Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Chemistry teachers! Guide your students through a forensic investigation of a bottle rocket launch failure. Use gas pressure sensors to explore Avogadro’s law for various gases, and model how real-world data can support sensemaking and 3D learning in your classroom or lab.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Learn how robust safety programs, driven by district leadership, are crucial for preventing science activity injuries. A public safety official presents a real-world case study of an experiment gone wrong, highlighting the vital role of comprehensive policies and procedures in ensuring a safe learning environment and avoiding emergency response scenarios.

TAKEAWAYS:
Equip your district with vital safety program knowledge to prevent science experiment incidents and ensure a secure learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Cassidy

This session will focus on a large-scale bioplastics investigation that has now spanned multiple years and become a school-wide topic of discussion outside of the chemistry lab. Students are extending the project to determine if the shells of invasive snails in the campus pond can be used to create bioplastics. These projects can deepen learning and instill a sense of rightful presence as students learn to see themselves as scientific researchers. They develop key skills and communicate their work through scientific writing, graphic design, and even video production. This session will share this and other field-tested project-based learning experiences, large and small, including local water quality analysis, electroplating, corrosion, soapmaking, water treatment, and more. Open-ended investigations and real-world chemistry applications do NOT have to conflict with the push to cover a substantial range of topics and maintain a level of rigor in accelerated chemistry courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
It is possible to increase student engagement with project-based chemistry explorations while still maintaining content and rigor. Tackling real-world chemistry problems can create a model environment for students and faculty to learn alongside one another while fostering key 21st-century skills.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Sullivan

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Transform your classroom with exciting, easy-to-perform demonstrations that illustrate core chemistry and physical science concepts. This fast-paced, hands-on session emphasizes immediately usable demos that engage students and reinforce content. Handouts and door prizes provided.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

In this interactive workshop, participants will step into the role of students by examining videos of lab procedures that may or may not involve chemical reactions. Working collaboratively, they will make observations, generate investigative questions, and identify what information is necessary to determine if a chemical change has occurred—modeling key NGSS Science and Engineering Practices. The second half of the session transitions to a class lab focused on the concept of limiting reactants. Participants will analyze provided experimental data from a reaction between antacid tablets, vinegar, and water. After completing calculations, participants will enter their data into a shared spreadsheet to generate a collective class graph. Small groups will analyze the results, pose new questions, and engage in a discussion that leads to an introduction to the concept of limiting reactants. A brief outline of the subsequent lessons following each of these activities will be provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience student-centered, inquiry-based approaches that engage learners in collaborative data analysis and question generation to support deep thinking about chemical reactions in the chemistry classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Johnson, ChrisAnn Johnson

What happens when general biology students choose the lens through which they learn biology? In this session, we present a flexible, phenomenon-based curriculum where learners explore core biology concepts through themed “lenses” such as medical, sustainability, animal science, and forensics. These lenses give context to content, deepen engagement, and empower students to drive their own learning. Rooted in NGSS and sensemaking strategies, the curriculum uses anchoring phenomena, real-world problems, and student inquiry to connect life science to future careers and personal interests. We’ll share classroom-tested units, student work, and tools that support choice, equity, and relevance in the biology classroom. Participants will leave with ready-to-use resources and ideas for integrating themed pathways that shift the focus from memorization to meaning-making.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students engage deeply in biology by choosing a personalized pathway through themed lenses—medical, sustainability, animal science, or forensics. This lens-based approach supports sensemaking, increases relevance, and empowers student-driven, inquiry-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Caroline Milne

Sponsoring Company: Biozone Corp.

Take the stress out of lesson planning and enhance student engagement with BIOZONE WORLD, BIOZONE’s powerful digital learning platform. Discover how BIOZONE WORLD supports seamless lesson delivery with ready-to-use resources, including interactive activities, presentation slides, engaging videos, and immersive 3D models. Discover how the platform’s integrated translation tool supports multilingual learners and how easy it is to plan, assign, and mark work within the system. Whether you're teaching in-person, hybrid, or fully online, BIOZONE WORLD empowers educators to streamline instruction while making science more accessible and interactive. Join us to see how BIOZONE can streamline and elevate your teaching experience!

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Explore Flinn’s new line of AP Chemistry labs, fully aligned to the 2024 College Board Course and Exam Description and watch your students refine key lab skills. This session features hands-on demonstrations of inquiry-based activities, digital integration, and classroom-ready resources to support student success. Handouts included.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Human DNA is more alike than different, so how do we find the differences? Restriction enzymes are proteins that recognize and cut specific DNA sequences. These can be used to determine whether a particular DNA sequence is present and to see differences between samples from different individuals – a DNA Fingerprint. This technique is called Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and it was the first way detectives analyzed DNA at a crime scene. In this activity, participants will use agarose gel electrophoresis to compare three DNA samples and “solve” an art heist. This lab is great to teach about restriction enzymes and agarose gel electrophoresis in a fun and hands-on way – perfect for life science, biology, and forensics classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Digesting DNA with restriction enzymes yields a “DNA Fingerprint” that can help investigators identify suspects at a crime scene. In this lab we will use digested DNA and agarose gel electrophoresis to “solve” an art heist.

SPEAKERS:
Arie Kaz, Kelsie Anson

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

From coffee to cola, many of your students’ favorite beverages contain acid! Help them investigate the acid concentrations in different drinks using pH sensors and a simple acid/base titration. Walk away with a go-to experiment and tips to connect key chemistry concepts to real-world food science.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Join us to explore how to leverage students' communication tools in the high school science classroom. This session will focus on strategies and approaches integrated into the OpenSciEd Chemical Reactions unit which challenges students to investigate chemical processes impacting oyster populations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to guide students in articulating their ideas, collaborating effectively, and constructing evidence-based explanations while encouraging the use of their own language and perspectives to make sense of complex scientific concepts and connect them to pressing environmental issues.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker, Kristin Rademaker

Use demos to talk about resources and environmental sustainability, with copper as a specific example and a focus on the impact of resource acquisition and resources to highlight the depth and complexity of these issues. Participants will observe a copper vein set up they could use in class. This single replacement reaction has some interesting steps and the chemistry that occurs will be discussed. Then the decomposition of malachite will be discussed along with extracting copper by smelting and an analysis of energy used. These reactions give an opportunity to discuss chemistry, geology and environmental science. The idea of the “rock footprint” and how much raw material is needed will be explored. The Berkeley Pit (in Butte) will be one reference point. Resources provided will help students understand the challenges faced when balancing competing interests. The timeline and impact of mining in various areas will be discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Environmental impacts of mining from raw material acquisition to processing energy to site clean-up, with an emphasis on the chemistry and sustainability of current practices. Leave with several labs, a classroom activity to highlight the physical impacts of mining, and enthusiasm for recycling.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Experience Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) for yourself in this interactive, hands-on session. Learn how this student-centered strategy builds critical thinking, teamwork, and conceptual understanding through guided inquiry.

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Engage your biology students with hands-on activities and collaborative games that bring evolution, genetics, biochemistry, and more to life. This session features classroom-tested, inquiry-based resources that make biology memorable and meaningful. Handouts included.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Cambron, M.S.

This session explores the Inquiry By Engineering Design (IBED) instructional model as an innovative approach to teaching STEM through climate science and sustainability topics. IBED blends inquiry-based learning with engineering design thinking, empowering students to investigate real-world environmental challenges and create solutions grounded in scientific principles. Through this model, students develop critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills while engaging in relevant, impactful learning. The session will showcase classroom-tested examples where students designed prototypes to address local climate concerns, such as hurricanes. Participants will leave with practical strategies and resources to integrate STEM using IBED in their science curriculum, aligning instruction with NGSS and sustainability goals. Join us to discover how IBED can transform your classroom into a hub for climate action and STEM innovation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integrating the engineering design process into the classroom mirrors the real-world practices of engineers, introducing students of all ages and educational levels to a culture of problem-solving. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for incorporating STEM into their science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Azka Kiran

This session focuses on designing, building, and using three-dimensional performance tasks to assess learning of science. The session will feature ways to find analogous phenomena to assess three-dimensional science learning. The role of crosscutting concepts in focusing performance tasks will be modeled in the sessions. Participants will analyze a set of three-dimensional performance tasks aligned to NGSS Performance Expectations. The session will feature discussions about the effective alignment of assessment tasks to three-dimensional science standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take away summative assessment tasks for each NGSS and the Minnesota Science Standards. They will gain insights into how to develop their own assessment tasks and how to use summative assessment to evaluate teaching and learning appropriately.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Moulding

Modeling activities can sometimes seem like a burden to teachers and students alike. Large phenomena, taking several days or weeks to cover, can feel abstract and disconnected. But "not all phenomena need to be phenomenal." We will show teachers how to quickly but effectively design smaller modeling activities to maximize student understanding in minimal class time. We will showcase how to select everyday phenomena and simple hands on activities. We will then help teachers in understanding the design process of the activity itself, showing that, with a little bit of prep and foresight, teachers can design incredibly impactful modeling activities. The goal is for all in attendance to leave with the ability to design short meaningful modeling activities with maximum impact to their students' learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendess will leave with the ability to design a Mini Model of their own. All attendees will learn the thought and design process behind these efficient learning activities.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Reidy, Kevin Wessler

This session will help educators apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to adapt and enhance science materials and assessments in support of three-dimensional (3D) teaching and learning. Participants will learn how to identify barriers in instructional design and explore strategies to support engagement, access, and rigorous sense-making for all learners. Specific examples will include flexible approaches to instruction and assessment- both formative and summative- that honor student voice, choice, and varied modes of expression while maintaining alignment with NGSS dimensions. Participants will leave with practical strategies and planning tools to ensure that every student can meaningfully engage with phenomena and science practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will equip educators with practical tools to apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in science instruction and assessment, enabling all students to access and engage in three-dimensional (3D) learning through flexible, inclusive strategies that support voice and choice.

SPEAKERS:
Shennel Hunte

Polymers are characterized as thermoplastic or thermoset; natural or synthetic; or as being formed by addition or condensation reactions. The amount of cross-linking in polymers also affects their properties. Activities will be shared that highlight and explain the categorization of polymers. We will investigate polymer powders to infer the amount of crosslinking when they are exposed to water. PVA slime also can show crosslinking. Thermoplastics can be reshaped after heating so are recyclable. Thermosets are the result of a heat-producing chemical reaction and are non-recyclable. We will do activities with each, investigating properties and uses. Our clothing is made up of a variety of polymers, some natural, a growing percentage synthetic. We will share some observational tasks using materials to discuss the benefits of each type of polymer in clothing. The environmental impact of polymers will be discussed and activities related to biopolymers and recycling will also be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will present an overview of polymers - different ways of categorizing, difficulties with recycling, and the variety of properties. We will provide hands-on activities to be done in the classroom, exploring cross-linking, reactions to heat and water, and natural vs synthetic polymers in clothing to name a few.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Spohler

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Get started with Vernier! Explore our top sensors for chemistry, biology, and physics and learn how to integrate real-time data collection into your curriculum. Support student-led science learning with hands-on, sensor-based investigations that help students make sense of the world around them!

SPEAKERS:
Tom Smith

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Learn the essential practices and protocols every science teacher needs to ensure a safe lab environment. This session covers hazard analysis, GHS labeling, PPE, and risk mitigation—critical tools for protecting your students and yourself.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

What if your students could remember more without studying harder? This session dives into practical, research-backed strategies from cognitive science that make learning stick. Participants will explore how to “hack the brain” using techniques like spaced retrieval, elaboration, interleaving, and dual coding- all applied within the context of 3D science instruction. We’ll examine why traditional methods often fall short, and how small shifts in lesson design and assessment can lead to big gains in retention and reasoning. Participants will leave with classroom-ready tools and routines to increase engagement, deepen sense-making, and build long-term mastery.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to integrate brain-based learning strategies into science lessons and assessments to improve retention, metacognition, and student engagement—without sacrificing depth or rigor.

SPEAKERS:
Shennel Hunte

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Join us to explore the OpenSciEd Certified PASCO version Chemistry curriculum. First discover a unit's storyline through a tour of PASCO Portal, our online platform for organizing and distributing teacher and student OpenSciEd resources. Then dive into the unit's first lesson to experience the anchoring phenomenon, used to elicit student questions that they'll work to answer throughout the unit. Finally participate in a hands-on activity from a subsequent lesson, using PASCO technology to develop an evidence-based response to one of those student questions. In this lesson, you will use our Wireless Current Sensor to figure out how increasing the concentration of salt in water affects the rate of charges flowing through it.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

All metals share common properties and students can usually recite these fairly easily, but how deep is that understanding and how can those properties be manipulated? Participants will observe melting a tin-based alloy and explore a binary phase diagram, learning how these are used for heat-treating and alloy determinations. Steel is the second most common building material in the world. Two cheap examples of steel will be compared, one high-carbon, one low-carbon. A classroom activity is shared that allows students to learn about heat-treating and how it can affect the properties of the steel. Copper wire will undergo cold-working and its properties will be compared to those of the steel samples. Each activity has real-world relevance, as well as deep chemistry connections. Crystal structures, grain boundaries and atomic dislocations, and alloy types will be explained and related to the practical engineering results of these atomic-level structural changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how students can change a metal’s properties through alloying, heat-treating, and/or cold-working. Classroom activities that will enhance chemistry understanding of atomic structure and real world engineering relevance. Introduce & deepen understanding of binary phase diagrams.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson

So much of science is dependent upon making observations, looking for patterns, and creating predictions. In this session, we will explore 3 different puzzles in the classroom that kick start conversations about the nature of science: The Game of Science, Inquiry Cubes, and Periodic Aliens. These lessons combine challenging tasks with thoughtful connections with the nature of science and are perfect for the start of the school year.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will try out and receive materials for three different activities to use in the classroom to introduce and discuss the nature of science with students

SPEAKERS:
Joe Cossette

How can teachers advocate science safety in a way that sticks? Superheroes like Spider-Man, the Flash, and Ms. Marvel provide meaningful and memorable case studies for promoting safe practices in the classroom, school, and community. From the Avengers to the Fantastic Four and Ant-Man to Black Panther, we’ll explore examples to teach and train lab safety.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive session, participants will explore multiple superhero case studies as tools for enhanced science safety training and advocacy, applying materials and policies from NSTA and other sources. Attendees will also examine copyright “fair use” with multimedia resources in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Bergman

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

All students learn by doing—yes, even high schoolers! Join Savvas and Flinn Scientific to explore 3D science learning that engages, challenges, and includes every student in your 9–12 classroom. Dive into best practices for capturing student interest, building retention, and reinforcing core skills through hands-on, differentiated activities. Collaborate with peers and walk away with ready-to-use resources, strategies, and a renewed passion for making high school science exciting and meaningful for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Greg Sloan, Obie Martin

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Explore easy, engaging, and safe chemistry activities that guarantee a reaction in your students. Whether you’re new to chemistry or feeling out of your element, create excitement with hands-on labs, demonstrations, and Carolina’s digital content. These lab activities support 3-dimensional learning and work every time, not just periodically.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Life happens in water – and therefore many teachers consider water to be the first molecule of life. But there are four other small molecules that make up the major constituents of a living cell. These other molecules include (i) amino acids – which become proteins, (ii) phospholipids – which become membranes, (iii) carbohydrates – which become cell walls and food, and (iv) nucleotides – which become DNA and RNA. This workshop will explore physical models of these molecules of life and how they can be used to introduce your students to the molecular basis of life. This session will present teacher-tested suggestions for how these Molecules of Life can be used to introduce virtually any topic in a high school biology curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman

Modeling activities can sometimes seem like a burden to teachers and students alike. Large phenomena, taking several days or weeks to cover, can feel abstract and disconnected. But "not all phenomena need to be phenomenal." We will be showing how teachers can design simple, tangible, one period modeling activities to connect complex content with hands' on labs and activities. With proper lead in instruction, the discipline to allow students to discover, a few alka seltzers, and water with varying temperatures students can explore collision theory and its relationship with energy. They can discover the general principles and create a permanent, real connection. With a few drops of various liquids on different surfaces students can explore intermolecular forces and colligative properties. Not all models and phenomena have to be wondrous. Some can be as simple as dissolving sugar in water. The level of understanding gained is only limited by the lead in to the activity and the prompt.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with the knowledge of how smaller, segmented, and quick modeling activities can enhance student understanding by linking content with a hands on activity or analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Reidy, Kevin Wessler

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Are you looking for more from your current high school chemistry program? More flexibility? More practicality? In this interactive session, you’ll get an early look at Flinn’s new NGSS-aligned chemistry program—designed for real classrooms like yours. Experience a hands-on prototype that blends student-centered learning with structured direct instruction where it matters most, along with the flexibility you need to make it your own. Your feedback during this session will help shape the final product. Join us to explore a new vision for high school chemistry—one that puts students and teachers first.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: Biozone Corp.

Looking for consistency and depth across your science courses? BIOZONE offers a cohesive suite of titles (print + digital) to support teachers delivering at all levels of high school instruction including honors, electives, IB, AP, and NGSS courses. Our beautifully presented titles use our highly graphical, unique interactive worktext approach to deliver biology, chemistry, physics, earth & space, environmental science, and anatomy & physiology content. Engaging visuals and scaffolded activities promote active learning and critical thinking. Lesson planning is simplified with pacing guides, teacher notes, slides, assessments, and a robust digital program. Join us to explore how our print and digital solutions replace traditional textbooks and workbooks, making science teaching more efficient, engaging, and effective. Attendees receive a FREE print copy and a 90-day digital access to a title of their choice.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

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

Discover how spreadsheets can transform your stoichiometry lessons into engaging, hands-on experiences that build both chemistry understanding and real-world computational skills. In this interactive workshop, you’ll explore how students can model chemical reactions using spreadsheet formulas to visualize mole ratios, mass relationships, and percent yields. We’ll begin with the everyday phenomenon of baking cookies to introduce the concept of static vs. dynamic cells and to practice creating spreadsheet formulas. Then, we’ll transition to designing spreadsheets that solve limiting/excess reactant stoichiometry problems and support post-lab data analysis. This approach engages students in mathematical thinking and computational modeling to illustrate the conservation of mass in chemical reactions, with student-created spreadsheets serving as evidence of their understanding and application of these concepts. Participants are encouraged to bring a device with Google Sheets capabilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use spreadsheets to teach stoichiometry in a way that reinforces chemistry concepts, introduces foundational computational thinking, and empowers students with real-world problem-solving skills.

SPEAKERS:
James Didier

Minnesota’s 2019 Science Standards have separate benchmarks for chemistry and physics. Sounds great - but what do you do when the NGSS instead has “physical science “ and nationally available 3-dimensional curricula (built on the science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas) don’t fully match with Minnesota’s specific benchmarks? Or feature local phenomena? In this session, we will explore how to select curricula aligned with the shifts of the 2019 standards - and how that process might have different “look-fors” than past curriculum adoptions. Using a variety of examples, we will also examine some of the points where textbooks, older top-notch resources, and exemplar materials aligned with national standards are likely to require some adaptation. Finally, we will reflect on what types of modifications are most important to serve student learning of the standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Minnesota’s physics and chemistry standards provide some unique challenges, but ultimately are best served by curricula that are-student driven and centered in making sense of phenomena and problems.

SPEAKERS:
Dan Voss, Haley Kalina

Unlock deeper student understanding by exploring the power of scientific modeling! Through hands-on activities, participants will discover how developing models empowers students to observe, analyze, and visualize the unseen, making science truly make sense. Explore actionable strategies for relating concepts to students' individual experiences, demonstrating how this enhances neural pathways for long-term retention. We will engage in the process of making initial observations, modeling what we think is happening, performing and discussing an experiment for clarification, and revising our original model.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how encouraging students to develop scientific models, supported by their own experiences and observations, reveals the remarkable way this process strengthens neural pathways, leading to deeper comprehension and retention.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Horn

What if the power goes out, stores are closed, and there’s no help on the way? In this exciting, hands-on class, teach students real-world survival skills through science. They’ll purify water with solar stills, cook outdoors (solar brownies, orange peel muffins!), build fires, make charcloth, and practice wilderness first aid. Students will also create spears, atlatls, and clothing, predict weather, navigate with maps and compasses, and identify wild edibles. They'll explore microbiology to prevent illness and make all-natural chapstick, bug repellent, soap, and detergent. Fun, functional, and unforgettable—because when the world gets weird, science is survival.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the Zombie Apocalypse, or any natural disaster from tornado to hurricane, earthquake to ice storm, this workshop illustrates how many different science fields are relevant to everyday life! This workshop includes chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Melanie Carden-Jessen

Are you a new or veteran educator of gifted learners? Would you like to learn and discuss topics on gifted education in the science classroom? As a 12 year AP/DE chemistry teacher at a Virginia Governor's School I will share my understandings, strategies, and techniques for the gifted learner in the science classroom. In this informal presentation teachers will learn and discuss which techniques and strategies are best used with gifted students in the science classroom including enrichment, acceleration and differentiation. Understanding the nuances of giftedness, pit falls, twice exceptional students, and the wonders of teaching gifted students will be primarily addressed. Teachers should come prepared with/ready to learn about current strategies, models, and/or questions for myself and fellow teachers in the session.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will come away from this session understanding current techniques and teaching models of gifted students in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Christian Laourdakis

Each day in my chemistry classroom begins with “Element of the Day”—a consistent, engaging routine that sparks curiosity and builds connections. Students learn about an element’s history, real-world applications, and common compounds, with the support of visuals, short videos, and even a few element-themed jokes. This simple structure sets a positive tone for the period and naturally transitions into the warm-up or lesson. Over time, it becomes something students look forward to and talk about outside of class. Whether it’s exploring how rare earth metals power smartphones or why sodium shows up in snacks, students begin to see chemistry in the world around them. In this session, I’ll share how I plan, structure, and implement this routine, the resources I use, and how it’s helped reinforce content, create routine, and build relationships in a meaningful, low-pressure way.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to implement a consistent, engaging “Element of the Day” routine that builds classroom structure, sparks curiosity, and connects chemistry content to students’ everyday lives through history, humor, real-world applications, and visual storytelling.

SPEAKERS:
James Leddy

Keeping 10th grade students focused and engaged during a 90-minute chemistry class can be challenging, especially with complex content and varying student interest levels. This 30-minute session will explore research-based strategies and practical tools that promote sustained engagement, curiosity, and comprehension in extended chemistry classes. The presentation will blend pedagogy with actionable methods, focusing on lesson pacing, interactive elements, and scaffolding techniques that meet students at different levels of readiness and interest.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will empower educators to reimagine the long chemistry class as a dynamic, student-led journey. With a combination of cognitive and classroom-tested strategies, teachers can confidently lead their students through complex concepts—without losing their attention or enthusiasm.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Chuboff

What role do enzymes play in the fermentation of starch? How can enzymes efficiently prepare starches for conversion to alcohols? Participants deconstruct a molecule of starch to create glucose molecules for yeast consumption using the action of enzymes. What do participants figure out? Enzymes break molecules like starch into smaller molecules like disaccharides and monosaccharides that can be used for the fermentation of sugars.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants discover how the action of enzymes is specific. They also realize the process used in industry to turn feedstocks like corn into products such as ethanol.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Bryan, Jeff Jostpille

Discover how a Chemistry of Foods course can bring STEM to life through real-world connections. This session showcases a transdisciplinary approach to teaching chemistry that engages students by integrating food science concepts. Educators will explore practical strategies for weaving food-related topics into their curriculum and collaborate to brainstorm ideas for other STEM courses that connect science to everyday life and their school communities. Leave with inspiration and actionable ideas to make STEM more relevant, accessible, and exciting for your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about implementing a co-taught, standards-based, phenomena-driven high school course.

SPEAKERS:
Fran Stephens

Discover how chemistry becomes more meaningful and inclusive when students engage with real-world materials and everyday phenomena. This session features a dynamic collection of hands-on labs—such as “Fire in Your Hand,” which explores combustion using butane gas; “Why Is a Potato Conductive but Potato Chips Are Not?” focused on electrochemistry and conductivity; growing rose crystals to illustrate saturation; investigating how sugar and lemon juice concentrations affect the taste of lemonade to explore molarity; and observing the spherical shape of water in microgravity to explain intermolecular forces. These labs are designed to spark curiosity, deepen conceptual understanding, and promote equity through accessible, low-cost materials. Participants will learn how to adapt activities for diverse learners, elevate student voice, and integrate cross-disciplinary thinking. Walk away with ready-to-use lab guides and strategies to help all students see themselves as scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will gain over 20 creative, low-cost chemistry labs with student-facing worksheets, procedures, instructions, and strategies for real-world connections, differentiation, scaffolding, and designing engaging, cross-disciplinary experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Lixian Sun

This session explores a reimagined approach to chemistry labs that prioritizes student collaboration, creativity, and relevance. Using a group model where every student has an active role, labs become more than just data collection—they become shared, purposeful learning experiences. After completing the lab, students demonstrate their understanding through modern, student-driven products: TikTok-style videos, infographics, Canva one-pagers, flyers, or mock Instagram posts. These formats allow students to communicate their learning in ways that feel authentic and engaging. This structure has been shown to boost participation, deepen content understanding, and foster an inclusive lab environment. Attendees will learn how to implement collaborative roles, explore examples of creative student work, and see how labs can evolve to meet the interests and learning styles of today’s students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore how to design collaborative, student-centered chemistry labs with creative final products that help Gen Z students engage, reflect, and communicate their learning in authentic, meaningful ways.

SPEAKERS:
James Leddy

This is one PLC's story of inventing the wheel as we wrote our chemistry curriculum from scratch incorporating NGSS and the MN State Science Standards (2019). Focus centers around using the Science and Engineering Practices to drive Assessments and Daily Lessons. Attendees will leave with a complete Unit including assessments. Please bring a Unit and/or assessment you want to improve.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a process of writing chemistry curriculum focusing on the Science and Engineering Practices. Attendees will also be provided a complete Unit as an example and are free to use in their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Dustin Ludwikowski, Mary Sande

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

Identify elements in the spectra of supernova remnants to determine the properties of collapsed and exploded stars using web-based NASA X-ray data and image analysis tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
JS9 web-based software can be used to analyze NASA data sets to determine the type of supernova and provides students with real opportunities to do astronomical research.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Perry

Discover the equitable assessment system applied in the OpenSciEd Thermodynamics in Earth’s Systems unit. Examine assessment practices that value and elicit diverse ways of knowing, supporting all students in demonstrating their understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how formative and summative assessments are designed to be inclusive and culturally responsive, providing students with multiple opportunities to engage with, reflect on, and communicate their learning.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

As the EV and clean energy sector continues to grow, so does our need for sustainable energy storage. In partnership with KidWind and with support from the Department of Energy, a cohort of secondary education STEM teachers from across the United States are developing a curriculum about the production, use, recycling, and future of batteries. This 60-minute workshop explores the landscape and impacts of batteries globally, introduces the new curriculum, and leads participants through a hands-on activity. Participants will wire a “wet cell battery” using ice cube trays, electrodes, and a simple electrolyte, and measure the voltage. They will then be challenged to extend this learning by wiring the “cells” to light LEDs or run motors and then iterate on the design with the aim of increasing voltage. We will close by considering how hands-on battery focused activities can provide a compelling hook to contend with the current and future sustainability of batteries.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about a new battery-focused curriculum and use “kitchen chemistry” to create a “wet-cell battery,” field testing their designs to increase energy capacity and exploring how hands-on activities can bring to life real-world battery sustainability challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Ray Wu-Rorrer, Pamela Ulicny

Superheroes provide opportunities for teaching all kinds of science content, from mutations to multiverses to the nature of science (NOS). This session examines multimedia examples PLUS supplemental research. Explore "Marvelous" hooks and Direct Connections to science in our classrooms and beyond!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants in this interactive session will examine a variety of multimedia superhero examples, with a focus on immediate classroom implementation AND legal copyright “fair use.” In addition to specific lessons, teachers will practice analyzing and applying media and research to engage students.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Bergman

The concepts covered in a general chemistry II course are designed to teach students concepts applicable to future chemical studies. However, these seemingly disconnected concepts can be frustrating and confusing for students without understanding how they are relevant in a real-world situation. This presentation will discuss the use of ocean acidification (OA) as an over-arching research project designed to tie concepts discussed in general chemistry II course to a current environmental issue. Using case studies, guided inquiry experimentation, scientific literature, and real-world data, students will learn how chemical equilibrium, acid/base chemistry, solubility, and other concepts addressed in general chemistry apply to the study of OA. This presentation will provide educators with resources on OA and an example of utilizing them in the general chemistry classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to incorporate ocean acidification, a climate change topic, into a post-secondary general chemistry course by linking it to content already discussed in the course.

SPEAKERS:
Catherine Haslag

In this unique problem-solving lab, students design their own experiment to test the polarity of solutions and determining which milk solution is best to combat hot sauce. Most students have some experience with eating spicy food. While the exact spices may vary in different regions, the effect is the same. It tastes hot.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session's takeaway is a fun and novel lab that attendees can implement into their own chemistry or biology class.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Mason, Gregory Matthias

Explore an NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-based curriculum designed to prepare students for evaluating the science behind the H2 Innovation Experience—a first-of-its-kind, working renewable hydrogen microgrid in Southern California. This flexible, adaptable curriculum helps students understand clean hydrogen energy through engaging lessons focused on energy transformations, chemical reactions, and climate solutions. Whether students attend the tour in person or engage virtually, they explore and apply science and engineering practices through multimedia, experiments, interactive activities, and real-world data. This session highlights how digital tools and local STEM infrastructure can empower students to critically engage with climate and energy solutions—wherever they are.

TAKEAWAYS:
This NGSS-aligned curriculum rooted in real-world clean energy projects—like the H2 Innovation Experience—can empower students to engage deeply with complex energy systems and envision their role in building a sustainable future for themselves and their community through hydrogen technology.

SPEAKERS:
Cassie Herndon

Looking for high-quality instructional materials that are NGSS-aligned, engaging, and FREE? Khan Academy’s hands-on science activities are the solution! Our activities guide students to conduct investigations, develop models, analyze data, and more. Each activity is anchored in a compelling real-world phenomenon and requires only accessible, low-cost materials. We offer middle school activities in life, physical, and Earth and space science, and high school activities in biology, chemistry, and physics. In this workshop, you’ll step into the role of a student as you try a high school Khan Academy science activity. Together, we’ll explore both the student and teacher guides and see how the activities support the three dimensions of the NGSS. You’ll gain practical strategies for classroom implementation, and learn how to access the diverse collection of activities we offer. Join us to explore how these free, high-quality resources can bring out the joy in your science classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how free, phenomenon-driven science activities from Khan Academy make 3D learning accessible and engaging with practical, ready-to-use classroom tools.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Cizmas, Iman Brodsky, Molly Sauder, Katherine Capp, Megan Cohn, Donna Figenshu, Timothy Williams