Science education has a key role to play in supporting a just transition to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about 20 priority areas associated with climate and environmental justice—and explore educational approaches, resources, and groups related to these areas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Working towards climate justice involves a multifaceted set of issues and priorities. Teachers will identify which priority areas relate to their goals and context and learn about related resources. A climate justice framework will help teachers learn about different dimensions of climate justice.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Nancy Price, Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Join us to explore the OpenSciEd Certified PASCO version Grade 6 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 One-Way Mirror Model and Wireless Light and Color Sensor to measure the amount of light transmitted and reflected by a one-way mirror.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

The Mission Moon traveling space camp is a dynamic educational initiative designed to ignite interest in space exploration and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) among youth in grades 4-8. The program offers immersive, hands-on experiences that simulate real-world space missions and challenges. Key elements of the experience include collaborating to complete mission tasks, learning about space careers, and using a variety of platforms to share learning with others. During the presentation, learn more about these key elements and how they work to support state and national STEM standards. Additionally, pilot data and the key role that partnerships played in the development and implementation of the program will be discussed. At the end, walk away with Mission Moon material lists and lesson plans that could be used to replicate this experience in your community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educational simulations, like Mission Moon, let students apply STEM concepts in hands-on, interactive ways that deepen understanding, and engagement. They foster problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation while making complex ideas more relatable for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Dennis Culver, Sara Nelson

Join us to consider how leveraging high quality instructional materials in professional learning can strengthen the shared vision of the instructional shifts called for by the NGSS and engage educators in three dimensional phenomena driven teaching and learning. Hear how a state level partnership with multiple district’s deepened teacher’s knowledge of the NGSS and three dimensional instructional practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using high quality instructional materials as a lever to further NGSS implementation across multiple district/school contexts can support teachers and leaders to deepen their understanding of the NGSS and three dimensional teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jenine Cotton-Proby, Guy Ollison, Nancy Hopkins-Evans

This interdisciplinary session will focus on putting climate science in a social perspective, first by examining the trends over the past 200 years that correlate to climate change (population growth, fossil fuel use and changing land use) and then by examining the relative vulnerability of different countries to climate change impacts (sea level rise, severe weather and agricultural loss) After a brief introduction, participants will engage in a global simulation activity to determine how countries differ in terms of amount of carbon emitted and vulnerability to several climate-related risks. Small groups will then analyze sets of visual data (graphs, infographics, articles and satellite imagery) to identify relationships between human activities, greenhouse gas emissions, temperature rise, ice melt and sea level rise. The group will discuss paths to a sustainable future. Participants will receive lesson plans aligned to NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to create and implement interdisciplinary lesson plans that explore how climate trends relate to human activities, and how climate change is affecting different communities, and paths to a sustainable future.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Buttles

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Join us to explore the OpenSciEd Certified PASCO version Grade 7 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 CO₂ and Oxygen Gas Sensors to produce data showing the relationship between carbon dioxide and water in the air surrounding plant leaves exposed to light.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

The National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) is partnering with NOAA to provide educator resources for formal and informal education audiences to build environmental literacy. Learn about a wide array of resources to help middle and high school teachers use data-rich resources for investigations in the physical, Earth and biological sciences, providing pathways for students to become informed planetary citizens. Find out how to engage your students in discovering the natural world and make informed decisions regarding environmental issues. Learn about virtual reality simulations, resources that use archived and real data and student tutorials in sea level rise, coral reefs, GPS, tides, ocean currents and estuaries.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will receive a wide variety of resources with links to online resources.

SPEAKERS:
Peggy Steffen

This study explored how Project-Based Learning (PBL) could improve student interest and engagement in 7th grade science. It looked at how hands-on and collaborative projects affected students’ attitudes and academic performance. Data was gathered through pre- and post-surveys and tests. The goal was to see if PBL made science more meaningful and helped students better understand and enjoy what they were learning. Results will help determine how PBL can improve science teaching and support student learning in real-world ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
A key takeaway from the study is Project-Based Learning allows students to explore science in meaningful ways by making real-world connections and applying what they learn to practical, everyday situations.

SPEAKERS:
Rosario Arellano, Jennifer Kopec

An essential scientific and engineering practice is having students develop and use scientific models, but it can be challenging to facilitate modeling to ensure students’ effective engagement and sensemaking. This workshop will demonstrate how to model with students in different formats and for various purposes. Modeling can be utilized in the classroom to assist students in making their learning visual and communicating scientific information. Engaging in modeling can also enhance student engagement and sense-making. The modeling process can also serve as a formative or summative assessment. During the workshop, teachers will engage in various types of modeling that they can implement in their classrooms. All information presented is based on research. This is listed as a 9-12 Earth and Space Science session since most examples will be from this area. Yet, the activities and information could also be utilized in middle school and other secondary disciplines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will experience a variety of methods of modeling to utilize in their classroom that allow student learning of science concepts to be visualized. Leave this workshop with activities and pedological moves related to modeling that you can implement in your class immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Missie Olson, Haley Kalina

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Prepare your students for success on the AP Enviro exam with expert tips for tackling multiple-choice and free-response questions. Learn strategies to enhance critical thinking and test-taking skills, helping your students achieve their best scores.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

Utilize updated computer modeling with students to test assumptions, play, and build an intuition of how complex earth and human systems interact. Pair this with a lesson sequence that explores published fiction using a simple journaling and class discussion technique. The sequence results in students creating dispatches from these futures to meld their climate understandings with creative narratives. These students will go on to build the future - they should have some practice creating better ones.

TAKEAWAYS:
Build confidence in helping students personalize what climate modeling means for their own life.

SPEAKERS:
Luke Gliddon

In this dynamic, hands-on session, participants will explore how drone technology can be integrated into inquiry-based STEM learning to engage students in meaningful, real-world investigations. Through interactive activities, educators will experience student-centered lessons that combine drone flight, authentic data collection and analysis. Participants will explore relationships by collecting data using drones and analyze their findings to draw conclusions. The session will also cover beginner-friendly drone programming tools and strategies for scaffolding coding skills to support students at different levels. Emphasis will be placed on aligning activities with science and math concepts, promoting student agency, and using technology to foster critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Drones should not be seen as supplementary tools but as essential resources in teaching math and science. By integrating drones into lessons, educators can create immersive, inquiry-driven learning experiences that deepen student understanding and bring core concepts to life.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Pennell

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Join us to explore the OpenSciEd Certified PASCO version Grade 8 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 Smart Cart with its built-in force and position sensors to graph the relationship between applied force and deformation for different materials.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Come discover how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all three dimensions of the NGSS to your earth and environmental science teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices. Take away free tips and resources that you can use immediately to bring NGSS to life in your classroom! This session will demonstrate a wide variety of materials using free simulations and resources developed by The Concord Consortium over decades of NSF funding. Participants will explore free, open source interactive earth and environmental models and learn how they can be used to enhance use of three-dimensional learning in the classroom, with a particular emphasis on use of the Science Practices. Examples and hands-on interaction will engage participants in using models and simulations for powerful NGSS-aligned teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all three dimensions of the NGSS to their earth and environmental science teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

Learn strategies to support all students, including MultiLingual Learners (MLLs), in developing disciplinary-specific language through embedded peer-to-peer discussion routines, informed by research, that promote collaborative sensemaking and language acquisition.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience instructional routines, through an immersive activity, designed to support the development of disciplinary-specific language and collaborative sensemaking in science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Chatham, John Salazar

Join the NSTA PL committee for one or all of these sessions in our Interdisciplinary Connections strand to explore the what, why and how of interdisciplinary science teaching and learning. Each session will engage participants in interactive experiences to solve problems or investigate phenomena using science while focusing on a particular pairing of interdisciplinary opportunities. In this session, you will explore the connection between math and science. Attendees will engage in activities to demonstrate how math can be vertically aligned and supported throughout a student’s education, K-12. Participants will use the phenomenon of why some storms cause more damage as an example of how math and science learning are inextricably linked. Using real-world data to analyze and model storm effects and develop risk assessments using probability and statistics, attendees will learn how every age can collect and use real-world data to explore a phenomenon and increase their learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore how teaching math is inextricable from teaching science and be given examples of how that looks when vertically aligned K-12. Participants will use real-life data to model a phenomenon mathematically, boosting both math and science understanding in a meaningful way.

SPEAKERS:
Erik Wade, Jesse Wilcox

For elementary classrooms, integrating Science with English Language Arts is necessary due to limited time and abundance of content. This engaging workshop integrates Earth Science content and maps with The Hobbit, allowing participants to make connections with the physical world and the imaginative Middle Earth. Identify landforms and land features, classify climates across Middle Earth, and apply weather knowledge. 3D learning includes asking questions, looking for patterns, and understanding Earth systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to describe weather and climate in various regions, both real and imaginary. They will learn how to connect literature passages with science content in ways that encourage creative thinking and active learning.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Boulden

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

Sponsoring Company: PLTW

Elementary educators shouldn’t have to choose between science, math, and literacy. In this hands-on session, you’ll explore how PLTW Launch helps students master science standards while reinforcing key literacy and math skills. Participate in a classroom-tested activity from the “Light Exploration” module, where students investigate how light behaves with different materials—while building vocabulary, reasoning, and data skills. You’ll also see how Launch’s 42 NGSS-aligned modules support cross-curricular integration and engage students in real-world problem solving. With strong ties to Common Core and ELA goals, Launch offers a flexible, teacher-friendly approach that works across varied classroom models. Walk away with strategies to strengthen science instruction without sacrificing core academic time.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Sarbacker

"Unleashing the Scientist Within" refers to tapping into and maximizing one's natural scientific curiosity and potential for learning and problem-solving. It encourages educators to implement teaching methods that foster inquiry, critical thinking, and emphasizing the importance of embracing scientific thinking and innovation in students. The goal is to empower students to explore the world around them. As we embark on the journey of hands-on assessments and 3D learning, prepare to get your hands dirty, use your thinking skills, and learn ways of summative assessments that can also have a formal part to it.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to take an assessment given and raise it to the next level, change it to something more interesting, design it to be curiosity driven, and/or take some assessments with them already tried and proven.

SPEAKERS:
Melanie Hansel

Soil is more than just dirt—it’s a dynamic system that controls how water moves through the environment. This session explores the essential concepts of soil porosity and permeability through engaging, inquiry-based investigations. Examination of different soil samples, measuring porosity and permeability using simple tools, and analyzing how these properties affect water retention, drainage, and environmental sustainability will be highlighted throughout the session. Soil porosity and permeability play a crucial role in water movement, nutrient transport, and environmental health. This interactive session will immerse participants in a field-style investigation where they measure porosity and permeability in different soil types. Educators will engage in hands-on testing, data interpretation, and real-world applications that support the NGSS Crosscutting Concepts of Systems and System Models and Stability and Change. Participants will receive classroom-ready resources and strategies

TAKEAWAYS:
This hands-on workshop guides participants through the investigation of soil porosity and permeability using NGSS-aligned inquiry methods. Attendees will collect data, analyze results, and explore applications in environmental science, agriculture, and water management.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Sadler

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Get the first look at the newly revised EarthComm book, 4th edition earth science book. Experience a great take home lab and learn how to infuse United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) into instruction, plus see all the changes that were made to this classroom resource!

SPEAKERS:
Gary Curts

Satellite data can be a powerful tool for engaging students in real-world science, especially when exploring climate change and urban heat islands. In this interactive workshop, participants will discover how to incorporate satellite data into their classrooms—no GIS background required. We’ll explore free, user-friendly tools like NASA’s Eyes on the Earth and the Landsat Explorer app to investigate environmental changes over time and space. Attendees will engage in hands-on activities that support data literacy and scientific reasoning while making connections to key Earth and environmental science concepts. Resources and classroom-ready materials will be shared, empowering educators to bring authentic satellite data into science investigations at the middle and high school levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to access and use free, easy-to-navigate satellite data tools to engage students in climate and environmental investigations—no GIS experience needed.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Slack

Discover how non-Earth & Space Science licensed educators are effectively teaching Earth & Space Science by leveraging NGSS SEPs. This interactive workshop addresses the educator shortage, shares compelling statistics, and offers firsthand experiences from teachers instructing outside their licensure. Engage in a hands-on, inquiry-based lesson centered on a selected NGSS science and engineering practice, and leave equipped with practical resources to confidently teach Earth & Space Science aligned with NGSS standards.​ This workshop aims to:​ Introduce the NGSS framework with a focus on Earth & Space Science, present data and statistics underscoring the current licensure landscape, facilitate a hands-on, inquiry-based lesson exemplifying a specific NGSS SEP (TBD), share personal narratives from educators teaching outside their licensure, detailing challenges faced and strategies employed, and provide a list of resources to support effective Earth & Space Science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will understand the implications of NGSS on Earth & Space Science education, recognize the challenges and opportunities for educators teaching outside their licensure, implement NGSS Science and Engineering Practices in Earth & Space Science lessons, and access and utilize resources.

SPEAKERS:
Eva Nelson, Sara Fabel, Ashley Fetch

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

The carbon cycle plays a crucial role in life and in Earth's systems. Why is carbon dioxide discussed as a driver of climate change? In this hands-on lesson, we will model the molecular structure of gases in our atmosphere and analyze data about carbon sources and sinks to understand the role of carbon in climate change. This activity is from Lab-Aids' EDC Earth Science, an NSF-supported high school earth science program that uses an active, data-oriented approach to the student of earth science and earth systems, but can also be used as an individual kit to support climate change instruction in other courses.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Wallace

This workshop shares a curriculum that empowers students to become 21st century energy leaders. Participants will engage in a climate action simulation as different stakeholder groups and explore how their decision impact global temperature change, as well as the social impacts of these actions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the climate action simulation to engage their students in understanding climate action from an individual and global perspective.

SPEAKERS:
Gillian Roehrig

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

NSTA has revised and updated its position 2018 position statement on climate science, strengthening its commitment to high quality education on the teaching of the science of climate change. This presentation outlines the changes to the position statement and the rationale for the changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become equipped with the rationale and tools necessary for teaching the science of climate change, as well as the talking points necessary for engaging with the range of constituencies that have voice in or impact upon science education in general.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Pyle

Do you value helping kids engage more deeply with the wonder of our world AND each other? Do you want to build deeper relationships with your students through your content? Do you want to draw students into the start of a unit about where water can be found on Earth? If you answer yes, come explore a routine you can use to help you do all that! Participants will experience a noticing, wondering, and connections routine designed to launch a unit for 2-ESS2-3 Earth's Systems. "Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth, and that it can be solid or liquid." This routine will help your students access prior knowledge and lived experience that gets them talking with other students and with you. You will leave with scripts and templates to help you use this routine in your classroom. We will also share how to use this routine to launch other units, regardless of whether you have a curriculum or not.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about a noticing, wondering, and connections routine used to launch a unit for 2-ESS2-3: Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth. This engaging routine will help your students share prior knowledge and experiences and get them talking with other students and you.

SPEAKERS:
Joel Donna

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

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

Ever wonder why we don’t see an eclipse every month? Join us for a hands-on session where you’ll explore this puzzling phenomenon using a dynamic modeling activity that reveals the relationship between the Earth’s and Moon’s orbital planes. Discover how simple models can unlock deep understanding—and leave with your own Lab-Aids Orbital Plane model to bring back to your classroom!

SPEAKERS:
Virginia Rehberg

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

Since late 1990s, scientists have increasingly expressed alarm about the increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere induced by anthropogenic impact. In its "State of the Global Climate 2024" report (March 2025), the World Meteorological Organization has expressed concern that record greenhouse gas concentrations and other factors led to record heat and rising sea levels in 2024. In its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all the United Nations members in 2015, the UN department of Economic & Social Affairs shared a blueprint. "SDG 13: Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts" is one these Sustainable Development Goals. In this workshop, attendees will learn to use the En-Roads Climate Solutions Simulator (co-developed by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative) work on strategies to test their approaches on global temperatures in real time, and take it back to their classroom to empower their students.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive workshop, educators will learn about climate change mitigation strategies, how to use En-Roads Climate Simulator, see the impact of suggested changes in real time, and walk away with renewed confidence on empowering students to find solutions to climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Rama Devagupta

Don’t reinvent the wheel; no one has time for that! Many traditional “cookbook” labs and teacher demos contain the seeds of deeper learning. In this interactive session, educators will follow a step-by-step method to transform existing labs, demos, or activities into rigorous, student-driven investigations that support sensemaking. We’ll explore how to shift the focus toward phenomena, integrate science practices, and center student thinking, while still maintaining content-alignment goals. Participants will choose a lab or activity to “flip” using a framework that highlights student thinking and grade-appropriate science concepts. A classroom example focused on modeling convection currents will demonstrate how small instructional shifts can deepen understanding and expand meaningful access to learning for all students through inclusive prompts and scaffolds. Walk away with tools and strategies to redesign lessons that help students make sense of science without starting from scratch.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a step-by-step process for transforming traditional labs into student-driven investigations. They will walk away with tools and strategies to redesign lessons that help students make sense of science without starting from scratch.

SPEAKERS:
Alyssa Weisenstein

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

Earth Science teachers have a range of comfort with the various DCIs in ESS1. To engage students in figuring out and using these abstract ideas, such as how the process of nuclear fusion in the center of the sun releases the energy that reaches Earth as radiation, we have developed a unit to support three-dimensional teaching and learning related to stars and exoplanets. The modeling activities, data analysis and simulations utilized in this unit empower students to feel like space scientists and argue from evidence about which exoplanet is most likely to be habitable. The unit exemplifies how to engage students in both unit and lesson level phenomena aligned to high school level performance expectations in space science. Participants will immerse in an activity from the unit, exploring how it addresses 3D learning goals for space science (HS-ESS1), and discuss how to leverage engaging phenomena and problems to make this content interesting and accessible to all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will deepen their understanding of how prioritizing phenomena-driven learning supports key HQIM features through exploring a free NGSS-badged ESS unit that engages student interest and relevance while integrating the three dimensions of argumentation, stability & change, and various DCIs.

SPEAKERS:
John Salazar

The booklet Explorations into the US Space Program was developed for elementary students. Using personal narratives, primary sources, thinking routines, creative thinking, and STEM, the booklet engages students. They'll learn about astronauts, the impact of the space program on the local economy, and design and test model paper rockets. The booklet is geared towards fourth and fifth grades and includes annotated text features to support ESE and language learners. Come learn how to access the booklet and teacher guide for free. These resources have been made possible by grants with the Eastern Region for Teaching with Primary Sources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to download Explorations into the US Space Program and its teacher guide for free. They'll learn how to use the activities in the booklet to integrate literacy and STEM. They'll learn how to support student learning using annotated text features.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Boulden

"Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth", investigates the relationship between the ocean, weather and climate on global to local scales. This workshop introduces ten hands-on activities for upper ES and MS students to reinforce Earth science concepts related to oceanography, meteorology and climate. The short videos provide a spark of interest and briefly introduce the main focus of further investigation. They are intended to be used with classroom activities that provide learning strategies to translate complex earth science interactions into a format that is understandable to upper elementary and middle school students. The educator guides focus on up-to-date graphs, visualizations, hands-on labs and data that will help students understand the concepts and to engage in sense-making through-out the lessons. The main focus of each lesson was developed by a teacher team who provided guidance and advice on the best ways to help student understanding of Earth, atmosphere, and ocean systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will sample the range of activities that incorporate graphing, data analysis, visualizations and sense-making to introduce Earth/atmosphere/climate connections on local and global scales.

SPEAKERS:
Peggy Steffen

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

This poster will illustrate how students in a high school marine science class investigated the effects of changing climate on local marine invertebrates in the kelp forest and sandy beach ecosystems by modeling projects conducted by scientists at the University of California - Santa Barbara. By experimenting with dietary preferences of the purple sea urchin and beach hopper, students developed explanations for how changing ocean temperatures could impact the survival of these organisms based on food availability, and considered the potential effects on the ecosystem if these food sources were to change. There are many challenges associated with bringing university research to the high school classroom; however, students learned to utilize a review of scientific literature to develop procedures, exercise creativity in the experimental design process, and collaborate with other student groups.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips for modeling university-level research in the high school classroom: utilizing a review of scientific literature to develop procedures, cultivating student creativity in experimental design, and fostering collaboration between student groups and classes.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Moore

Teachers have expressed a desire to incorporate authentic climate data into their curricula, but struggle to find accessible and meaningful datasets that can be easily integrated into modern teaching practices. In response to this problem, climate scientists and instructional specialists from the University of Colorado Boulder have collaborated to create "Data Puzzles", a free resource that utilizes instructional practices as outlined by Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) to engage students in data analysis in the context of important scientific research. Data Puzzles challenge students to analyze and interpret climate datasets to construct explanatory models for important questions like, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?” and "Why might the Arctic be warming faster than. the rest of the world?".

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced with AST practices and authentic climate datasets in the context of the Data Puzzle resources.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Griffith

The GISP2 H-Core was collected in 1992 adjacent to the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) drill site. The GISP2-H 125.6-meter ice core is a record of 430 years of liquid electrical conductivity and nitrate concentrations. The liquid electrical conductivity sequence contains signals from a number of known volcanic eruptions that provide a dating system at specific locations along the core. The terrestrial and solar background nitrate records show seasonal and annual variations – as well as unique events. Several major nitrate anomalies within the record do not correspond to any known terrestrial or solar events, and there is compelling evidence that some nitrate anomalies within the GISP2 H-Core could possibly be a record of supernova events. The materials focus on NGSS scientific practices, crosscutting concepts and Earth/Space core disciplinary ideas – including analyzing and interpreting data, patterns, cycles of energy and matter, Earth systems and Earth and human activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
In constructing knowledge, there is no definitive answer, only plausible conclusions based on constructing, analyzing, and comparing data and research from multiple disciplines. This investigation provides a better understanding of the scientific process of developing models and defending results.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young

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

There are many lessons and resources developed or supported by members of the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) and their affiliate partners that will be shared. While engaging in systems thinking, students participate in a community science project that includes collecting Globe data to explore the impacts of Earth Sciue. These resources exemplifies how NESTA leadership serves as mentors who support quality Earth and space science instruction in every classroom. Resources and activities that highlight and support educators as they shift to phenomena-based instruction as described by Moulding and Bybee (2017) and the framework of the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) model (Windschitl, Thompson, & Braaten, 2018) will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Dive into the resources available through the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) to help foster systems thinking and community science engagement in classrooms. Learn how NESTA cultivates vital connections, enhancing Earth and space science education

SPEAKERS:
Missie Olson

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

Looking for ways to integrate engaging, hands-on sensemaking into your classroom? Explore activities, sample foods, and bring home ready-to-use materials from three standards-aligned food science lessons featuring low-allergen, gluten-free and vegan recipes. In Chia Pudding Profiles, participants will model soil properties while sampling high-protein desserts. Participants will then learn about the effects of anti-inflammatory compounds on the immune system as they sample oat-and-pumpkin scones. In Sustainable Somali Sambusa, an upcoming addition to the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix, participants will survey a sustainable farm design activity and sample basbaas, a spicy Somali dip rich in vitamin C and capsaicin. Chia Pudding 5 Ways, Stress-Less Pumpkin Spice Scones, and Basbaas are featured in Megan’s newest book, Fresh Food Science: 101 Healthy, Easy, Delicious Recipes; three copies will be awarded as door prizes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Making and tasting food connects sensemaking with real-life phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Hall

Participants will engage with routines and text sets—including primary sources from the Library of Congress—that can be used to support civically engaged argument writing about cross-disciplinary environmental issues like space debris, fast fashion, palm oil in foods, and minting new pennies. Our communities are full of arguments—debates, discussions, and conversations about how we should live together as members of a community. Participants will learn about freely available text sets and classroom routines developed by teachers for supporting civically engaged argument writing about environmental issues. In our civic argument writing unit, students create texts for audiences outside of the classroom. For example, in our curriculum resources on orbital debris or "space junk," students in a grade 5 classroom crafted letters to their senators. Most units call for students to draft Op-Eds for publication in local newspapers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to support students in (1) making sense of multiple perspectives and (2) contributing to ongoing civic conversations about issues of importance with the help of approaches and tools that have been developed by teachers and are freely available online.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Lapina, Javaha Ross, Trey Smith

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 middle 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 learn 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

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

Some of the most powerful moments for students happen when they talk about what they have learned and how it changed their original thinking. Initial understanding of the water cycle is often simpler than reality. We will use the "talking drawing" strategy to identify prior knowledge and expand student understanding of the complexity of the water cycle by tracking a water drop and a pollutant particle using a revised model.

SPEAKERS:
Virginia Rehberg

Come see how we use a 5E lesson with geologic maps, many of which are free online, to help students determine plate boundaries. We also highlight nature of science with Marie Tharp and her discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Finally, we will discuss sense-making and model-building strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how modeling can be used to improve student sense-making of science concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Alexa Clements, Jesse Wilcox

Engaging place-based Midwest-centered storylines are presented that allow students to develop a deep understanding of up-to-date, research-driven climate science and how it relates to their home communities. For example, the timing of the settling of Midwestern states was directly result impacted by global and regional climate changes that included the Little Ice Age (creating a demand for animal furs for coats and hats) and the giant 1815 eruption of the Indonesian volcano Tambora (which caused the famines of the “year without a summer” and drove large numbers of easterners westward into the Midwest. Examining regional Midwest geology (such as glacial deposits and bedrock limestone layers) can foster student sensemaking of the cycles of climate change that can occur on longer time scales. Analyzing the evidence of past climate changes and its impacts on humans and other life will help students carry out the processes of sensemaking to better understand current climate trends.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students effectively develop sensemaking of NGSS performance expectations concerning weather and climate using place-based storylines anchored by Midwest regional phenomena. Instructors will leave with multiple ideas for incorporating the latest climate science into their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession

An open-ended ice core 3D investigation that incorporates absolute and relative dating, patterns and anomalies, volcanoes, solar proton events, and terrestrial and supernova events. The GISP2-H 125.6-meter ice core is a record of liquid electrical conductivity (LEC) and nitrate concentrations. The LEC sequence contains signals from a number of known volcanic eruptions that provide absolute dates. Terrestrial and solar background nitrate records show seasonal and annual variations and unique events. Several nitrate anomalies within the record do not correspond to any known terrestrial or solar events, There is compelling evidence that some nitrate anomalies could be supernova events. This investigation provides participants with a better understanding of the scientific process of analyzing data from multiple sources, developing models, constructing knowledge, and defending their results. Sometimes there are no answer keys. The investigation is aligned with NGSS cross-cutting concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
In constructing knowledge, there is no definitive answer, only plausible conclusions based on constructing, analyzing, and comparing data and research from multiple disciplines. This investigation provides a better understanding of the scientific process of developing models and defending results.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young

Use STEM web-based analysis software and basic physics gravitation and centripetal acceleration equations to determine if a stellar core is a white dwarf or neutron star.

TAKEAWAYS:
Light curves generated from web-based js9 image analysis software can be used to determine the period of rotation and identify objects as white dwarfs or pulsars using Newton’s Universal Law of gravitation and centripetal acceleration calculations.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Perry

Forest and energy topics add up to powerful climate learning opportunities for students! Learn how solar energy, building efficiency, carbon cycling, urban tree canopy and sustainable forest management lessons work together to help students make sense of the big picture of climate change, while also addressing MS NGSS Performance Expectations for Matter and Energy, Human Impact, and Earth’s Systems. We will use the green space around the Convention Center for hands-on activities, modeling how school grounds in any setting, even dense urban settings, can be used to give ALL students outdoor education experiences. We will also explore how the issue of equitable access to renewable energy sources, healthy buildings and green spaces help students understand climate justice. This session will give participants practice with free and easily accessible ready-to-use lessons and activities that are connected to standards and include assessment strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate change offers a powerful lens for helping students make sense of NGSS standards for Matter and Energy, Human Impact, and Earth’s Systems in an interconnected and relevant way, while also addressing environmental justice issues and giving ALL students hands-on experiences outdoors.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Stelzer, Stephen Schmidt

Where does your food come from and how does it connect to climate change? In this interactive 60-minute workshop, participants will step into their students’ shoes to experience part of SubjectToClimate’s middle school lesson on food systems and climate change. This NGSS aligned lesson engages students in examining the origins of their favorite meals, investigating the global food system, and making predictions about how climate change intersects with food production. Attendees will engage in turn-and-talks and guided research using global ingredient maps. We’ll also discuss classroom applications, adaptations, and differentiation strategies. Walk away with a classroom-ready lesson and ideas on how to implement climate change in what you’re teaching now.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how a lesson on food systems using our Inquire, Investigate, Inspire framework can make climate change science relevant, engaging, and actionable for middle school learners, using tools you can bring to your classroom right away.

SPEAKERS:
Benjamin Charles

Come learn about assessments designed to assess 3D learning related to middle school life, earth, and physical science NGSS PEs. Key features of each assessment will be highlighted to help participants understand where each PE dimension is addressed, how to help students navigate the prompts, and how to use this information to work with assessments in your own curriculum, or to design your own. We will also examine a sample that integrates an engineering PE as an example of a “bundled” assessment. The items being used are summative, designed to function as a bridge between the formative classroom assessments embedded in specific curricula and large-scale state assessments. Participants will also explore addressing equity issues in using assessments, and will leave with knowledge about how to help your students navigate and respond to 3D assessments within and outside of the context of whatever curriculum you are using.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn about key features for summative, benchmark 3D assessments designed to be used in any NGSS-aligned middle school classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Maia Binding

Ideas are presented for incorporating Earth and Space Science (ESS) into existing high school Bio/Chem/Phys (BEP) courses through the use of integrated storylines anchored by ESS phenomena. This not only satisfies the NGSS requirements for ESS performance expectations for high schools that are following the NGSS Modified Science Domains model but allows student sensemaking of the performance expectations PEs with engaging and fascinating phenomena. Dr. Michael Wysession, lead NGSS ESS author and geophysics professor, will provide useful examples of how ESS phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and climate change can inspire students in the three-dimensional sensemaking of BEP NGSS PEs. For example, the deadly 1918 Spanish Flu and all subsequent avian flu pandemics followed the climate change of Pacific La Niña events that altered atmospheric jet stream patterns that altered the migration patterns of wild birds carrying the Influenza A strains that generated new flu variants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Earth Science phenomena anchor engaging high school storylines for high school curricula that follow the NGSS Modified Science Domains model, where Earth and Space Science is integrated into existing Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses. Instructors will leave with multiple integrated examples.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession

In Minnesota (MN), the latest revision of the K-12 science standards included Earth science education (ESE) as part of the high school program, increasing the importance of ESE in high school. However, educators have limited access to a high-quality ESE curriculum specific to Minnesota standards and problems. This presentation will share the results of a year-long curriculum writing effort from four Earth science educators. Eight units were created that can be used in MN high schools. Each unit has pedagogical practices utilizing summary charts and driving question boards. Each unit focuses on a Minnesota-relevant phenomenon or problem, with lessons arranged within a coherent Storyline and incorporates 3D learning. Units include groundwater in southeastern Minnesota, Dams in Minnesota Rivers, and the effects of climate change in Minnesota.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will have access to the eight units that are aligned to NGSS Earth and Space Science standards and the 2019 Minnesota State Science Standards. Each unit is focused on a Minnesota-relevant phenomenon /problem rooted in 3D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Alan Dewey, Barbara Wendt, Anna Karsten, Stephanie Erickson

Stellar evolution is a cycle from the formation of protostars and stars in cold molecular clouds, through their final collapses into stellar cores. NASA’s multiwavelength image sets of star formation regions, protostars, red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, supernovas, and black holes are used to investigate physical properties of stars as they evolve. Stars form in giant molecular clouds of gas and dust in massive star formation complexes, and depending on their initial mass, follow sequences that result in their destruction in catastrophic collapses and explosions. During the final stages of evolution, nucleosynthesis creates the elements which will enrich the next generation of protostars and planets. This process of stellar evolution provides the energy which drives the universe, and thereby determines its future. This basic sequencing activity is one of a series of activities designed to show how scientists view, study, and examine the process of stellar evolution.

TAKEAWAYS:
Stars form in giant molecular clouds of gas and dust in star formation regions. Depending on their initial mass, stars follow sequences that end in their destruction in catastrophic collapses and explosions. Plotting their physical and chemical properties with H-R diagrams illustrates this process.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young

Since Science for All Americans (Rutherford, 1989) until the recent NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013), policies have made it known that every American needs a fundamental understanding of the water cycle. This comprehension further allows students to expand their knowledge of weather, climate, and global climate change. However, research (e.g., Barr, 1989; Romine & Schaffer, 2015; Schaffer, 2013; Shepardson et al., 2009) has shown that students and teachers have a poor understanding of the water cycle. In this workshop session, attendees will be given activities that will enable them to better incorporate the Disciplinary Core Idea of ESS2.C into their classrooms. In addition, formative assessments will be provided as pre-and post-tests to check their students' understanding and progression of learning. In addition, examine the new USGS water cycle diagram and how to implement the key topics into their lesson plans.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will wade into activities and formative and summative assessments to enhance their students' understanding of the water cycle.

SPEAKERS:
Dannah Schaffer

An introductory overview of key topics in polar science, such as descriptions of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets, the ice albedo feedback mechanism, sea ice trends in the Arctic and Antarctic, and climate data focusing on ice cores. An example cut plan for ice cores will be used to show how ice core scientists investigate specific physical and chemical properties of the core, including the air bubbles trapped within, to understand past climate. We will examine the direct and proxy paleoclimate measurements we can make using ice cores, with a focus on measuring gas concentrations and performing isotope analysis, as well as looking at dust and volcanic ash present in the ice. The session will help educators form a clearer picture of the motivations behind the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) scientific goals. Additionally, an overview of teacher professional development opportunities on weather and climate with the American Meteorological Society will be discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation will help educators understand the role of ice core analysis in telling the story of how Earth’s climate has changed over time, including what it was like before human impacts.

SPEAKERS:
Brooks Binau

Students at the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley, MN, partner with NASA’s MN Space Grant Consortium weather ballooning team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Together, they develop payloads equipped with sensors and cameras. These payloads are sent on weather balloon missions into the stratosphere to conduct experiments and learn about the atmosphere and “near-space” conditions. In this presentation, you will learn about one teacher’s experiences with this exceptionally engaging, spaceflight-related activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with experiential knowledge about using high-altitude ballooning to give students experience with science in a place that they cannot reach.

SPEAKERS:
James Flaten, Eric Colchin

Much of the globe is experiencing a green energy revolution and people are rightfully excited about a more sustainable future. But sustainable energy technologies, like many of the modern technologies we enjoy, require more mineral inputs and, therefore, more mining. Stereotypically, people do not associate mining with sustainability, but mining is a vital component to the nation's economic and general well-being. In this workshop, teachers will experience five inquiry-based stations, closely aligned with the CCSS in Mathematics and performance expectations from all four disciplines of the NGSS. These hands-on activities illuminate some of the science and engineering concepts underpinning the modern sustainable mineral resources and mining industries.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop a more sophisticated understanding of how metal ores get to where we find them, geological exploration, how mining engineers design mines to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental impacts, the chemistry of metal ore processing, and ecological reclamation.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Earnest, Joshua Page, Dan Moreno

Elementary science educators face barriers like limited funding, reduced instructional time, insufficient materials, and inconsistent teacher preparation. In response, I developed a 5th grade Earth and Space Science unit grounded solely in pedagogical and content knowledge. This session highlights how meaningful, standards-aligned curriculum can be created without commercial resources. Attendees will explore the design process, instructional strategies for supporting diverse learners, and tools for building teacher content knowledge. The unit emphasizes inquiry-based learning and equitable access for all students. Participants will leave with insights into creating adaptable, student-driven science units for their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how an elementary classroom teacher designed an inquiry-based, equitable 5th grade science unit using only content and pedagogical knowledge, proving that rich, student-centered science instruction is possible even without extensive resources.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Bentivoglio

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

Teaching Science in Middle School with new purpose and vigor. Students who learn through experiential learning have a greater chance at retaining the information by way of using multiple learning styles concurrently.  This presentation gives examples of science demonstrations and activities that the students perform and give their observations and hypothesis about. Then, they are guided toward the lesson from there. This session will define Experiential Learning, compare it to traditional learning, and provide the audience with several hands-on activities and demonstrations to see what it feels like to be the student exploring phenomenon to open discussions about science topics.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway is how students learn through experiential learning by having attendies be in the student role.

SPEAKERS:
Denise Galiano

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 summer, I had the incredible opportunity to travel deep into the heart of the Amazon Rainforest as part of the Educator Academy in the Amazon, a transformative professional learning experience through the Morpho Institute. While there, I developed rich, student-centered units and lessons focused on biodiversity, climate change, and the vibrant cultures of the Indigenous communities who call the rainforest home. In this session, I’ll share practical strategies, resources, and hands-on ideas to help you bring the AWEsome Amazon into your own classroom—no passport required! You'll also learn how you can apply to join the Educator Academy in the Amazon yourself in 2026. Come get inspired, explore one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems, and walk away with tools to make global learning come alive for your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Join me as I share lessons and experiences from the Amazon Rainforest through the Morpho Institute’s Educator Academy. Walk away with ready-to-use ideas for teaching biodiversity, climate change, and Indigenous cultures—plus info on how you can join the 2026 expedition!

SPEAKERS:
Sandy Elsberry, Mallory Wills

In this session, an Earth Science teacher and literacy coach will share their ongoing story of the collaboration they have embarked upon to cultivate students' natural curiosity and enhance their questioning skills. Participants will gain insights into integrating literacy practices with science content, leading to more student-driven inquiry and richer learning experiences through reading, writing, and discourse. Presenters will delve into their process, highlighting their partnership and the impact of their collaboration. Specific examples of literacy and science integration will be shared. This session connects with the scientific and engineering practices of Asking Questions and Defining Problems and Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information. Participants will learn practical strategies for integrating literacy instruction into the science classroom and will consider how collaborative teaching partnerships can enhance teaching practices and impact student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through literacy and science collaboration, educators can increase opportunities for students to become more curious and skillful questioners and thinkers, ultimately deepening their understanding and engagement in both disciplines.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Molohon, Jodi Baker

This session showcases the photo field trip the presenter created for her students on the Geology of Pipestone National Monument, which is in SW Minnesota. This is a sacred location for many Native Americans due to the special stone used for carving pipes for prayers and ceremony. This unique location offers an active quarry that uses only hand tools to extract the rocks, hiking trails along native prairie grasses, waterfalls, exposed rock strata, and many exhibits with examples of local Lakota culture, art, and story. During the session people will get to see the photo field trip of Pipestone National Monument and explore the activities built around NGSS/MN State Earth Science Standards that go with this unit. Teachers will get links to the unit to use in their classroom, as well as instruction on how to create a photo field trip for your classroom to explore a location that may be out of your budget or geographical area.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about the geological, cultural, and historical significance of Pipestone National Monumnet and be inspired to create your own photo field trip! Teachers will get access to a full unit of activities related to geology and Native American culture of this unique part of SW Minnesota.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Wendt

The Authentic Research Experiences for Teachers @ LTERs (ARETS) is a multi-year research experience for middle and high school STEM teachers at three different ecological sites. Participants engage in ecology-focused field and lab research experiences and a combination of virtual and in-person professional learning with the goal of developing their science content knowledge, practical science skills, and data literacy skills. This session discusses the data literacy strategies and practices teachers utilized in the development of lesson plans following two years in the program in which they engaged in multiple data literacy learning opportunities. Specific elements of data literacy taught in three specific trainings and how teachers incorporated these into their lesson plans were examined using a case study research approach.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will provide insight on which data literacy skills, strategies, and practices have been used by teachers to incorporate data literacy into their lesson plans and science teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Morrison

This session will introduce participants to NSTA’s Secondary climate science lessons designed using our Sensemaking approach. Investigating engaging and relevant climate phenomena drives student learning and inspires them to examine critical climate issues in their own communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional lessons, and units provide students with opportunities to actively try to figure out how the world works or design solutions to problems (sensemaking).

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta, Kerri Wingert

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

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

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

Are you interested in teaching about climate change, sustainability or the environment? Come explore open educational resources and design practices from a variety of organizations with expertise in these areas! These include professional learning, curriculum, and pedagogical resources!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to interact with experts in climate change and sustainability instruction and walk away with free resources and design advice to support their own teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Nancy Price, Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

This workshop will introduce teachers to the copper-nickel sulfide unit. The four-week storyline asks students to evaluate the claims around copper-nickel sulfide mining in Northern Minnesota. Various stakeholders, including Tribes, the mining industry, Northern Minnesota residents, and outdoor recreationalists, make claims. The unit design incorporated pedagogical practices in NGSS-aligned units, such as coherent storylines, standards bundling, and 3D learning. Practices emphasized through the unit are modeling, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. This workshop's participants will experience two lessons from the unit, including modeling the mining process and engaging with the knowledge and perspective of Native Minnesota tribes. The workshop aims to familiarize teachers with incorporating Indigenous knowledge in their science lessons in a way that maintains good relations with Tribes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will have access to an entire unit on Copper-Nickel Sulfide Mining, which uses 3D Learning and Storyline development. They will also participate in lessons that integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Erickson

In this session, attendees will explore how scaffolded Data Puzzles resources can be used to enhance student sensemaking of Earth & Life science phenomena. Data Puzzles are concise 3-day lesson sets that combine real-world data with data sensemaking practices to support students explore and explain science phenomena. Participants will first engage with a structured Data Puzzle lesson, which ends with question generation of next steps. Participants will then use their questions to transition to open-ended data investigations using newly developed Puzzle Piece resources around large, secondary datasets in the web-based tool CODAP. Through hands-on activities and collaborative discussions, attendees will gain practical strategies for supporting students' data sensemaking skills from structured lessons to open-ended exploration, empowering them to embrace uncertainty, ask deeper questions, and authentically participate in scientific inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how data sensemaking strategies in Data Puzzle lessons support students in structured data analysis, and how these practical strategies can scaffold students to do more open-ended, grade-band aligned investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Griffith

3D teaching and learning is phenomenon-driven, prioritizes student engagement and promotes deeper learning with science. The Sea level Education, Awareness, and Literacy (SEAL) project supports this approach through a focus on the phenomenon of sea level rise (SLR). SEAL is a partnership between NASA and four NOAA Sea Grant programs, and has curated products, appropriate for grades 6-12, working in collaboration with educators, that incorporate NASA resources to deepen understanding of SLR and resilience strategies. As changes in climate drive SLR and subsequent impacts across the globe, educating future leaders is critical to empower informed, impactful decisions and to build capacity for greater workforce development. During this presentation, participants will receive access to these, and other teacher-developed activities suitable for earth and space science classes, along with support for how they can be used to strengthen 3D teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attending educators will learn about the NASA SEAL Project and will receive access to the SLR curated resources which were developed alongside educators. The resources will support their 3D teaching and learning practices while simultaneously broadening student’s awareness of NASA technologies.

SPEAKERS:
Jayma Koval

In this dynamic, hands-on session, participants will explore how drone technology can be integrated into inquiry-based STEM learning to engage students in meaningful, real-world investigations. Through interactive activities, educators will experience student-centered lessons that combine drone flight, authentic data collection and analysis. Participants will explore relationships by collecting data using drones and analyze their findings to draw conclusions. The session will also cover beginner-friendly drone programming tools and strategies for scaffolding coding skills to support students at different levels. Emphasis will be placed on aligning activities with science and math concepts, promoting student agency, and using technology to foster critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Drones should not be seen as supplementary tools but as essential resources in teaching math and science. By integrating drones into lessons, educators can create immersive, inquiry-driven learning experiences that deepen student understanding and bring core concepts to life.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Pennell

Utilize argument-driven scaffolds for Earth and environmental science topics to critically evaluate connections between evidence and alternative scientific explanations with model-evidence link (MEL) diagrams, constructing deeper student understanding of socio-scientific issues.

TAKEAWAYS:
An introduction to MEL instructional scaffolds designed to assist learners as they construct arguments to evaluate the plausibility of evidence connected to models and the research base that supports using these scaffolds. Participants receive access to all instructional materials and guides.

SPEAKERS:
Lorraine Ramirez Villarin, Chantelle Renaud-Grant, Donna Governor

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

Educators often face the challenge of adapting OER materials to their local context and student needs while preserving the intentional design of NGSS-driven curricula. Educative features embedded within HQIM support teacher agency by strengthening understanding of the NGSS, facilitating effective implementation, and guiding decision-making to ensure productive adaptations that maintain curricular integrity. The New Visions high school Earth and Space Science (ESS) course leverages tools such as targeted callout boxes to highlight NGSS elements, differentiation strategies, and formative assessment opportunities. In this interactive session, participants will explore these educative features through an immersive experience, demonstrating how they support teacher learning, decision-making, and sustainable curriculum adaptations to meet the specific needs of their students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through an immersive experience, attendees will have the opportunity to consider educative features of OER science materials, including targeted callout boxes, that are designed to support enactment of the curriculum and localized adaptations to the materials that maintain the vision of the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Tam

Explore how middle schoolers can apply real-world math skills to model the destructive power of earthquakes. In this session, participants will use scientific calculators to find the energy release using the Richter scale’s formula and compare seismic data from different locations. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting patterns in magnitude and energy, using easy tools to enhance student understanding. A digital whiteboard will be used to visualize fault zones and map the global distribution of earthquake events.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to guide students in calculating and comparing earthquake energy using real seismic data and math models, making natural hazards more meaningful through hands-on analysis and visual tools.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Szydlowski

Take students on a journey from history to the skies with an immersive, year-long exploration of space and flight. This session outlines a step-by-step approach to engaging students in STEM through the study of Hidden Figures, hands-on wind tunnel design, indoor skydiving, and the principles of flight. Participants will learn how to scaffold learning from stomp rockets to model rocket launches, integrating physics, engineering, and space exploration. Rooted in real-world problem-solving and inspired by the contributions of historically overlooked scientists, this project fosters collaboration, critical thinking, and curiosity. Educators will leave with practical strategies to build a dynamic, inquiry-based learning experience that ignites student passion for STEM and space exploration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design a hands-on, year-long space exploration curriculum that integrates STEM, history, and engineering through interactive projects and real-world applications.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Robinson, Katie Musick, Jesse Wren

This unit is designed to engage participants with the exciting field of exoplanet research through a series of interactive and creative activities. Participants will explore the methods scientists use to study exoplanets, understand the criteria for habitability, and learn about a newly proposed class of exoplanets called Hycean planets. The unit will span four main activities: analyzing science fiction aliens, exploring the star K2-18 and its planets with a breakout room, creating 3D models of aliens using Tinkercad, and discussing the ethical and philosophical implications of discovering extraterrestrial life.

TAKEAWAYS:
This unit immerses participants in exoplanet research through interactive, multidisciplinary activities that blend science, creativity, and ethics, culminating in a deeper understanding of habitability and the search for life beyond Earth. Participants will learn to model aliens in Tinkercad.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Perry