiry-based life science can flourish in the many facets of a pollinator garden. Pollinator gardens become the gateway to student engagement. The Dakota Science Center has been using citizen science to encourage students and families to take their curiosity outdoors. Pollinator gardens are used as a launching pad by sharing multiple avenues of investigation from the leaf litter to the weather above. Blending mobile phone applications with paper handouts allows everyone to be an investigating scientist. GLOBE offers both formal and informal curriculum. National Geographic Society offers software for species identification and a BioBlitz program. NASA has a suite of environmental education applications. Citizen science applications provide an additional layer of inquiry which encourages students to participate in environmental education beyond the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Inquiry-based life science can flourish in the many facets of a pollinator garden. Citizen science applications provide an additional layer of inquiry which encourages students to participate in environmental education beyond the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Douglas Munski, Laura Munski

Join the Jeffers Foundation to explore biological and physical events in nature and their relationship with weather and climate. This is the science of Phenology. Humans and the diverse communities of animals and plants in Minnesota have adapted to cyclical weather and climate patterns that come with the changing of seasons. Learn more about Minnesota Phenology and better understand seasonal patterns through observation, investigation, and journaling exercises. Actively participate in lessons that have been developed by Minnesota educators to provide place-based experiences and elevate science instruction connected to seasonal phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave with lesson ideas and materials ready to implement with your students on your school grounds and to help you and your students to think like scientists (cross cutting concepts) while working as scientists (practices) with real-world, tangible natural phenomena and seasonal patterns.

SPEAKERS:
David Grack, Haley Kalina

This workshop aims to provide insight into how scientists answer biology's most fundamental questions, “Who is there and what are they doing?” During this workshop, participants will engage in hands-on activities to explore innovative ways to obtain this critical information through environmental DNA (eDNA). The activities presented are developed to ensure students understand how eDNA can be used to assess a species’ presence or absence through DNA barcoding. Learners will consider the possibility of sampling spiderwebs to monitor terrestrial vertebrates to demonstrate innovative methods for obtaining airborne DNA while exploring how eDNA is gathered and measured, the importance of sampling, value of multiple lines of evidence in allowing scientists to draw conclusions while acknowledging potential problems that could occur. Participants will receive access to all the materials presented and a structured framework to be modified or extended to serve their practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how spider webs' physical properties allow them to capture airborne DNA from nearby organisms, making them a potential tool for securing eDNA to monitor biodiversity.

SPEAKERS:
Robyn Embry, Claire Lannoye-Hall, Jocelyn Miller

Phenology is the study of seasonal changes, a leading indicator of climate change, and an approachable way to actively engage communities with climate science. We will share our experiences developing a local community science program at Barking Slopes Conservation Area, a forest near Pittsburgh, that uses a free app called Nature’s Notebook, learn about the ongoing research at the site, and explore how the phenology program is supporting it. Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) and Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) partnered to implement a phenology trail at Barking Slopes Conservation Area. Nature’s Notebook is a free app developed by the USA National Phenology Network that empowers the public to record and share observations in a national scientific database. This program relies on community volunteer efforts to collect phenophases, or observable life stages. Data and activities can be adapted for classroom use.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main take away from this session will be that we can observe wildlife through a phenological lens and tell a more complete story of our landscape. By closely monitoring seasonal changes, we are able link these events with climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Klingensmith

This interactive session will introduce participants to the science and practice of tree-ring research (dendrochronology) as told through a place-based project in a secondary Field Ecology course. The project challenges students to design and implement a procedure to collect and interpret data from the local tree community to understand forest dynamics and the human interaction and influence on the land. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with physical and digital data from trees and tree rings to help interpret changes in climate, the physical environment, and the unique history of each tree as an individual. This project is a collaboration between Mahtomedi High School and the University of Minnesota.

TAKEAWAYS:
Trees are important storytellers in the environment. The science of dendrochronology is an easily accessible and equitable method of building empathy toward the land and engaging students with a local connection to place and context as they explore data.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Griffin, Jim Lane

Place-based science teaching positions aspects of place–geographic location, geologic time, identity and community–at the forefront of science practices. This session will focus on the opportunities for place-based learning and teaching to explore our own locations: schoolyards and communities. Examples from the recently released book, Place-Based Science Teaching: Connecting Students to Curriculum, Community, and Caring for our Planet will be highlighted.

TAKEAWAYS:
Place-based learning honors the lived experiences of students and the living beings that form a community. Participants will learn how to implement a NGSS-aligned, place-based science lesson in their own space: schoolyard or community.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Aragaki

Shared Waters is a phenomenon-based, NGSS-aligned curriculum that equips upper elementary students to become environmental problem-solvers through meaningful watershed education experiences (MWEEs). In this 60-minute workshop, participants will engage in hands-on activities from the 10-lesson unit, explore strategies for implementing outdoor field investigations, and learn how to guide students through data analysis and real-world environmental action projects. Lessons feature place-based experiences such as water quality testing, macroinvertebrate sampling, runoff modeling, and schoolyard redesigns. Participants will leave with access to free digital materials, practical implementation tips, and a framework for cultivating environmental literacy and civic responsibility in young learners—whether teaching in rural, suburban, or urban contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a complete NGSS-aligned unit and tools to engage students in outdoor, place-based science that leads to authentic environmental action in their local watershed.

SPEAKERS:
Nanette Marcum-Dietrich

Step into our Sugarbush camp—a place-based, interdisciplinary learning experience that weaves together the cultural tradition of maple syrup production with engaging, standards-aligned instruction in science, math, Ojibwe language, and computer science. Rooted in local Indigenous knowledge and outdoor learning, this unit invites students in both elementary (4th-grade) and high-school grade levels to explore data collection, temperature monitoring, graphing, analysis, and coding through real-world, hands-on activities. From collecting and analyzing temperature data with Micro:bit computing devices to investigating the physical science of syrup production, discover how this model extends classroom learning into their local forest, fostering deeper connections between students, community, and land. Leave with adaptable, cross-curricular ideas to bring fun and engaging activities to your own learning environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how maple syrup production connects outdoor learning with STEM through hands-on, cross-curricular lessons. They’ll leave with micro:bit coding experience, student-friendly data analysis activities, and adaptable curricular resources including a teacher guide and slides.

SPEAKERS:
Paul Schonfeld

Do you need some fresh ideas for stories? Join us as we share some newer/recent stories that can support your existing science curriculum and provide a means for learning outside. Gain practical ideas on how to integrate the science and engineering practices using literature as a launching point for a science lesson. Learn how having your students experience outdoor lessons can build a sense of community and the local level and beyond. No matter how much outdoor space you have access to, discover ways to use what’s available to engage students in learning and exploring. Outdoor lesson ideas that can be used no matter what month of the year it is will be shared along with practical tips for how to find success.

TAKEAWAYS:
No matter what your outdoor setting is like, you will come away with ideas to implement outdoor lessons in your classroom next week. No matter what grade or curriculum you use, learn ideas that can fit into your existing curriculum and spark engagement and benefit students.

SPEAKERS:
Jill Jensen, Kim Benton

This session will bring together ESTEP participants and instructors with the purpose of sharing experiences, strategies, resources and phenomena! Come learn more about our program, and how participants have changed their approach to be student focused!

TAKEAWAYS:
ESTEP participants are leaders in Minnesota science education - come see what they are doing and how you can do it too!

SPEAKERS:
Dana Smith, Haley Kalina

This session will highlight how two middle school teachers embedded a model of Indigenous Ways of Knowing into a curricular unit focused DCI in aquatic ecosystems. We highlighted Indigenous perspectives on issues of water as biotic or abiotic, the importance of water quality, the interconnectedness of beings within an ecosystem, and solutions to water quality. Attendees to this session will participate in lesson activities including games, readings, short videos, online content, writing, individual work, small group work and entire class discussions. We will share our formative and summative assessment strategies. Participants will gain access to our online lessons, teacher and student guides, readings and all resources. We will conclude the session by describing lessons learned from our perspectives as experienced middle school teachers including challenges of the readings in the unit and trying to balance students' learning from the unit with other demands of our science classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how our model of Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWK) can be embedded within curricular units, not just aquatic systems. They will leave this session with a model of how we embedded IWK and a plethora of materials that will allow them to bring elements of IWK into their teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Susie Freiburger, Patricia DuganHenriksen, Michele Koomen

Community and place-based science gives students a sense of purpose as they collect data that contributes to scientific knowledge about their own communities. Too often, however, instruction ends once the data is submitted, missing an opportunity to engage students in rich mathematical and computational thinking. In this workshop, participants will explore how to take community-based science a step further. Participants will upload data from Minnesota into a free data, graphing, and statistics tool called Tuva. We’ll examine how middle school and Algebra I/II math skills can support data analysis and interpretation in the science classroom. We’ll spend time reviewing data visualizations frequently underutilized in science classrooms despite exposure to them in math class. Participants will have the opportunity to practice creating and interpreting various types of data visualizations so they are ready to help students do the same.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to extend community science experiences by integrating math practices into data exploration. They'll use Tuva to analyze real-world data, practice creating underutilized visualizations, and consider how to apply middle and high school math in science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran

How can weather data help 3rd graders think like scientists? Both place-based and project-based instruction have been shown to increase students’ motivation for learning science and their acquisition of science concepts and practices in ways that support all learners through local context. Additionally, in their 2024 statement, NSTA called for educators in all disciplines to scaffold students’ experiences with data and integrate data with disciplinary lessons. This session will provide an overview of work a group of elementary educators did to engage students across multiple districts in collecting and compiling weather data from their local places over a school year. Presenters will share specific examples of how they helped students use the data by developing place-based, project-based learning opportunities aligned to NGSS standards. Challenges encountered along the way will be discussed, as well as how the team worked to overcome those challenges and ideas for next steps.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about potential ways to engage elementary learners in place-based projects that utilize student-collected weather data, encourage collaboration, and foster scientific thinking. They’ll hear about some challenges this team of educators faced and how they worked to overcome them.

SPEAKERS:
Kelli Petrick, Rebecca Qualm, Andrea Hayden

Despite our best efforts, students sometimes struggle to find science content relevant if it is far removed from their everyday lived experiences. In Earth Science, geologic time is longer than students’ lived experiences of days, weeks, and years. Yet, geologic time is an essential earth science concept and part of the NGSS. We make geologic time relevant by using place-based learning. We selected three different time intervals-- Devonian, Carboniferous, and Pleistocene-- to teach students about what the environment of Minnesota looked like long ago. We will show participants fossils from these time periods, what the continents looked like, and scientifically accurate artistic representations of what those environments looked like. We will also explore how participants can easily find geologic information, so you can easily use this activity in your setting and help connect students with place.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how they can engage students in geologic history using place-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Alexa Clements, Jesse Wilcox

Discover how the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Discover Nature Schools program brings outdoor and place-based learning to life with the free middle school curriculum, Nature Unhooked, a free NGSS-aligned middle school curriculum available as a digital resource. This session spotlights three recently revised lessons—Schoolyard Topography, Aquatic Invertebrate Sampling, and Using Chemical Tests to Measure Water Quality—that engage students in authentic scientific investigations rooted in local landscapes. Participants will explore how students use two free online tools - ArcGIS MapViewer and CODAP (Common Online Data Analysis Platform) - to map, analyze, and compare schoolyard and stream data to student data from Missouri Stream Team #5221. Attendees will leave with practical tools and instructional strategies that promote 3D learning, data literacy, and environmental stewardship through the lens of their own communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to use free tools, ArcGIS and CODAP, with the free Discover Nature Schools Nature Unhooked curriculum to support place-based watershed investigations, analyze real data, explore land use impacts, and build NGSS-aligned STEM skills.

SPEAKERS:
Gwendolyn Parrett

What happens when future teachers step outside the classroom to design real-world, standards-based learning for their local community? This session showcases a collaborative place-based education project between teacher education candidates, trail locations, and two elementarty schools. As part of a semester-long service-learning experience, preservice teachers investigated local wildlife, vegetation, geology, and health science topics while developing cross-curricular trail-based lessons for elementary students. The final product included literature-rich, NGSS-aligned, three-part instructional modules with pre-visit, trail-based, and post-visit components. Each module included standards, materials, assessments, and original videos to guide both teachers and students. These trail lessons were piloted with grades K-5 and will be installed for continued community and school use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to design and implement a place-based education project grounded in local STEM standards

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Engle

Localizing science instruction is a powerful way to boost student engagement, and it’s invigorating for teachers, too. Join the professional learning team from the Lawrence Hall of Science to explore three low-effort, high-impact strategies to localize your core classroom science curriculum while continuing to reach your grade level learning goals. We will dive into an example lesson and engage with a tool for localizing your own instructional materials. Participants will come away with ideas for how to make small changes to nationally-designed materials that have a big impact on students' connections to science in school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away a framework and examples for three practical ways they can localize their in-class science instruction across K-12 to meet the interests of their students.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Stenger, Rebecca Abbott

Come hear what secondary science teachers have tried in their classrooms related to the astronomy standards! Teachers from the Earth Science Teacher Education Project (ESTEP) and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) will share. Look for handouts, lesson plans, and unit plans that tie to standards, as well as conversation about our community goals around teaching astronomy in Minnesota.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teacher-tested astronomy activities from the teachers themselves.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Anderson, Alan Dewey, Robert Palmer, Kate Rosok, Emma Johnson

This outdoor learning session will be great for educators of any grade level and location. Whether you're new to outdoor learning or a seasoned pro and if you teach in a classroom or an informal learning space, this session is for you! Naturalists from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota will guide educators through different practices and ways of thinking about outdoor learning that will change their outdoor learning mindset. From there, practical ideas will be shared and explored that can be implemented in classes the following week!

TAKEAWAYS:
For outdoor learning to be successful, educators need to be able to say 'Yes! And...' to whatever comes their way. Educators will learn how to use nature as their co-teacher and embrace the spontaneity that comes with outdoor learning.

SPEAKERS:
Charles Pavlisich, Joseph Walewski, Emily Pavlisich

Dive into the science of microplastics with this presenation designed for science educators across the country. Whether inland or costal, participants will learn practical techniques for extracting microplastics from both water, air and sediment samples using field and classroom-friendly methods. Learn how to bring this critical environmental issue into your curriculum through engaging, inquiry-based activities that align with NGSS standards. From collection to analysis, you'll gain the tools and confidence to guide students in investigating real-world pollution in their local waterways and landscapes. Discover how microplastics impact aquatic ecosystems, human health, and global sustainability—and empower the next generation of environmental stewards through science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will leave with hands-on protocols for extracting and analyzing microplastics from water and sediment, empowering students to explore local environmental issues through scientific investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Schaefer, Mary Kroll, Dianna Gobler

My classroom is known for having lots of great professionals come speak to my students. This is not an accident. It does take work, but its front load work, then the professionals come in and the students are engaged. The students learn about a plethora of science careers from these professionals. I have had fish and wildlife employees, veterinarians, pathologists, naturalists, foresters, chiropractors, physical therapists, and many more come in. I encourage the speakers to bring a hands-on component when they can and let them know we can always go outside. I would like to help encourage teachers to bring in professionals and to make use of their outdoor space!! How does STEM look in the real world. I'm planning a STEAM careers presentation to help students connect what they're learning now to real-world jobs in science, tech, engineering, arts, and math. The goal is to increase awareness of future opportunities and help students start thinking about their own paths. I’ll use a short presentation, videos, and a STEAM career-matching activity, followed by a goal-setting worksheet. If possible, I’ll include a guest speaker or a virtual lab/company tour. This aligns with our theme of future readiness by giving students practical tools and exposure to career paths they may not have considered. It’s also a chance to promote equity by highlighting diverse voices and careers in STEAM.

TAKEAWAYS:
I would like to help encourage teachers to bring in professionals and to make use of their outdoor space!! Attendees will leave with practical strategies to help students explore and connect with real-world STEAM careers, using interest-based tools and goal-setting activities that make future planning more engaging, relevant, and personalized for every learner.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Wagner, Kyra Warner, Sam Northey

Participants in this session will learn more about the Minnesota Science Standards that include the contributions of Minnesota Anishinaabe and Dakota Tribes and Communities, and resources developed and released through the Indigenous Education for All Students Initiative. During the session, participants will also collaborate with other educators in the same content area to brainstorm ways to use resources developed by Tribes in their area to support standards in their grade level and content area.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will focus on the Minnesota Science Standards that integrate the Contributions of Minnesota Anishinaabe and Dakota Tribes and Communities, and resources released through the Indigenous Education for All Students Initiative that are aligned to these standards.

SPEAKERS:
Angie Kolonich, Miranda Graceffa, Haley Kalina

How can science learning experiences help students develop ecological caring approaches to the living world? Come explore educational approaches to multispecies justice with us! Expanding how students connect to and care for the living world around them is vital at this time of climate crisis. We will draw on resources from STEM Teaching Tools (www.stemteachingtools.org) and Learning in Places (learninginplaces.org) to support these experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
People’s relationships to nature are culturally and historically rooted and are embedded in approaches to science teaching and learning. Science can be used to guide ecological caring responses and support the thriving of people and ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Nancy Price, Philip Bell

Preparing new teachers to integrate socioscientific issues (SSI) in the elementary classroom increases the comfort level and confidence to teach ‘controversial’ real-world, age-appropriate science topics that are meaningful and engaging to students within their unique community contexts. This approach provides increased perspectives as well as critical thinking within ongoing scientific inquiry, thereby promoting interest and application of science content for classroom students. Additionally, an SSI framework promotes deeper exploration for facets of empathy and moral reasoning as connected to real-world science-based scenarios that students investigate. Specific instructional practices implemented within a university science methods course led to significant shifts in preservice teachers’ comfort levels and confidence for integrating SSI into their elementary science classrooms. Furthermore, preservice teachers’ use of SSI informed the in-service community as well.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about research-based strategies / methods to support student-centered, contextual, real-world, and content-rich Socioscientific Issues lessons that can shift teachers’ comfort / confidence, and thus increase intention to infuse SSI into their own elementary classroom lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Ly Do, Stephanie Arthur

Instructors using NSTA in lieu of a textbook (or as a supplement to a textbook) have students who create a library of resources, grow their network, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge as they complete their assignments. Instructors get a class landing page to manage the course, a private forum for asynchronous discussions, and an instructor's dashboard to monitor students' work. All instructors receive a free digital professional membership, and their students become members for a year or through graduation, depending on the price selected by the instructor. In this session, instructors talk about how they integrate NSTA in their courses. Come and listen to their stories and ask them questions. Find out the benefits that this opportunity provides you and your teacher candidates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will meet and ask questions of instructors who are using NSTA resources, webinars, and online community in courses for preservice teachers of science. Participants will learn how others integrate NSTA in their courses and about the benefits of the program for easy implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Have you ever dreamed of taking your students out of the classroom for a hands on, once in a life time learning opportunity? Sure, you can teach about GPS but let's dive deeper and use GPS in the field to document locations of endangered species. It can seem like a huge undertaking organizing an international expedition for your students so let me show you a few tips and tricks that I have used to help you take your science lessons from the classroom to the other side of the world. Worried about budget? Concerns about safety? I will show you how my very small district has navigated through these issues and provided once in a life time learning opportunities that will put your science program on the map. What do I mean by international science expeditions? Think Amazon rainforest, Islands in the Bahamas, jungles of Belize, snorkeling coral reefs for a week, and tracking rhinos in Africa all while collecting data and assisting field researchers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to offer an international science expedition for their students. Budget and safety issues for international travel will be addressed. Let's start building an expedition for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Kristel Winger

As inquiry and data literacy become increasingly emphasized in K-12 science education, accessible, authentic research opportunities for students are critical. This session explores how to introduce students to the inquiry process via ecological investigations with arthropods and environmental factors. Teachers will learn how to leverage place-based ecological phenomena to guide students through creating testable questions, designing and carrying out experiments, and selecting appropriate analyses to process, visualize, and interpret data. Specifically, teachers will explore a lesson that opens with a reading from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and continues with a “wonder wander” activity to spark curiosity and connect learning to place. Participants will also learn ways to support students with arthropod sampling and identification and data analysis tools and methods in order to link student-collected arthropod data to local environmental variables.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will explore fostering inquiry and data literacy in secondary life science education through authentic, ecological investigations using arthropods and environmental factors.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Retterath

Ready to ignite real change in your school and community? This energizing session will show you how to design and host an Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Summit that unites educators, administrators, and local partners around a shared mission. From initial planning and promotion to hands-on sessions and lasting partnerships, you’ll get the full blueprint, plus practical tools like timelines, templates, and outreach strategies. Discover how this powerful event can boost curriculum, meet environmental literacy standards, and inspire action. Walk away ready to launch a summit that’s engaging, impactful, and unforgettable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to plan and host an impactful EcoSummit that builds school-community partnerships, supports environmental literacy, and inspires action through hands-on learning and collaboration—all with ready-to-use tools and a step-by-step planning guide.

SPEAKERS:
Stacey Dickerson

The co-presenters of this poster are a team of an informal educator who focuses on grades 3 to 9 and a university faculty member who works with pre-service educators. These two people have are part of a four-person group from three locations across North Dakota who are working to diffuse the National Geographic Society and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation program for enhancing grades 6-12 STEM education by implementing a glocal-type social media competition to present possible solutions to various environmental issues. The 13-to-18 year old participants create a 60-second video that explains the suggestions for dealing with a world issue within the context of their local community. The program in North Dakota only has been in existence since summer of 2023 and is two-thirds completed in the three-year statewide project. This consortium is under the umbrella of the North Dakota Water Resources Department, the North Dakota Envirothon, and the Dakota Science Center.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster and the interaction with the co-presenters by attendees will help diffuse the NGS Slingshot Challenge program to a wider audience whose students may benefit significantly in participating in a such a social media oriented competition as a way to share tentative project solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Munski, Douglas Munski

Naturalists from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota will be sharing their go-to resources and activities to either get educators started in outdoor learning or to help those that have already been incorporating outdoor learning some new skills. Wolf Ridge naturalists with expertise in pedagogy, botany, lichens, and the Lake Superior watershed will be ready to answer questions and help provide resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
To get started with outdoor learning in your classroom, you have to start somewhere. Wolf Ridge naturalists can help provide a starting point for new educators and new ideas for those already on their way.

SPEAKERS:
Charles Pavlisich, Joseph Walewski, Emily Pavlisich

Planet Stewards provides educators with opportunities and resources to build up scientifically literate students and communities, as well as support their efforts to implement hands-on action-based projects that conserve, restore, and protect human communities and natural resources from environmental challenges. The National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) is a nonprofit-educational organization that supports educators with professional development offerings, learning communities and classroom programs. NESTA is now providing stewardship project funding opportunities to formal and informal educators working with elementary through college-age students. Learn about how to apply for funding for a project that focuses on habitat conservation and restoration, marine debris and waste reduction, carbon footprint reduction or climate resilience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to apply for funding for the Planet Stewards project and how to be sucessful in obtaining funding for a local stewardship project.

SPEAKERS:
Peggy Steffen

Extensive research has been conducted by Indigenous scholars in science education that has provided foundational theoretical guidance for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges into the science curriculum. Additionally, examples of curricula are written to meet Minnesota’s requirement of including Indigenous knowledges. These examples are found across content areas, particularly in English Language Arts and Social Studies, but are limited in science. The poster will report on the results of a coupled research process that integrated results from a literature review, review of existing curriculum, and the process a group of educators took to design a unit aligned with the Minnesota State Science Standards for high school Earth Science. The result is a framework that will inform educators interested in weaving Indigenous science knowledge into the curriculum. This poster will present a framework and the resulting unit for weaving Indigenous knowledges into secondary science curricula.

TAKEAWAYS:
Visitors to the poster will leave with a framework for creating lessons that incorporate Indigenous knowledge into the secondary science curriculum and access to an example unit.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Erickson

How might cover crops improve soil health? How might anyone who grows plants benefit from the use of cover crops? Participants will investigate the characteristics of different cover crops and apply them to specific scenarios found in agriculture to select a set of cover crops that will achieve specific soil regeneration goals. Soil ecosystems can be improved with the use of cover crops to retain soil nutrients, improve soil structure and increasing biodiversity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain knowledge of what types of cover crops are being used in agriculture and how they affect soil health including biodiversity.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Bryan, Jeff Jostpille

Science and data are all around us just waiting to be explored…sometimes we just need to know where to look. This session will share student-centered approaches to inquiry-driven data exploration while working through the Science and Engineering Practices. Examples shared are targeted to K-8 educators and will provide methods of integrating local phenomena and current issues as part of larger PBLs and Citizen Science projects to engage students and put the ownership of learning in their hands. Classroom projects that will be shared include mapping sea turtle nesting sites to determine whether human action or nature has more impact on location, graphing bacterial advisories for local beaches to find correlations with temperature and location to identify a cause, tracking local butterfly and larva observations to monitor seasonal changes, and identifying Red Knot migration patterns based on GPS coordinates from tagged birds. Join us to learn how to bring the outdoors into your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with strategies they can put into practice as they create opportunities for place-based exploration. We will discuss how to use CER as a sensemaking component of data analysis as well as look at methods to help students share their data and explanations visually with others.

SPEAKERS:
Kaleena Jedinak

Land Acknowledgements are an opportunity for students and teachers to undergo a common learning experience to uncover and expand their understanding of their shared place at school. This is an introductory session on Land Acknowledgements and their role in transformative science education. Examples from the recently released book, Place-Based Science Teaching: Connecting Students to Curriculum, Community, and Caring for our Planet will be highlighted.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be guided in an overview of the research and crafting components of Land Acknowledgements that support equitable science teaching and creates rigorous learning experiences for students.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Aragaki

Curious about Place-Based Education but not sure where to begin? Imagine students testing water quality in a local stream to learn about ecosystems, investigating invasive species on the school's front lawn, or interviewing community elders to explore local history—PBE connects learning to the real world just outside your classroom door. This session will walk you through the essentials; from defining what PBE is, to integrating it seamlessly into your existing curriculum. We'll explore practical strategies, discuss benefits and challenges, and share tips for sustaining a program and gaining administrative support. While the session is framed through a high school lens, middle and elementary educators will leave with the tools and confidence to start incorporating PBE in their own classrooms. Whether you're brand new or looking to deepen your practice, you won’t want to miss this session!

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will equip educators with the tools and insights to take their first step (or take their next step) into Place-Based Education. Emphasis will be placed on making small, meaningful shifts rather than overhauling entire curricula.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Szczepanski

The Career Agricultural Automation Program is a collaboration between the Ventura County Office of Education, Marz Farms, Valu Electric and Somis Union School District that prepares students to thrive in the rapidly evolving agricultural landscape by equipping them with essential knowledge and practical skills. Students engage directly with cutting-edge technologies that are reshaping the industry, including sensor integration, data-driven decision-making, and sustainable farming practices. Through a combination of classroom instruction and real-world application, the program fosters innovation and technical expertise essential for the future of agriculture. Key Components to be Presented: • Curriculum Development and Program Introduction • An overview of agricultural automation and its evolution • The critical role of technology in advancing modern farming practices • Emerging trends shaping the future of agriculture • Hands-On Experience with Automated Systems • Practical appl

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the operational model of an outdoor based classroom setting.

SPEAKERS:
Jesus Vaca

I was lucky enough to take students to Yellowstone National Park for an outdoor learning experience. What I learned was that it was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience but also that there were transferable skills, practices, pedagogies and mindsets that I could bring back to my classroom in urban Brooklyn to give students authentic outdoor learning experiences as well. Even in Brooklyn, we can use our natural environment as the spark for asking questions, developing hypotheses, designing experiments and conducting our own self driven research. This should be a required component of all science education programs and it's easier than you’d think! I will share things I learned both in Yellowstone and also back home when implementing outdoor learning experiences so that participants can give their students access to the science of our natural world as well!

TAKEAWAYS:
You don't have to take students to Yellowstone National Park to give them opportunities to conduct authentic, outdoor research. I'll share my take-aways from taking students on a once-in-a-lifetime trip that we can all do in our daily settings to allow students to be real world scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Neesemann

Step into the role of both investigator and educator in this lively, hands-on forensic science workshop designed by teachers, for teachers. In just 60 action-packed minutes, high school science teachers currently teaching forensic science will guide you through classroom-tested, student-approved activities that make murder, mystery, and mitochondria unforgettable. From blood spatter analysis to fingerprinting, and from evidence to arson, you’ll get your gloves dirty (literally) while learning how to bring forensic techniques to life for your students. Whether you're a forensic fanatic or just crime-curious, you'll leave with ready-to-use ideas, supply lists, and tips for engaging your students in evidence-based inquiry. No cadavers required—just curiosity, creativity, and maybe a splash of fake blood. Warning: May cause sudden urges to binge CSI reruns and reorganize your lab drawers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with engaging, inquiry-based forensic science activities that make real-world scientific concepts accessible, exciting, and relevant through hands-on crime scene investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Ruhland, Anna Ammerman

Learn how K-8 teachers integrate outdoor experiences into their curricula (NGSS) and introduce real-life phenomena in the world’s biggest classroom: outdoors! Get tangible tips for communicating with admin, grounds staff, & parents—outdoor time is never wasted. The more you teach outside, the more you create science experiences your students will remember. Session will cover how outdoor instruction can improve student academic, mental, and behavioral health. Get practical outdoor teaching tips. Address common barriers such as first-timer’s fear, schedules, administrative support (or lack thereof), the supplies you really do need (and don’t need), and finding funding and volunteer help. We’ll share a few of our favorite lessons too. Teachers will get valuable resources from Minn’s School Forest Program: How to Teach Outside and Getting Help and Funding. Even if your school has “no nature,” natural phenomena persist. School grounds can always be improved…it’s worth the investment!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to use the outdoors to teach science: what to look for; how to establish/maintain; and why, what, and how we do it. Learn the critical requirements: administrative support, a map, lessons that can be done outside, student gear. We will share a few NGSS lessons as examples.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Benton, Martha Hovde, Laura Duffey

How can we leverage digital tools to support biology learning that’s authentic and engages with science practices and cross-cutting concepts? We’ll explore “sit spot” strategies that connect students to their local context and communities through digital tools and a place-based teaching framework. Examples from the recently released book, Place-Based Science Teaching: Connecting Students to Curriculum, Community, and Caring for our Planet will be highlighted.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how implementing a “sit spot” assignment series can connect existing biology curricula to NGSS-aligned, place-based science explorations, as well as support student personal development and motivation, while overcoming the limitations of a traditional classroom experience.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Aragaki

How do we care for plants? How do plants care for us? Using this simple pre- and post-assessment, we can see how student thinking about their relationship with plants changes in response to learning that includes Indigenous knowledge. In this session, we reflect on the opportunities and tensions we consider as white educators working to incorporate Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWK) into our science teaching. We share a variety of strategies we have used to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and voices into teaching about plants and place, focusing especially on inquiry about the phenology and cultural significance of milkweed plants and on seed adaptations relevant to restoring plant communities. Indoor and outdoor activities have been used with learners from elementary through post-secondary. We present evidence about how learners’ thinking changes in response to the activities, and we reflect on continued opportunities for growth, both in ourselves as educators, and for our learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn and evaluate a variety of strategies for incorporating Indigenous Ways of Knowing into teaching and learning about plants and their significance in both social and ecological communities.

SPEAKERS:
Kara Baldwin, Emily Mohl

In this session, Tiffany Henfling will share how our school takes their middle schoolers to a three day, overnight camp in rural MI. During this session, we will give an overview of what my school uses for their camp experience. Participants who are interested in starting up a camp at their school will walk away with a tool kit of resources to get their camp experience started - including example camp schedules, coordinator task lists, etc.

Participants will then explore the connection between NGSS and outdoor education by looking at specific standards that are ideally taught in an outdoor setting. Example lesson plans will be provided.

We will highlight how camp is inclusive of all students in a way the regular classrooms can find challenging. Being in nature, students are focused on a place based concept - content specific to their local area, experiences and culture.

The session will include an attendee discussion and Q&A to address their individual needs and possible challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be inspired to engage their students in an outdoor experience and be equipped with the tools to actualize it.

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Henfling

This session explores how schools can effectively utilize natural environments such as school forests and outdoor grounds to create engaging, sustainable outdoor classrooms. Participants will learn about the educational, ecological, and social benefits of teaching outside traditional walls, as well as practical strategies for designing and maintaining outdoor learning spaces. The session highlights student-centered, hands-on learning opportunities that connect science, environmental stewardship, and curriculum goals in meaningful ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the benefits of outdoor learning and explore practical strategies for creating and maintaining outdoor classrooms in school forests or natural areas. Learn how hands-on, nature-based experiences can enhance curriculum, foster sustainability, and strengthen community connections.

SPEAKERS:
Janel Flynn, Amy Benson, Tony Olson, Kelli Ellickson

This presentation shares findings from an NSF-funded research study that explores the development of a model enabling teachers to partner with community STEM resources to create ʻāina-based (land-based) NGSS learning experiences for classroom teachers and students. K–12 students learn science best by engaging in scientific inquiry and engineering design processes. However, the availability of high-quality, place-based, NGSS-aligned learning experiences remains limited, particularly in rural schools and communities. Professional development plays a critical role in supporting the successful implementation of science lessons grounded in students’ local community experiences. This partnership development project addresses gaps in science teaching and learning by strengthening connections between schools and community partners. The leadership cadre collaborates to design a model that creates opportunities for students to engage in meaningful, locally relevant science lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
The project explores community partnership resources to support the creation of NGSS-aligned experiences for classroom teachers/students. This cadre is developed using a Problem-Identification process to establish a Problem-Solution space aimed at strengthening/enhancing existing STEM partnerships.

SPEAKERS:
Judith McDonald

This presentation will showcase an innovative partnership between a local family-owned hobby farm and an elementary teacher preparation program that resulted in an outdoor, experiential teaching experience for pre-service teachers within their science methods course. This presentation will discuss the planning, design, and delivery of the outdoor, experiential teaching opportunity at the hobby farm, and the shared perspectives of the pre-service teachers as they navigated the research, creation, and rehearsal of their outdoor-based science lessons that were delivered during a one-day field trip for local students at the hobby farm. Additionally, the presenters will share their research findings on the impact of the outdoor, experiential teaching opportunity on the elementary pre-service teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy, and their insights into the planning, implementation, and assessment of the outdoor, experiential teaching experience within the science methods course.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this presentation with a basic knowledge of how to integrate an outdoor, experiential teaching opportunity within a science methods course for elementary pre-service teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Sanderson, Trish Arnold

Have you ever dreamed of taking your students out of the classroom for a hands on, once in a life time learning opportunity? Sure, you can teach about GPS but let's dive deeper and use GPS in the field to document locations of endangered species. It can seem like a huge undertaking organizing an international expedition for your students so let me show you a few tips and tricks that I have used to help you take your science lessons from the classroom to the other side of the world. Worried about budget? Concerns about safety? I will show you how my very small district has navigated through these issues and provided once in a life time learning opportunities that will put your science program on the map. What do I mean by international science expeditions? Think Amazon rainforest, Islands in the Bahamas, jungles of Belize, snorkeling coral reefs for a week, and tracking rhinos in Africa all while collecting data and assisting field researchers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to offer an international science expedition for their students. Budget and safety issues for international travel will be addressed. Let's start building an expedition for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Kristel Winger

Can students become real-world scientists by investigating the ecological communities in their own neighborhoods? In this session, participants will explore MothEd, a modular, NGSS-informed curriculum that engages students in authentic, place-based scientific inquiry. Students are supported in developing their own research questions about local moth populations. They then build DIY moth traps, collect and analyze moth data from nearby habitats, and share their findings through an online platform. MothEd fosters three-dimensional learning, biodiversity literacy, and a deeper connection to local environments. It also incorporates engineering practices as students design and build their own traps using low-cost, accessible materials. This session will highlight the MothEd Teacher Guide, which includes a full suite of paper-based and technology-enhanced resources. Participants will leave with free access to the curriculum and tools to support authentic, community-based ecological research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to engage students in authentic, place-based science by investigating local moth communities, developing research questions, collecting and analyzing field data, and building connections to their own ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Peter White

Where we live includes our experience of the sky. Students can collect data, but they can also connect with stars and seasons beyond the facts. Find classroom-tested activities for students to appreciate our skies through direct observations, digital methods, tactile experiences, and personal connections. What we see in our daytime and nighttime skies directly relates to our place on the planet. Appreciate our place on Earth, and evoke curiosity and connection with interdisciplinary lessons. After all, the sky is the primary source for observations around the world throughout time. Take a glimpse of the present, past, and future by looking up.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students collect data about the sky through direct observations, digital methods, tactile experiences, and personal connections to appreciate our place on Earth.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Weaver

Naturalists from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center will be discussing naturalist practices that can be incorporated into any outdoor learning lesson. Whether you're just starting out with outdoor learning or have already been implementing it in your classroom, these practices can be implemented with your students right away.

TAKEAWAYS:
Outdoor learning requires educators and students to slow down, notice their surroundings, gather information, and share with others.

SPEAKERS:
Charles Pavlisich, Joseph Walewski, Emily Pavlisich

The integration of Food Standards within the NGSS/SEL/Common Core. The roundtable discussion demonstrates school across the US have integrated food within the curriculum. Whether it is within the study of Climate Change, Biology, Environmental Science.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Food Standards aligned to the Common Core/NGSS/SEL 2. Engagement and Exploration through the lenses of Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Curiosity. and Creativity. 3. Integration of School Gardens.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Ernst, Antoinette Schlobohm, NBCT, NCST

This dynamic session will equip educators with practical approaches to integrating place-based and outdoor education methodologies that transcend traditional classroom boundaries. Hear how we embraced instructional shifts in science education to promote student agency, incorporate environmental literacy, and support diverse learning needs through responsive pedagogical approaches. Learn how we introduced students to meaningful environmental and community-connected learning experiences that leverage local ecological and cultural contexts. Grounded in current educational research and field-tested classroom innovations, this session provides educators with immediately applicable strategies for transforming learning environments. Explore instructional design and curriculum development for NGSS that aligns to outdoor education, along with practical implementation strategies for K-12 cross-disciplinary learning contexts and experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with lesson planning templates and assessment strategies for outdoor learning, and next steps for creating or strengthening community partnerships and connections with innovative educators.

SPEAKERS:
Mallory Deziel, Erin Baillargeon

Yes, it's possible—and exciting—to have a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a public high school! We acquired ours in 2013 and developed a unique SEM course that sparks curiosity, builds STEM skills, promotes independent research, fosters career readiness, and engages the community. Students begin with microscope operation and image production through direct instruction and hands-on labs. As skills grow, the focus shifts to sample analysis and scientific thinking. The course blends theory and practice while making NGSS real: students plan investigations, troubleshoot, explore structure-function relationships, and apply science in meaningful ways. We’ll share our experience, showcase student work, and offer a look at the curriculum that brings the microscopic world to life for high school learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Introducing a scanning electron microscope (SEM) into the high school classroom opens up incredible opportunities for student engagement in STEM. It empowers students to explore the unseen world around them and brings science to life through hands-on, real-world applications.

SPEAKERS:
Gena Dalan, Krista Wilks

This presentation highlights a collaboration between a small liberal arts college and a high school environmental science program centered on an apiary. Students collect and analyze real-time data from hives, monitoring temperature, humidity, bee activity, and weight, developing skills in data analytics and scientific methods. The project enhances attitudes toward pollinators, shifting perceptions of bees from fear to understanding their ecological importance. Students gain knowledge in entomology, ecology, and environmental science, while developing communication skills through oral and written presentations. A key component is curriculum development, integrating environmental science, data analysis, and honey bee management. This collaborative approach empowers students to become advocates for pollinator conservation and prepares them for future academic and career success in a data-driven world.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation showcases a collaborative project between a small liberal arts college and a high school environmental science program, focusing on hands-on learning in an apiary, data analysis, curriculum development, and fostering a deeper understanding and advocacy for pollinators.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Krantz

Professional development, fellowships, grants, scholarships, and classroom enrichment opportunities: I am here to share every resource I have with other educators! Over the last 7 years I have raised over $50,000 for my classroom, school, and my own learning. In a time where funding and budgets are uncertain, we can work together to find resources. I have benefitted from these resources and want to ensure that you can to! I have joined a global network of amazing science educators and leaders and I want to expand that network! If you are tired of completing P.D. behind a screen, come learn about the dozens opportunities available to you and build a more robust curriculum along the way.

TAKEAWAYS:
From Ozobots, to a school garden, fossil kits, to graduate school, there are opportunities to meet your needs. Come by to learn about ways to fund your ideal classroom and fuel your own growth as an educator!

SPEAKERS:
Andi Twiss

This session showcases outdoor learning experiences that connect students to the natural world. Attendees will explore how educators can design and implement NGSS-aligned outdoor learning experiences that are equitable, inclusive, and culturally relevant through place-based learning on local environmental issues. Learning activities will focus on outdoor experiences with opportunities for student data collection along with information on increasing community involvement to enhance students' connections to local environments. Classroom examples of student work will be provided demonstrating how students can use the data they collect in their communities to construct pieces of evidence. Environmental issues discussed in this session include: elevated nitrates in waterways, changes in biodiversity, and alterations to local ecosystems. Attendees will leave with a variety of outdoor lessons that support three-dimensional learning and promote science inquiry in authentic, local contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Overall, attendees will leave with a variety of data, resources, and lesson ideas focused on student engagement with local environmental issues as well as tips and tricks on how to involve local community members to enhance students' learning experience.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Hoenig

Have you ever dreamed of taking your students out of the classroom for a hands on, once in a life time learning opportunity? Sure, you can teach about GPS but let's dive deeper and use GPS in the field to document locations of endangered species. It can seem like a huge undertaking organizing an international expedition for your students so let me show you a few tips and tricks that I have used to help you take your science lessons from the classroom to the other side of the world. Worried about budget? Concerns about safety? I will show you how my very small district has navigated through these issues and provided once in a life time learning opportunities that will put your science program on the map. What do I mean by international science expeditions? Think Amazon rainforest, islands in the Bahamas, jungles of Belize, snorkeling coral reefs for a week, and tracking rhinos in Africa all while collecting data and assisting field researchers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to offer an international science expedition for their students. Budget and safety issues for international travel will be addressed. Let's start building an expedition for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Kristel Winger

This session will highlight how we incorporate outdoor and place based education into the new 3D MN Earth and Space standards for both the on level Earth and Environmental Science class and AP Environmental Science class for 9th graders. We will highlight resources and connections to MN native people, outdoor walkable field experiences/labs, local environmental resources (both in class and field trips), and phenomena that help make connections to students' real lives and the 3D Earth Science standards. Students gain real-world experience through “doing” science and making connections to their community. This session is intended to help attendees generate ideas on how they can incorporate similar practices in their classrooms by harnessing the resources in their local communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will walk away from our session with ideas on how to incorporate local Minnesota phenomena, connections to our native people, local environmental resource connections, and outdoor lab experiences into their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Ibberson, Kelly Dreier, Katharine Kramer

This session highlights a school gardening program developed in collaboration with the local Hmong community, integrating traditional agricultural knowledge with modern farming practices and science education. The program deepens student understanding of life sciences, sustainability, and Hmong cultural traditions through hands-on experiences rooted in both scientific inquiry and cultural relevance. The session will share practical strategies for building respectful community partnerships, designing culturally responsive lessons, and using gardening as a powerful, place-based tool to support science instruction, environmental stewardship, and cross-cultural understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Culturally responsive partnerships, like those with the Hmong community, can transform school gardening programs into rich, place-based science learning experiences that honor traditional knowledge while advancing environmental and scientific literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Mieras

Explore a playful, project-based STEM lesson where students use Play-Doh and plastic cutting boards to model root systems with maximum surface area. Surface area is a fundamental concept across the sciences—from plant biology and nutrient absorption to chemical reactions, human physiology, and materials engineering. This activity introduces the idea through a hands-on design challenge embedded within a 7-week garden-based curriculum for grades 3–6. Throughout the unit, students plan, plant, care for, and measure crops, applying scientific and mathematical reasoning to real-world problems. The experience culminates in a community tostada party, where students harvest their garden produce and reflect on their learning. Developed from an NSF-funded study, the curriculum promotes inquiry, collaboration, and discourse—especially for multilingual learners—while fostering deep connections between science, culture, and place-based education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to implement a hands-on activity where students model root systems with Play-Doh to explore how plants maximize surface area for nutrient absorption, connecting a key scientific concept to real-world garden-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Rillero, Peter Rillero

Looking for a simple, powerful way to spark curiosity, encourage participation, and ensure every student’s voice is heard? In this session you will learn about a strategy called "Science Question of the Day." Each day begins with a thought-provoking science question posted on the board. Students respond by placing their student number next to a “yes” or “no” column, or by writing a brief response next to their number for open-ended questions. This practice builds a culture of inquiry, supports formative assessment, and gives all students—especially those who may be hesitant to speak up—an opportunity to contribute their thinking in a low-stakes way.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to implement Science Question of the Day, how to choose thought provoking questions, and will leave this session with ready-to-use examples and tips for adapting the activity to all grade levels and science content areas.

SPEAKERS:
Brandy Fairfax

In response to the need for high qualify, affordable professional development for Minnesota science educators, Minnesota Science Teachers Association partnered with a group of college professors and K12 teachers to develop summer workshops and online courses around our newly adopted, NGSS based science standards. Our teachers need training in the three-dimensional teaching and learning strategies needed to move to to a sensemaking, student-centered classroom, as well as in new content. ESTEP, (Earth Science Teacher Education Project), is now a grant funded series of workshops, online courses, seminars and a free repository for teachers to get the help they need to implement the new standards, using Minnesota based phenomena. Trainings are ongoing, free or low cost to teachers and districts, and have allowed many teachers at the high school level to obtain additional licensure. Join us as we share how to create and implement this in your state!

TAKEAWAYS:
Moving from teacher centered to student centered teaching and learning is a process that requires ongoing training and practice. As states are often unable to meet this demand, there are ways for science teacher associations to build and implement this much needed professional development.

SPEAKERS:
Lee Schmitt, John Olson, Dana Smith

Join us and navigate together through the NSTA Website and discover all the different types of digital resources available to you to enhance your professional learning. Participants will become knowledgeable about their member benefits, the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, and professional learning community that can help them enhance their content knowledge and improve their teaching practice. Numerous live events are offered to educators of science every month to enhance and extend their content and pedagogical knowledge - most of them free to NSTA members. Participants will also learn how to engage with other educators of science and grow their network of like-minded individuals. We will feature NSTA’s My Library, Forums and Profile professional learning tools. NSTA staff will be available to answer questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become knowledgeable about their member benefits, the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, and professional learning community that can help them enhance their knowledge and improve their teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Phenomena don’t need to be phenomenal, they can be personal. As a middle school teacher, I ensure that relationships come first, and significant learning can come with a significant relationship with each student. Similarly, we want students to have experiences with scientific phenomena, otherwise the content we’re studying will not stick with them for the long term. The world is endlessly full of events, places, and puzzles, but we need to bring them to our students in ways that resonate with the shared classroom activities and investigations.
In this session, learn how to share approaches to personalizing phenomena for students and help find local phenomena to use in your classroom. It can be as easy as starting with your camera and the rocks in your schoolyard. If we have experience with the phenomena, we will be able to bring it to life for our students, through stories.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to attach meaning to any phenomena: it can be simple or complex and the students will engage with it because sharing your own fascination and curiosity will show them why it all matters.

SPEAKERS:
Raymond Heinz, Jacob Jensen

Come hear about the value of place-based learning through the words of those who have experienced it. In the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, there is a 10-day professional learning experience that has changed the teaching and lives of over 250 educators over the past 12 years. The presenter has participated in these rainforest workshops and now surveyed and interviewed other participants to more fully understand the depth of impact this has on teaching, worldviews, and professional self-image. Tangible benefits of the program will be shared, from personal transformations to innovations in teaching and learning for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Place-based learning in the rainforest is beyond the experience of most educators in the U.S.. Teachers with professional learning in the Amazon rainforest report higher levels of connection to nature, the ability to teach sustainability, and now view themselves as both scientists and science teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Jordan Wolf

The Science Focus Program, a Nebraska public high school, offers unique student opportunities in scientific learning by fostering student-driven academic research. We will examine our teacher-developed scaffolded approach, which promotes student choice and independence in learning. In this iterative process, rigor increases gradually from ninth grade as students take ownership of learning. Students are encouraged to ask questions of personal interest and employ various laboratory and field procedures. On day one, students engage in novel ways with the outdoors, setting the path for the next four years. Their questions focus on understanding our wider community - including studies of our zoo, local parks, streams, prairies, other natural places and of their outdoor classroom. Topics include: urban ecology, microplastic concentrations in streams and air, animal behavior, and nutrient runoff and its effects on water quality. Come learn about our exciting practice of student-led research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how incorporating guided, independent student research is possible and why giving students multiple experiences throughout 4 years allows them to follow their interests while building and improving skills. Examples of student work and curricular resources will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Rose Seifferlein

Students thrive when their learning is grounded in real-world, meaningful experiences. Animal science provides a rich opportunity to make science come alive—combining academic rigor with hands-on interaction and emotional connection. Through the lens of an animal science program, students don’t just memorize facts; they observe, question, hypothesize, and develop a deep respect for the living world around them.

This session highlights the Country Day World School PK–8 Animal Science Program, a model that integrates life science standards with daily interactions and long-term care of animals. Participants will explore how younger students build foundational skills by observing behavior, tracking changes over time, and developing vocabulary through direct experience. Older students apply advanced thinking as they engage with genetics—hypothesizing genotypes, predicting inheritance patterns, and analyzing real-world data from the school's barn.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with ready-to-use strategies that foster both scientific inquiry and compassion—two outcomes that grow naturally when students are invited to care, question, and think deeply.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Onusko

This interactive session will introduce participants to an earth science unit created to explore the complex interactions between people and the water around us. This unit centers around the problem of declining water levels in a local MN lake, White Bear Lake. Through this session we will work through the unit including looking at a hyper local watershed (around a school), ask questions about and analyze graphs of water levels, share a hands-on aquifer lab, and discuss the culminating project of creating a water cycle for a local lake. This final project requires students to create a model explaining the intricate relationships occurring in the water cycle of a local lake.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will participate in an abbreviated unit sequence where they will be challenged to think about the water cycle as a dynamic system and look for local applications to connect the water cycle to the land and lakes around their school.

SPEAKERS:
Danny Kurkiewicz, Hans Harlane

Join naturalists from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota to discuss outdoor learning pedagogy. Participants will share what they're already doing with outdoor learning, what they would like to be doing, and where they are struggling with getting their students outdoors. Wolf Ridge naturalists will facilitate discussions and build a network of educators to help strengthen educators outdoor learning skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in discussions around outdoor learning with naturalists from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.

SPEAKERS:
Charles Pavlisich, Joseph Walewski, Emily Pavlisich

Are you looking for dynamic and engaging ways to bring science to life for your students? Harness the powerful potential of outdoor learning in Minnesota to effectively teach and reinforce core science content standards through using local, place based phenomena. This session will especially focus on MN phenomena found North of Interstate 94. Interested in phenomena for South of 94, join our other session or attend both sessions! We will move beyond the traditional classroom and delve into practical, hands-on activities that leverage the natural world to foster deeper understanding, critical thinking, and a genuine appreciation for science and Minnesota's natural environments. This session will provide a framework for integrating outdoor learning seamlessly into your existing curriculum and local natural or urban areas or habitats. Participants will gain practical ideas, resources, and strategies for designing and implementing outdoor science lessons that align with standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
In a digital age, connecting students to nature is vital. This session empowers educators to use Minnesota-based phenomena to boost science literacy, foster stewardship, and spark learning through engaging outdoor experiences. The phenomena in this session will be mainly from north of Interstate 94.

SPEAKERS:
Thomas Meagher, Elizabeth Cakebread, Haley Kalina

What if your next great science lesson started at the drain? We flush toilets and send dirty water down the drain all the time, but what happens next is often a mystery. This session uncovers the surprising value in wastewater and how its treatment has evolved from basic sanitation to resource recovery. Explore how today’s Water Resource Recovery Facilities reclaim water, nutrients, and energy—turning waste into resources and challenges into solutions. A free, virtual tour of Duluth’s Resource Renew facility will be shared as a tool for place-based learning, allowing students to explore real-world science regardless of location. Educators will be encouraged to compare this facility with their own local systems, deepening connections to their communities. Aligned with the Disciplinary Core Idea Human Impacts on Earth Systems, this session emphasizes responsible resource management and the role of science and engineering in building a sustainable future.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be introduced to a free virtual tour of Duluth’s Water Resource Recovery Facility—an accessible alternative to field trips. A student guide and follow-up classroom activities are included to support curriculum integration and independent exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Erik Johnson

Are you looking for dynamic and engaging ways to bring science to life for your students? Harness the powerful potential of outdoor learning in Minnesota to effectively teach and reinforce core science content standards through using local, place based phenomena. This session will especially focus on MN phenomena found South of Interstate 94. Interested in phenomena for North of 94, join our other session or attend both sessions! We will move beyond the traditional classroom and delve into practical, hands-on activities that leverage the natural world to foster deeper understanding, critical thinking, and a genuine appreciation for science and Minnesota's natural environments. This session will provide a framework for integrating outdoor learning seamlessly into your existing curriculum and local natural or urban areas or habitats. Participants will gain practical ideas, resources, and strategies for designing and implementing outdoor science lessons that align with standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
In a digital age, connecting students to nature is vital. This session empowers educators to use Minnesota-based phenomena to boost science literacy, foster stewardship, and spark learning through engaging outdoor experiences. The phenomena in this session will be mainly from South of Interstate 94.

SPEAKERS:
Thomas Meagher, Raymond Heinz, Haley Kalina

The study of biodiversity lends itself to exploring many crosscutting concepts while engaging in real world scientific practices. In this session we will review an interdisciplinary unit on biodiversity and land management. This unit engages students in data collection, mathematical thinking, constructing explanations, and engaging in argumentation from evidence. You’ll see how we make use of our school’s campus, digital mapping tools, trail cameras, sampling area calculations, population estimates, and simple plot sampling strategies for hands-on learning. We’ll include ways we engage students in new relevant, local land management issues each year through partnerships and other enrichment opportunities focusing on invasive species. We’ll share our summative assessments alongside many examples of student work and photos from the field. Finally, various STEM connections will be discussed that can be tailored to your student needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
The exploration of biodiversity offers a variety of STEM pathways to directly engage students in a variety of hands-on activities where they are in control of the data, their learning and the outcome.

SPEAKERS:
Liz Dengate, Sarah Oppelt Santelli, Craig Nowicki

Students bring with them to our classrooms with rich experiences, cultural practices and knowledge rooted in their communities. In this session, we will explore how to identify and incorporate the funds of knowledge students are bringing through the use of local phenomena and place-based education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies for connecting STEM learning to students’ lives, languages, and communities with the goal to design learning that affirms students’ identities and experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Learn how to take your students on an immersive virtual field trip of a crash-testing facility to explore the science and engineering behind crash tests, crash-test dummies, vehicle safety features, and how vehicles are rated for safety. Discover how to integrate free Crash Science in the Classroom resources to create immersive, placed-based, virtual experiences including participating in the free, annual LIVE online field trip with an exclusive view of a crash-test and a Q&A with crash science engineers. This year’s virtual field trip will be held on December 11.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participant will learn how to access a placed-based, video-supported experience and inquiry-based classroom activities to foster students’ engagement and 3D learning by integrating key STEM concepts with vehicle crashworthiness, crash avoidance technologies, and teen driver safety.

SPEAKERS:
Pini Kalnite, Griff Jones

Teachers often face questions from students such as "Why should we learn this?" "When will we ever use this?" "How many points is this assignment?" In order to get students more involved in the process of doing science, it is imperative that we make science relatable by addressing issues from our local community. By connecting student learning to local issues, current issues, and controversies, we can enhance student interest in science. In this workshop, participants will examine the case of the Kennewick Man, an ancient Native American's remains which were found on the banks of the Columbia River in Eastern Washington. We will learn about the interest of the scientific community from forensic anthropologists to the evolutionary history of the DNA remains, the proper way of honoring ancient human remains, the crucial role of courts in controversial cases, and understanding NAGPRA to help students navigate such debates in classroom settings.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the example of the Kennewick Man - The Ancient Native American whose skeletal remains were accidentally found by two college students, participants will learn how to create a case study based on a local issue of interest and relate it to the scientific concepts being taught in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Rama Devagupta

Getting students out of the classroom has been shown to have numerous positive impacts at every age. Why not use that outdoor time to help scientists around the world? In this presentation you will learn about easy Citizen Science projects to do in all classrooms. From counting squirrels on the playground, to recording cloud types in the sky, to classifying the biodiversity in your schoolyard, there are projects for everyone! Hear about how easy it is to implement outdoor time from a SciStarter Ambassador who has led projects with preschoolers to college students to the community itself.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how easy it is to incorporate Citizen Science into any classroom. Leave with 1.) an understanding of several big Citizen Science projects, 2.) how they can be implemented in classrooms, 3.) how you can tie Citizen Science to standards.

SPEAKERS:
Elesha Goodfriend, Kelly Moore

Spark students’ curiosity as they practice thinking like scientists via immersive virtual field trips! This session explores how 360° settings can serve as powerful stimuli for observation, questioning, and sensemaking in upper elementary classrooms. You will investigate ready-made virtual field trips related to NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas in Earth Materials and Systems (ESS2.A), Biodiversity and Humans (LS4.D), and Human Impacts on Earth Systems (ESS3.C), and explore lesson materials to guide your students in a process of generating questions and turning them into purposeful, investigable scientific questions. You’ll leave with all the resources you’ll need to implement these experiences within your classroom context! Grounded in place-based learning principles, this inclusive and student-centered model of engagement supports diverse learners by connecting abstract concepts to real-world contexts, making science more meaningful and memorable for all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to guide students in using virtual field trips to spark curiosity, make observations, and ask purposeful, scientific questions—bringing NGSS-aligned content to life through immersive (virtual) place-based and inclusive classroom experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Williams-Habibi, Kyla Cook