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

Join us to explore how to teach climate change from a human centered perspective; engaging students in place-based, equity-centered science education that inspires and engages beyond the science classroom. Using Climate Generation’s resources, we will discover how climate education can build connections between classrooms, communities and the environment, and inspire sustainable thinking and action. Attendees will be introduced to activities from two multi-lesson units, Climate Generation’s newly revised Next Generation Climate and Experience Energy curricula, that integrate NGSS-aligned climate education with culturally sustaining teaching practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to identify age-appropriate ways to engage students in climate change education, describe strategies for connecting climate learning experiences to community-centered and national current events, and use Climate Generation’s resources to explore and practice climate education.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Hefferan

Come learn a set of activities that engage students in real-world agricultural problems. Participants will explore challenges like food shortages, climate change and crop sustainability, while using strategies like selective breeding, GMOs, and innovations to develop potential solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Session emphasizes the importance of understanding modern agriculture, providing educators with resources to engage students in discussions about sustainable practices and genetic technologies. Participants will leave with activities about selective breeding, GMOs, and the development of short corn.

SPEAKERS:
JESSICA JONES, Megan Sprague

Join us for this interactive, student-perspective workshop that immerses participants in an interdisciplinary placemaking unit taught in a 4th-grade New Orleans science and art classroom. Rooted in the realities of climate change and water pollution, this NGSS-aligned session models how to integrate science, art, literacy, social studies, and engineering to explore local environmental issues driven by climate change. Participants will engage with student drawings of local lakes, read and discuss excerpts from our comic Monsters in the Lake, and build simple water filters inspired by NASA’s design process to simulate hands-on engineering investigations. Through this experiential session, educators will reflect on strategies for integrating climate literacy in ways that are locally grounded and linguistically relevant, connecting to students’ diverse ways of being and knowing. Leave with adaptable curriculum resources and renewed inspiration to make climate change instruction empowering.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design and implement interdisciplinary, place-based climate change lessons that integrate science, art, literacy, social studies, and engineering while honoring students’ cultural and linguistic assets to make learning personally meaningful and locally relevant.

SPEAKERS:
Andree Champagne, Ayca Fackler

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Attendees will leave equipped with a student-tested wind energy lesson, incorporating hands-on activities and collaborative learning, adaptable for grades 4-12, fostering a deeper understanding of renewable energy concepts aligned with NGSS standards.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

How can we discuss difficult environmental realities with children in ways that are honest and empowering? This session presents the research-based 5Es of Eco-Action, a framework to support environmental action by fostering agency and solution-focused thinking. The climate emotion and environmental stewardship experiences of 6-11-year-old children are often overlooked. We undertook research focused on this group to understand how eco-anxiety affects motivation for pro-environmental behaviours. From this we developed the 5Es of Eco-Action framework that supports environmental learning while helping children process their emotions. In this session, attendees will be introduced to the framework and participate in hands-on activities. Practical tools and real-world examples will be explored. Educators will leave with fresh insights and ready-to-use strategies to support children in becoming confident, caring environmental stewards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with an understanding of the 5Es of Eco-Action (Empathy, Education, Excitement, Environmental Stewardship, Empowerment) and how this framework can be applied in the classroom to support children in becoming confident, caring environmental stewards.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Doyle

Receive a classroom ready math-based lesson in which students use electricity usage monitors and everyday household appliances to calculate electrical consumption and cost. This lesson supports students in distinguishing between watts, kilowatts, kilowatt hours, and power. Understanding how to teach students about electrical power, energy consumption, and cost is becoming increasingly important in today’s energy-conscious world. This lesson is designed for educators who want to empower students with the knowledge and tools to interpret electricity usage in their homes through the use of affordable electricity usage monitors.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tools that enable students to calculate home energy use makes learning about Power (Voltage × Current) both personal and meaningful.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Oesch

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: Switch Classroom

This presentation will showcase best practices to address that “all forms of energy production” have “risks as well as benefits.” The free, online Switch Classroom provides non-partisan content in this critical area of NGSS instruction. Adaptable for grades 4-12.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Wildlife conservators often return captive-bred animals to their native habitats to rewild the area. In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the use of RFLP analysis and phylogenetics in conservation biology to analyze the DNA samples of two lions. Can we return them to their ancestral home?

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Why are some coral and fish species disappearing? In this 3D lesson, biology and environmental science students use real-time data to explore how excess CO2 in water affects the pH. Using their findings, students can model how these changes impact interdependent relationships in ocean ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Tallarovic

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Miller

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

Experience a small-scale demo of the Watershed Game, where students become community leaders solving real-world environmental challenges. This transdisciplinary tool engages learners in systems thinking by integrating science, social studies, math, and civics as they tackle water quality, land use, and flood resilience. Aligned with NGSS and state standards, the game promotes collaboration, equity, and local problem-solving. Participants will explore how students use data, policy, and engineering strategies to develop innovative, community-based solutions. Free to borrow, with lesson plans and teacher support included.

TAKEAWAYS:
Inspire student action with a game that connects environmental science, policy, and community planning.

SPEAKERS:
Maggie Karschnia

Reform-based science instruction, as outlined in the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) integrates science content, practices and concepts. This paradigm shift requires professional development (PD) for teachers. Since "systems" can be used as a unifying framework, we hypothesize that longitudinal PD rooted in systems will allow teachers to revamp and align their existing instructional units with the purpose of The Framework. Further, we propose that longitudinal professional learning cohorts will support teacher implementation of these changes. We ask: What challenges do high school biology teachers experience in using a systems-based lens to transform existing instructional units into units aligned with The Framework?

TAKEAWAYS:
Systems-centered professional development changed teachers lesson design and planning and empowered teachers to move to content parsimony.

SPEAKERS:
Steve Bennett, Sara Wyse

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Douglas Munski, Laura Munski

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

This presentation will explore the intersection of 3D learning applied to support sense-making around climate science and global change, emphasizing how integrated, hands-on approaches can enhance understanding of human and non-human influences on complex environmental systems. It will highlight crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas within the context of climate-change and related global change phenomena. Through models and real-world data, the presentation will demonstrate how students can engage in evidence-based reasoning about global change, climate impacts, and sustainability solutions. The goal is to foster critical thinking and informed action on pressing environmental challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Understanding Global Change conceptual framework uses 3D learning to empower student sense-making around climate change, global change, and sustainability, by connecting scientific practices, core ideas, and real-world data to inform critical thinking and evidence-based action.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

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: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Participants will make and use alginate beads containing algae and alginate beads containing yeast. They will learn how the beads can be used to model the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Stubbs

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

[Note: I can modify this into a keynote aligned with NSTA/NMEA ocean literacy position statement if you’d prefer.] Teach the Hope is an ocean/environmental literacy strategy every teacher around the country can employ. First, I introduce environmental literature specifically written for children and youth. These books address climate change, plastic marine debris, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and endangered species. But these books also introduce worthy mentors – mentors who are the hope because they serve as civic role models, respecting their connection to nature. Students identify with them because they are often young and begin alone with little or no money, blazing a trail through unchartered territory. These mentors help students appreciate their role in nature. Next, participants test a variety of experiments, demonstrations, and activities integrating STEM and literacy designed not only to teach environmental science, but to offer hope to our students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Today’s media tends to focus on depressing environmental headlines because bad news sells. And our students are listening. In this workshop, I help educators recognize hope and share it with their students to empower rather than paralyze. All activities free for participants’ classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Newman

This session offers a detailed look at using virtual reality to help middle school students explore real-world water challenges. We examine the rationale behind VR-based learning—why immersing students in digital environments can deepen their understanding and empathy regarding climate change and water scarcity. Next, we discuss the necessary classroom setup, including device options, low-cost alternatives, and troubleshooting tips to ensure smooth implementation. We then walk through the main features of a VR-centered unit, highlighting how to align activities with curriculum standards, scaffold student inquiry, and connect these lessons to sustainability issues. We share observations about student engagement, project pacing, and safety considerations along the way. Attendees will leave with a clear framework for planning VR lessons, practical solutions for managing technology, and strategies to help students feel responsible for addressing critical environmental issues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain knowledge of VR-based lessons tackling environmental issues, meet curricular goals, and use technology to transfer these skills to other areas or science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Constance Leung, Yujiro Fujiwara

Accessing a suite of regional data exploration tools can broaden the ways that students make sense of complex climate stories and science ideas while connecting to their own stories and curiosities. A teacher-researcher partnership designed a learning progression where students access and use climate data visualization platforms and interpret social science-derived future narratives that connect data with human impacts (SEP: Analyzing & interpreting data; CCC: Stability & change; DCI: ESS3.C Human impacts on Earth systems and ESS2.D Weather and climate). Together, learners use this evidence to make sense of phenomena rooted in projections and uncertainties around climate impacts that they already see and will see in their communities. This session shares a learning progression that embeds approaches to localizing anchoring phenomena in context, means of engaging students’ initial and emergent ideas, platforms and resources embedded in the progression, and examples of students’ work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience a data- and sensemaking-driven learning progression, explore its three-dimensional and phenomenon connections, and consider how to connect to student ideas. They will leave with concrete ideas for accessing data and helping students explore the stories data tell.

SPEAKERS:
Clare Gunshenan, Martha Inouye

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

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

SPEAKERS:
David Grack, Haley Kalina

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

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

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

Environmental Literacy refers to the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to address and resolve environmental issues—individually and collectively—in ways that support ecological, economic, and social sustainability. This thematic instructional approach offers an authentic framework for guiding three-dimensional learning, creating engaging and continuous experiences that scaffold effectively from kindergarten through high school science. For successful and systematic integration of environmental literacy concepts, skills, and practices into a school or district’s curriculum, a structured curriculum framework—such as an Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP)—is essential. Using an environmental theme is a powerful strategy for teaching both disciplinary and crosscutting concepts. It provides a meaningful context for developing science and engineering practices, and through authentic, place-based experiences, it can also introduce students to a wide range of career opportunities

TAKEAWAYS:
Education leaders will learn how an environmental literacy plan can enhance teaching and learning; examine the main elements of an ELP, review example ELPs from several different states, and use templates to draft an ELP for their school or school division.

SPEAKERS:
Dat Le

Although wildfires can be caused by natural events and provide many valuable ecological services, changes in the environment related to climate change are fueling the growth of large, destructive megafires. In this workshop, participants will explore how the HHMI Resources The Science of Climate Change film and the activity The Impacts of Wildfires can help students understand these changes. This fast-paced workshop will provide a complete lesson to teach about the science of climate change using a variety of pedagogical strategies and stressing science and engineering practices such as Asking Questions and Defining Problems, Analyzing and Interpreting Data, and Designing Solutions. Participants will use three different scientific studies, including data in graphs, that help explain patterns in wildfire data. We will use small group work and a jigsaw strategy to compile all the evidence from the data to develop a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) to explain patterns in wildfire

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will discover how to use phenomena to engage students in the science of climate change, explore evidence to support human causes of climate change, and develop a scientific claim supported by evidence and reasoning for why recent wildfires are burning more forest area.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Fassler

FieldScope is a collaborative platform empowering communities to visualize and analyze environmental data that fosters a deeper understanding of science. This workshop introduces you to a tool transforming how participants engage with citizen science, moving beyond data collection to meaningful interpretation and storytelling. FieldScope is a common portal for collecting, sharing, and analyzing diverse data, a tool to help participants create place-based stories using data, and support for making sense of environmental information. Experience hands-on exploration of FieldScope tools, examination of partner projects featuring intergenerational collaborations, school/park partnerships, and public health initiatives, and guidance for integrating data storytelling into community programs. Join us if you want to enhance your programs with data-driven approaches or engage communities in participatory science. You'll leave with concrete steps for implementing data explorations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave with the next steps for planning data explorations in existing or future projects, examples of how to learn with data generated by participatory science projects, particularly in middle and high school settings, and how to host your own project data.

SPEAKERS:
Jamie Noll

This interactive session models how to launch and sustain a 3-dimensional storyline curriculum using the real-world phenomenon that is place based for Florida’s disappearing manatee population. Participants will experience key moments from a high school biology unit aligned to NGSS and grounded in equity-based, student-driven inquiry. The unit integrates disciplinary core ideas (e.g., ecosystems and human impact), science and engineering practices (e.g., data analysis, modeling), and crosscutting concepts (e.g., cause and effect; systems) to build coherence and relevance.  Educators will collaborate in small groups, like students, to learn how to embed each layer of the 3-dimensional teaching and use strategies for diverse learners, and co-construct sensemaking opportunities that are meaningful and accessible. You'll leave with adaptable resources and a plan for building or revising your own storyline unit anchored in local, authentic phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to design and implement a phenomenon-driven, NGSS-aligned storyline that supports 3D learning and engages all students—especially in Title I schools—through equity-focused strategies and local relevance.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Holman

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Sara Klingensmith

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Join us to explore the OpenSciEd Certified PASCO version Biology 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 Temperature sensors to investigate what affects the rate of decomposition and cellular respiration.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Learn how to leverage the power of social media to break down student misconceptions, rather than build them. Teachers will engage in an activity finding and combatting fake news on social media, then discussing how adapt the activity for their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will experience an engaging activity designed to help students directly confront misinformation they encounter on social media. By having students confront their own misconceptions about hot topics, we empower them to be more responsible consumers of information in the future.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Dobrin

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

Explore a hands-on lesson answering utilization of soil, water, and land use data to make decisions. Put on your student hat and see how they will analyze data to construct a solution for a relevant land use concern. Then, switch over to teacher mode and discuss ways to apply in our classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with experience in a versatile lesson that can be applied as an assessment tool, an engagement tool, or both. These tools are phenomenon based and use science and engineering practices.

SPEAKERS:
JESSICA JONES, Megan Sprague

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Griffin, Jim Lane

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Nanette Marcum-Dietrich

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Paul Schonfeld

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Design, construct, and test a waterwheel to demonstrate the conversion of water power into mechanical power, capable of lifting several pennies. This lab will reinforce the concepts of renewable energy and energy transformation.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Biology and environmental science teachers! Learn to use hands-on sensors to explore dissolved O2, pH, and conductivity with students. From chemistry basics to watershed ecology, get ideas for real-world learning and how to simulate pond water in class. Plus, try our new wireless turbidity sensor!

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

“Ecology isn’t rocket science— it’s much harder” (Hilborn and Ludwig, 1993). Natural resource management provides rich, meaningful phenomena for classrooms that support students in the complex science- and data-driven decision-making that all students will face, regardless of their ultimate career trajectories. This presentation will showcase a unit that, through a natural resource management and decision-making lens, provides students with rich learning about complex ecosystem dynamics through a 3D lens grounded in student interests. This phenomenon-based unit progression compares ecosystem dynamics between two local reservoirs. I will share the methods students used to integrate multiple real-time data sources to predict and model food webs and trophic structures. Students confirm their predictions and models by engaging in a fish dissection and stomach-content analysis, and interpretation of stable fish isotope data to make management decisions about our two local reservoirs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away a unit progression for ecosystem dynamics, practical implementation resources to support and engage all students, tools for students to collect and critically analyze data, and assessment ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Jenny Edwards

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

Dive into Earth's climate history through the lens of paleoclimatology and proxy data in this hands-on workshop designed for middle and high school STEM educators. Participants will explore evidence of climate change while engaging in authentic explorations of data, engineering design challenges, and strategies for sharing scientific thinking that will easily translate to a variety of classroom settings. We will model oxygen isotope fluctuation, simulate ice core extraction, engineer solutions for core transport, and synthesize data from a wide range of sources to build a compelling case about Earth's past climates and the current rate of climate change. With skills developed in this workshop, educators will help students understand that scientific claims become stronger when supported by multiple lines of evidence, just as no single piece of evidence proves a case in a courtroom, the convergence of many climate indicators provides confidence in our understanding of climate history.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how scientists develop an understanding of prehistoric and modern climate change by analyzing proxy data from multiple sources in a hands-on, interactive workshop for middle and high school STEM educators.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Kos, Sarah Slack

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

Explore the intersection of climate and energy while learning about microgrids and their role in fostering energy resilience. During this hands-on session, participants will make models of a microgrid that includes solar power and battery storage and learn how microgrids supported community resilience during Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. We’ll discuss opportunities to integrate this topic into instruction to offer a relevant context for learning about electricity and energy resilience to climate impacts as well as engaging students in learning that mirrors the work of professionals in the energy sector.

TAKEAWAYS:
Updating instruction to include learning about and modeling microgrids introduces students to a real-world energy challenge, a timely and relevant solution, and related career opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Haine, Shannon Oesch

Learn how we integrate digital mapping tools of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in student-driven, interdisciplinary projects on sustainability. Participants in this workshop will get out of the building, as we engage in a process of data collection, comparison, and analysis. We will collect data through student-created surveys outside the conference center, then learn the process we use with students to analyze quantitative and spatial results using spreadsheets, graphs, and maps - as you compare your own findings to what our students saw. Following data analysis, you will learn how we support our students in constructing evidence-based arguments from those data. Examples of student projects we’ll share include water quality in local ponds, student-developed sustainability indicators for cities, and forest ecology data on relationships between populations and the environment. You’ll walk away ready with concrete ideas on how to add these tools to your own classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Digital mapping tools are increasingly accessible for teachers and students to use to collect and analyze authentic data in unique projects. You’ll learn how to easily incorporate spatial data collection and mapping into different environmental science units.

SPEAKERS:
Billy Koenig, Liz Dengate

This session will engage participants in authentic conservation decision-making practices to empower learners to evaluate biodiversity distribution, protected areas, human impacts, and a detailed framework for student communication, consensus, and peer review. Workshop attendees will participate in a hands-on mapping design challenge using authentic data to make data-driven. These evidence-based biodiversity conservation decisions reflect current efforts in science and policy. Using large data sets and visual maps, learners are challenged to consider current land use, the conservation status and range of vertebrate species, and the distribution of cities, agriculture, and protected areas. Finally, participants will apply the data to identify the best places to preserve biodiversity while ensuring humans can thrive. Balancing human and ecological needs reflects real-world conservation decisions and practices and challenges learners to reflect, debate, and dig into the evidence.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to access and use publicly available data to evaluate human impacts on Earth's systems and develop solutions to maintain biodiversity through responsible management practices.

SPEAKERS:
Missie Olson, Jocelyn Miller

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

Join us to learn how our AP Environmental Science team assesses student proficiency in NGSS science and engineering practices. By identifying key connections between the NGSS skills and those required for success on the AP exam, we’ve been able to create a framework of understanding to effectively evaluate both skill development and content mastery. We'll share how we've designed our course to allow for skill-building while ensuring students are well-prepared for the AP exam content.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, attendees will explore the structure we've developed to assess scientific skills while teaching essential content. Educators will leave with practical strategies and insights to adapt and apply this approach in their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Carlson, Jill Lisius

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Gwendolyn Parrett

Localized climate change learning positively impacts students’ climate change knowledge and their sense of agency. Designing a localized climate curriculum can be challenging. Participants in this workshop will get to know an NGSS-aligned climate change unit storyline and curriculum materials designed for teachers to localize. These materials were developed for teachers to create a local anchoring phenomenon to motivate the unit and a local culminating task at the closure of the unit. Participants will use design tools to start planning their own localized unit for their students and community. These tools make storyline lesson design accessible as participants outline a local anchoring phenomenon and generate ideas for a local culminating task. Participants will break into small groups to do focused design work together. All materials and design tools are freely available to participants for use beyond the workshop.

TAKEAWAYS:
Localized climate change learning is impactful for students. Existing curriculum and design tools can help teachers create localized climate change learning experiences to make learning meaningful and consequential to students.

SPEAKERS:
Candice Guy-Gaytán, Lindsey Mohan

This session will explore how nature education can be enriched by leveraging effective community partnerships and innovative lesson planning that reflects the unique cultural and ecological landscapes of New Mexico. Attendees will gain insight into how Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum collaborates with local agricultural experts, conservation organizations, and local school districts can enhance outdoor learning experiences for children. Through these partnerships, educators can access resources, knowledge, and support to create hands-on outdoor learning opportunities, such as acequia restoration projects and sustainable desert farming practices, fostering a deep connection to land and stewardship among students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage with, examine, and apply place-based lessons to engage students in the intersection of STEM and agriculture.

SPEAKERS:
Dixie Cooper

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Dana Schaefer, Mary Kroll, Dianna Gobler

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Angie Kolonich, Miranda Graceffa, Haley Kalina

Looking for an engaging way to bring climate education to life? Join this session to learn how New York City Public Schools launched Climate Action Days—four themed days each year that inspire creativity, learning, and sustainability across school communities. Designed for educators and school leaders, this workshop will explore how Climate Action Days were developed, how they’ve been supported citywide, and how you can adapt the model for your own district. Whether you’re just beginning your climate education journey or looking to expand current efforts, this session offers a flexible, community-driven approach to meaningful action. We’ll share ready-to-use resources, reflect on impact, and brainstorm ideas tailored to your students and context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators and school leaders will explore how to bring Climate Action Days to life in their own communities, using NYC’s model to spark student engagement, creativity, and climate action.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Slack

What happens when students lead global climate and biodiversity education? In this session, discover how high school students created the National Biodiversity Teach-In, a student-run webinar series reaching 120,000+ participants in over 40 countries. Aligned with the NGSS and the Framework’s vision of student agency, this project empowers students to investigate real-world environmental issues, collaborate with scientists, and produce professional-level public outreach. Students manage logistics, interview scientists, co-create presentations on topics like Arctic warming and plastic pollution, and inspire local and global action. The model fosters 3D learning, civic engagement, and sustainability literacy. Attendees will explore classroom strategies, student artifacts, and ready-to-use resources to launch similar programs in their own schools amplifying youth voices in climate and biodiversity education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how students can lead powerful, real-world climate and biodiversity education by organizing global webinars with scientists. Walk away with tools, resources, and inspiration to launch student-driven initiatives that foster agency, 3D learning, and sustainability action.

SPEAKERS:
Frankie Valenzia, Vincent Fosco, Brittney Mallen, Deborah McMullen

Climate change education is impactful when students can see themselves as part of the solution. Global Warning is a cooperative and competitive board game designed to immerse players in the challenges of climate action, requiring both collaboration and strategic decision-making to avoid global disaster. We conducted a classroom-based study with post-secondary students to evaluate the game’s educational impact. Students who played Global Warning showed a measurable shift in their perceptions of climate change as an immediate and existential threat, increased the range of actionable solutions they identified, and demonstrated greater critical thinking about sustainability challenges. In this speed session, we will briefly introduce the gameplay structure, summarize our research findings, and share practical strategies for using climate-themed board games to foster systems thinking, agency, and deeper engagement among high school and college-aged students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Playing Global Warning can meaningfully shift students’ perceptions of climate change, broaden their understanding of actionable solutions, and foster critical thinking and agency, making it a powerful tool for high school and post-secondary climate education.

SPEAKERS:
Peter White

Upon witnessing poverty in South Africa 14 years ago and wanting to make an impact, the idea of storing “Sunshine in a Jar” was developed. Through the years, like-minded teachers, engineers, and social entrepreneurs collaborated on the research and development of materials that will empower students across the globe with safer, cleaner solar energy. Participants will convert a glass canning jar into a solar lantern using photovoltaic panels, rechargeable batteries, and a customized PCB. This STEAM based workshop demonstrates how students can construct their personalized take-home solar lanterns with an eye towards a greater good.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to make solar lanterns while addressing the middle and high school NGSS Physics standards as well as the NRC Framework Standards for Matter, Energy, and Human Impacts. Connect this simple lantern to the collective work of teachers and engineers working towards alleviating energy poverty.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Ulicny

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that increases global warming. Agriculture is the top source of methane emissions, and enteric methane production from livestock accounts for a significant amount of agricultural methane. The objective of this study is to identify plants that could be added as feed additives in a cow’s diet to reduce enteric methane emissions. There is an effect on methane emissions with plants containing compounds like lipids, polyphenols, and tannins. One part of the study was running in vitro trials to determine how much total gas and methane is produced. The other part was running sequential fibers to determine the digestibility of these plants. We found that some plants reduce methane production, and others do not. White willow and peanut skins were the most effective in reducing enteric methane. With further testing and trials, the most effective plants in this in vitro study could be used as dietary supplements and help reduce methane emissions from dairy.

TAKEAWAYS:
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the issue of methane emissions from enteric fermentation process of dairy animals and discuss ways to reduce them through dietary supplements and feed additives made from locally available plant sources. These supplements also help keep the animals healthy.

SPEAKERS:
Ivanka Sonkusare

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that increases global warming. Agriculture is the top source of methane emissions, and enteric methane production from livestock accounts for a significant amount of agricultural methane. The objective of this study is to identify plants that could be added as feed additives in a cow’s diet to reduce enteric methane emissions. There is an effect on methane emissions with plants containing compounds like lipids, polyphenols, and tannins. One part of the study was running in vitro trials to determine how much total gas and methane is produced. The other part was running sequential fibers to determine the digestibility of these plants. We found that some plants reduce methane production, and others do not. White willow and peanut skins were the most effective in reducing enteric methane. With further testing and trials, the most effective plants in this in vitro study could be used as dietary supplements and help reduce methane emissions from dairy.

TAKEAWAYS:
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the issue of methane emissions from enteric fermentation process of dairy animals and discuss ways to reduce them through dietary supplements and feed additives made from locally available plant sources. These supplements also help keep the animals healthy.

SPEAKERS:
Ivanka Sonkusare

This poster presents a framework of seven guideposts for effectively integrating agricultural concepts across K-12 science education. Agriculture provides an ideal context for teaching core scientific concepts through tangible, relevant experiences that connect directly to standards. The seven guideposts—agriculture's evolution, modern agricultural systems, seeds, soil health, food access, ecological connections, and technological innovations—offer science teachers practical entry points for incorporating agricultural literacy without adding separate courses. Each guidepost maps to multiple science standards while cultivating knowledge crucial for addressing sustainability challenges. Garden-based learning approaches further enhance this framework, providing hands-on experiences that deepen understanding of scientific processes from DNA to ecosystems. Research shows students engaged in agricultural contexts demonstrate improved science performance and environmental stewardship attitude

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a practical seven-guidepost framework for integrating agriculture into science teaching, providing tangible contexts that enhance student understanding while building agricultural literacy for addressing sustainability challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Rillero, Peter Rillero

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Stacey Dickerson

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Laura Munski, Douglas Munski

The student-centered activity engages learners in considering global conservation challenges through mathematical thinking and data analysis. It uses up-to-date, authentic data used by scientists, conservation organizations, and policymakers worldwide.. The activities empower learners to evaluate biodiversity distribution, protected areas, and human impacts and provide teachers with a detailed framework to guide student communication, consensus, and peer review. Learners will better understand the science that drives decision-making and appreciate how conservation targets, like Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), can be monitored and measured. Visitors to the poster will receive access to all materials, online tools, and data to support successful classroom implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Data science is integral to studying, conserving, and managing ecosystems worldwide.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Miller

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

Upon witnessing poverty in South Africa 14 years ago and wanting to make an impact, the idea of storing "Sunshine in a Jar" was developed. Currently, this solar lantern project is designed to cover the NGSS Physics Standards as well as the NRC Framework Standards for Matter, Energy, and Human Impacts while addressing the needs of those in energy poverty. These lanterns will continue to be developed with the aspiration of providing photovoltaics for underprivileged communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Hear the story about the collective work of teachers, engineers, and social entrepreneurs working towards alleviating energy poverty, one lantern at a time.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Ulicny

This poster session shows an implementation of virtual reality experiences that connect middle school students with water challenges issues. The display features step-by-step guidance for classroom VR integration, including budget-friendly alternatives and essential setup requirements. Visual aids illustrate our curriculum alignment strategy, student safety protocols, and documented engagement outcomes. Attendees can collect ready-to-use resources, including lesson sequences, troubleshooting guides, and student reflection templates. The showcase includes pre-lesson preparation steps and post-VR activities reinforcing environmental stewardship concepts. Stop by to explore practical solutions for bringing immersive water conservation education to your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how virtual reality transforms middle school water conservation education by immersing students in applicable challenges, leading to deeper environmental understanding and actionable solutions—all with practical, budget-conscious implementation strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Yujiro Fujiwara, Constance Leung

UNCW's MarineQuest program has been working with students of all ages for over 45 years, immersing them in relevant marine science experiences both in the lab and out in the field. During this exciting workshop, participants will join the MarineQuest team to explore innovative ways to engage students in water quality investigations with a focus on salinity science. Before things get messy, participants will discover an online treasure trove of water quality data from estuarine reserves around the country and use the system to automatically generate graphs to evaluate current and historic data trends and visualize the impacts of hurricanes on ecosystem health. Participants will then learn how to engage their students with hands-on investigations by utilizing sensor technology to carry out several salinity-based experiments, emphasizing water quality, the global water crisis, and climate science. Don’t miss out on this thrilling workshop, it is your DENSITY, I mean destiny!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will come away with a better understanding of the tools, technology, and engaging hands-on investigations available to increase salinity-based water quality comprehension and climate literacy for students in upper elementary-high school classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Moran, Harris Muhlstein

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

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

Sponsoring Company: Gardyn for Schools

Hydroponics is the future of food production! Come learn the basics of hydroponics and how Gardyn can enhance your classroom experience, while being on the cutting edge of technological trends. Most importantly, learn how to integrate hydroponic gardening into your curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Alicia Kuntz, Renee Egan

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Aragaki

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

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Learn how to facilitate simple hands-on photosynthesis experiments with wireless sensors. Help students collect and analyze carbon exchange data from plant leaves in real-time! Dispel student doubts in their understanding of photosynthesis and respiration. (256 ch.)

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

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

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games

Come play unique environmental board games with other teachers and discuss best practices to engage students. Potential discussion topics: • How students in all grade bands (PreK-12) respond to our eco games • Ways educators have used Adventerra’s games and puzzles to: a) fit environmental concepts into a tight schedule; b) fit a curriculum by linking a game to the NGSS core ideas (content), science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts; c) teach environmental literacy • Teacher-support materials to dig further into the topics explored in our games • Modifications for students’ support. Expert educators will also share research on the efficacy of games to teach environmental concepts in a fun, efficient way that “sticks.” Learn how to help with future research projects to develop eco games that are useful in classrooms! Enter our raffle to win a free game or puzzle, with three lucky winners!

SPEAKERS:
Bryan Mundell, Cynthia Crockett, Sue Mundell, Ruthie Mundell

In this session, participants will engage in a localized climate change storyline unit designed for Minnesota high school students. The storyline unit is anchored in the phenomenon of wild rice decline and struggles with wild rice production in the state. Participants will experience, in student hat, the anchoring phenomenon. They will also preview the full localized storyline for the unit. This includes a local culminating task with students investigating wild rice restoration strategies with the option of implementing a wild rice restoration project. Participants will have access to a set of curriculum materials to implement in their classrooms and resources to create their own localized climate change storyline units.

TAKEAWAYS:
One way to make climate change learning relevant for students is to anchor learning in local issues and solutions. This session shares an example of a locally meaningful learning experience for Minnesota students.

SPEAKERS:
Candice Guy-Gaytán, Carmen Gavin Vanegas, Lindsey Mohan

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Neesemann

This workshop combines cutting-edge bird ID technology with outdoor exploration to create connections to place, engage in participatory science, and contribute to conservation efforts. We will use the Merlin Bird ID app to discover which birds share our land from season to season. The app uses billions of eBird observations shared by participatory scientists to generate a list of birds based on your location & date. These data combined with AI technology enable users to identify birds by sight, sound, or using a photo. We will explore 4 clues to bird ID, research local birds, draw a focus bird, & take a 1-mile eBird walk (round trip) to practice using these tools. We will walk from the Conference Center to the Loring Park Pond, birding along the way using eBird to track our progress, record birds, and collect data used to make conservation decisions. Before the workshop, download the Merlin app & install the US: Midwest and your local bird packs. Bring your binoculars too, if you have them.

TAKEAWAYS:
Birds are a year-round phenomenon that help students connect to their local environment and contribute data to conservation projects. Use the Merlin Bird ID app and eBird participatory science project for value-added technology that help your students be successful birders and contributors right away!

SPEAKERS:
Susan Licher

The word Phenomena is used 276 times in the current MN Science Standards. NGSS emphasizes that students need to be able to observe, explain, and interpret phenomena. Nature provides limitless opportunities for students to observe phenomena and pursue authentic investigations to help explain and interpret that phenomena, yet very few teachers feel comfortable teaching their students outside. After a brief review of fundamentals in classroom management for teaching students outdoors, we will dive into how to structure authentic, nature-based science investigations even in the hard scape of an urban environment. Teachers will learn how to prepare their students for authentic, outdoor, nature-based investigations, and will weave culturally responsive teaching techniques throughout their outdoor teaching practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to prepare their students for authentic, outdoor, nature-based investigations - even within the hard scape of an urban environment. We will weave culturally responsive teaching techniques throughout our outdoor teaching practice. You will spend most of the time outdoors.

SPEAKERS:
Josh Leonard

In this workshop, we will explore threats to biodiversity (HIPPCO) using HHMI Biointeractive resources, including Designing Solutions to Preserve Biodiversity and Wild Hope short films. We will also model solution-design strategies that consider personal values and social, cultural, and environmental impacts. Using NGSS three dimensional design, this workshop will focus on what students need to know, how they process that knowledge, and how that knowledge guides the design of solutions. Participants will use the jigsaw approach, a cooperative learning strategy in which “expert groups” familiarize themselves with a specific concept, then recombine into “jigsaw groups” to share and synthesize knowledge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use HHMI Biointeractive Wildhope Videos to assist students in identifying the key threats to biodiversity loss and learn instructional strategies for designing and analyzing evidence-based solutions to these threats.

SPEAKERS:
Dawn Norton, Amy Fassler

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

This Biology lab uses common lawn clover to explore genetics, plant physiology, and adaptation. White clover is polymorphic for cyanogenesis, an anti-herbivore defense controlled by two genetic loci. Cyanogenesis frequency varies with climate—over 95% of plants are cyanogenic in the South, but fewer than 10% are in the northern Midwest. During the Clover Project students collect local clover and test it for cyanide production using color-changing paper, and then calculate genotype frequencies and compare with data from other regions. Students can also calculate the rates of herbivory in their area and correlate the frequency to cyanogenesis.This hands-on activity engages students in inquiry-based learning aligned with the AP Biology CED and the Science Practices, while also illustrating how evolutionary pressures shape traits in their local environment. Participants in this session will learn how to implement this dynamic activity in their High School Biology classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Unlock the secrets of cyanogenesis in clover! Participants will learn to implement ‘The Clover Project’ - a hands-on, inquiry-based lab that uses common lawn clover to investigate the connections between cell structure, genetics, evolution, ecology, and local adaptation.

SPEAKERS:
Ken Bateman, Carolyn Spangler

Uncertainty in science is ever present but often feared by teachers, students, and even the public. This fear often prevents the inclusion of messy, uncertain data in the classroom, even though it reflects real science that all students use to make decisions. It is important for all students to grapple with and make sense of data like this to build tenacity, awareness, and critical thinking, while engaging in SEPs and CCCs like stability and change. For climate science, it’s important to help interpret big data and connect human impacts, Earth’s systems, and uncertainty in models. In this session, a teacher-researcher team shares how they brought big, messy, uncertain climate model data into a high school classroom supporting learners. Attendees will experience the activities as learners, engaging with data and framing presented to students. They will compare their thinking with student responses and collaborate ways to bring messy data into their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore an example case providing access points to messy, uncertain data and consider practices to support all students’ engagement and perseverance with the data. They will leave with ideas to help students engage authentically with climate data that balances student accessibility.

SPEAKERS:
Martha Inouye, Chelsea Lund

Engage in real-world, museum-based investigations guided by scientists using Research Quest, a free suite of online instructional materials developed by the Natural History Museum of Utah. These phenomenon-based investigations are designed to support three-dimensional learning by integrating science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. Participants will explore how these digital tools promote authentic inquiry, data analysis, and evidence-based reasoning. Through hands-on activities and collaborative lesson design, educators will learn to integrate Research Quest with ELA, digital literacy, and environmental literacy standards. The session emphasizes formative assessment strategies and provides classroom-ready lessons that support critical thinking, collaboration, and student-led problem solving using the practices of scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will use exemplar resources that support 3D learning, as outlined in NGSS, that effectively promote critical thinking, data analysis, and collaboration. They will examine strategies for facilitating inquiry-based, student-led investigations using real-world science practices.

SPEAKERS:
Madlyn Larson

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Kara Baldwin, Emily Mohl

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

STEM educators who recently traveled to Norway, which boasts the world’s highest adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), will share what they learned by modeling an activity in which students examine the complex EV “ecosystem” through the lens of sustainability. Students explore the pros and cons of the many facets of this energy system including the mining of raw materials for batteries, manufacturing and recycling of batteries, driving of EVs, and building of new electric infrastructure like charging stations. This activity will help students gain a deeper appreciation of the nuances involved in evaluating technological solutions to today’s environmental challenges and enable students to critically evaluate the zero in “zero” emissions vehicles.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be guided through an activity that invites students to explore the economical, environmental, and social impacts of an EV ecosystem and in the process learn a framework for evaluating the sustainability of low carbon solutions that address climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Peggy Weinhoeft-Renfro, Dana Haine

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

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

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Henfling

In today’s rapidly changing world, integrating innovation and sustainability into science education is more important than ever. This session will showcase effective strategies for embedding sustainability into STEAM programs through project-based learning and student-led research. With our nationally recognized, award-winning initiatives like an AI-powered hydroponic garden program, student-led local forest research on climate change, and a weather station tracking air quality, we will explore how schools can equip students to lead as changemakers and innovators in sustainability. Practical strategies, effective resources, and inspiring examples will help educators launch impactful, student-centered sustainability programs in their schools and support leaders in cultivating a new generation of changemakers through innovative STEAM education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn practical strategies to integrate sustainability into STEAM education through hands-on, student-led projects that support innovation, real-world problem solving, and leadership in environmental stewardship.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Garetto, Donna Zagotta, Kenny Bae

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

Current global environmental challenges necessitate the development of future generations through training that enables them to create meaningful impacts. Through hands-on projects the Environmental Club at Kennedy Middle School develops student leadership capabilities and environmental advocacy among participants. The research investigates the improvement of students' environmental science comprehension along with their leadership abilities and sustainability advocacy skills as a result of their involvement in the club. Environmental scientists will use this research to evaluate outcomes which include higher recycling rates alongside energy-saving efforts and heightened environmental consciousness. This project will establish a replicable environmental program framework for schools and motivate future leaders to pursue sustainable development via student-led programs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Student-led environmental advocacy groups such as Kennedy Middle School's Environmental Club help advance sustainability, leadership development, and environmental awareness. This session will demonstrate a successful approach to cultivating environmental advocates through school education.

SPEAKERS:
Princess Margaret Paz

This session explores practical strategies for integrating culturally relevant teaching, scientific inquiry, and data literacy into a unit storyline. Participants will learn how to design inquiry-based and discussion-based lessons that connect with students' cultural backgrounds and lived experiences, fostering a deeper level of understanding and relevance for our students. This session will highlight real-world examples where students investigate the scientific research that their teacher completed and community-centered issues through interpreting scientific articles and authentic data sets. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools, lesson frameworks, and resources to create equitable and engaging science classroom experiences that empower our students to be critical thinkers and informed citizens.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will explore how to engage students in inquiry, data literacy, Indigenous perspectives, and how to apply cultural relevancy to situations occurring in other areas of the world.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Gunder, Rachel Rigenhagen

Anxiety is at record high levels among students and can significantly interfere with academic functioning. Students are particularly vulnerable to experience anxiety when learning about topics that give rise to thoughts about unpredictability and uncertainty. Student anxiety is an issue faced by most science educators, especially when teaching about anxiety-producing topics such as climate change. Anxiety may make it difficult for children and adolescents to engage in learning without excessive worry, rumination or avoidance. They may avoid topics that are reminders of problems without complete solutions. Incorporating perspectives from psychologists, educators and students, this session will address the following questions: 1) How can student anxiety interfere in science learning? 2) How can brief, anxiety reducing strategies be integrated in the classroom to facilitate learning and engagement? Methods will be presented that can decrease anxiety and optimize learning for all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn evidence-based strategies for decreasing student anxiety to facilitate engagement and learning about topics such as climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Otis, Ava Guiney, Julia Skabeev, Dr. Donna Pincus, Delia Comer

Technology can transform science instruction and enhance students' learning experiences. This session explores how educators can implement technology to design NGSS-aligned learning experiences focused on environmental science issues that prepare students for a tech-driven STEM future. Technology can be used in a multitude of areas such as data collection, research analysis, and modeling, which can deepen students' computational thinking skills. Participants will examine classroom-tested lessons, tech-enhanced assessments, and student work samples that demonstrate how technology can deepen inquiry, expand access, and support all learners. Examples of technology implementation will include, but not be limited to: trail cameras, simulations, databases, mobile applications and the educational use of AI. Attendees will leave with examples of tech-integrated assessments and lesson plans, along with resources for immediate classroom use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees of this session will leave with a multitude of resources promoting technology use in the classroom. Examples of technology use will be provided, as well as classroom-tested lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Hoenig

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Ernst, Antoinette Schlobohm, NBCT, NCST

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Mallory Deziel, Erin Baillargeon

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Krantz

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Hoenig

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Ibberson, Kelly Dreier, Katharine Kramer

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Mieras

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

Using real data can be daunting - from finding it to understanding it to using it in your lesson plans. This session aims to minimize the anxiety of teachers wanting to use real data in their teaching. We will focus on engaging students in data literacy in authentic and meaningful ways by exploring publicly available large ecology data sets. We will describe the process of selecting a subset of data and provide strategies that can be used to incorporate data into various education levels as students grow in their abilities and gain confidence. Examples of lesson plans and Data Nuggets developed by educators using real-world data will be shared and discussed. Teachers will leave with ideas to help their students tap into understanding science in our society and help motivate the next generation of scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will guide teachers in the exploration of large data sets and how to select a subset of the data to use in classroom lessons by sharing strategies used by educators to access and incorporate real data in their teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Rigenhagen, Claire Gunder, Amanda Morrison

To support Minnesota science educators in culturally responsive science teaching that includes Indigenous Science knowledge, we hosted a series of professional development workshops. We then offered continued support through the academic year with culturally responsive science curricula, opportunities for field-based learning, and cohort-style professional learning community meetings. By explicitly integrating Indigenous and western sciences, we provided science educators with a more holistic knowledge base. A key component of our approach is reciprocal partnerships that create opportunities for shared learning. Cultivating these opportunities has been a primary objective of our program model, coupled with providing opportunities for science educators to build their capacity as culturally responsive instructors. We will highlight the overarching goals and successes in our program thus far and the opportunities for growth and improvement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integrating Indigenous and western sciences into science teaching and learning provides a holistic approach to sustainability education that supports culturally sustaining science frameworks and equitable learning opportunities for students.

SPEAKERS:
Seth Thompson

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Lee Schmitt, John Olson, Dana Smith

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

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that increases global warming. Agriculture is the top source of methane emissions, and enteric methane production from livestock accounts for a significant amount of agricultural methane. The objective of this study is to identify plants that could be added as feed additives in a cow’s diet to reduce enteric methane emissions. There is an effect on methane emissions with plants containing compounds like lipids, polyphenols, and tannins. One part of the study was running in vitro trials to determine how much total gas and methane is produced. The other part was running sequential fibers to determine the digestibility of these plants. We found that some plants reduce methane production, and others do not. White willow and peanut skins were the most effective in reducing enteric methane. With further testing and trials, the most effective plants in this in vitro study could be used as dietary supplements and help reduce methane emissions from dairy.

TAKEAWAYS:
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the issue of methane emissions from enteric fermentation process of dairy animals and discuss ways to reduce them through dietary supplements and feed additives made from locally available plant sources. These supplements also help keep the animals healthy.

SPEAKERS:
Ivanka Sonkusare

The goal of this program is to engage students in grades K-8 with hands-on experiences that focus on sustainable design. Students will learn about urban planning, fashion and climate change, ecological footprints, and waste audits. The curriculum is ready-made for teachers to implement within their classroom if they wish to provide this experience for students during the summer or even throughout the school year as a stand alone unit of study. We understand the demanding workload that educators often must bear on a daily basis. This program aims to alleviate that pressure by providing teachers with fully developed and ready to use lesson plans. Each lesson also includes detailed instruction for implementation, suggested prep-work, and potential adjustments. The curriculum itself provides lesson plans for Monday through Wednesday along with a recommended experiential learning opportunity (field day) on Thursdays.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be provided with access to the "Energy & Climate for Every Classroom" curriculum which they can use to implement into their classrooms. The curriculum contains lesson plans, recommended prep-work, suggested climate action field days, and potential adjustments.

SPEAKERS:
Sean McFadden, Annycardeli Lopez

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Jordan Wolf

This presentation highlights the AgroLab Uniandes model in a transdisciplinary aquatic educational facility using the results of a Spring 2024 illustrative case study of an urban secondary school campus. The study traced the evolution and advancement of multiple, non-traditional STEM learning spaces, focusing on their role in fostering hands-on sustainability-driven education. The paludarium tank ecosystem being presented is an aquarium designed to simulate a natural aquatic habitat of the Mid-Atlantic region. The paludarium tank project provides students with the opportunity to learn about local wetland, marsh, and swamp ecosystems through practical hands-on learning. The paludarium project operates year-round with student learning experiences that include monitoring water quality, feeding aquatic wildlife, maintaining terrestrial and aquatic plants, tracking aquarium data, and completing routine maintenance. Assessments and alignment to NGSS standards will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
This project’s primary impact on student learning has been the enhancement of their resourcefulness. Students have had to be imaginative, creative, and strategic in transforming a small enclosure into a unique outdoor environment, all while maintaining the inhabitants’ basic needs.

SPEAKERS:
Ray Wu-Rorrer

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Onusko

People need to be curious consumers of information shown in data sets and graphs. There are ways to make graphs that show bias and ways that show data “fairly.” In this session, participants will develop the skills to recognize misleading or slanted graphs. We will use data visualization techniques to support evidence-based decision-making in real-world agricultural scenarios. Participants will be presented with a series of visuals to determine whether or not the information depicted within the data visualization is fair or misleading. Then, they will be divided into groups and given a scenario. After researching the scenario and analyzing the given data, participants will create their own visualization and presentation for communication with their class of producers. This presentation should include a fair data visualization yet still persuade the producer to make the best decision for the scenario.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will analyze and interpret agricultural data to identify patterns, make predictions, and construct scientific explanations through argumentation. They will use data visualization techniques to support evidence-based decision-making in real-world farming scenarios.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Bryan

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that increases global warming. Agriculture is the top source of methane emissions, and enteric methane production from livestock accounts for a significant amount of agricultural methane. The objective of this study is to identify plants that could be added as feed additives in a cow’s diet to reduce enteric methane emissions. There is an effect on methane emissions with plants containing compounds like lipids, polyphenols, and tannins. One part of the study was running in vitro trials to determine how much total gas and methane is produced. The other part was running sequential fibers to determine the digestibility of these plants. We found that some plants reduce methane production, and others do not. White willow and peanut skins were the most effective in reducing enteric methane. With further testing and trials, the most effective plants in this in vitro study could be used as dietary supplements and help reduce methane emissions from dairy.

TAKEAWAYS:
The aim of this presentation is to discuss the issue of methane emissions from enteric fermentation process of dairy animals and discuss ways to reduce them through dietary supplements and feed additives made from locally available plant sources. These supplements also help keep the animals healthy.

SPEAKERS:
Ivanka Sonkusare

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Thomas Meagher, Elizabeth Cakebread, Haley Kalina

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

Help your students connect science learning to the real-world environmental challenges facing their local communities with the Watershed Game. In this hands-on workshop, you'll play a large-format game that engages students in solving complex issues around water quality, land use, and flood resilience, bringing environmental science to life. The game aligns with NGSS and state-specific standards and is available free for loan. Designed for middle and high school classrooms, the Watershed Game allows students to take on the roles of community leaders and use prevention tools, practices, and policies to reduce water pollution and increase flood resilience while considering equity. Supportive lesson plans and teacher support materials will allow you to explore local environmental challenges, and engage students in local stewardship and citizen science projects. Participants will leave ready to play the Watershed Game with their classrooms and engage students in their local watershed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session with a deep understanding of how the Watershed Game works, how it fosters STEM and encourages local watershed stewardship, and how to integrate it into science and interdisciplinary curricula for middle and high school students.

SPEAKERS:
Tina Miller-Way, Maggie Karschnia

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

Teaching about climate change today is doubly challenging; the interdisciplinary science is complex, and the sheer volume of misconceptions, misinformation, and disinformation is staggering. Misconceptions often arise from gaps in basic knowledge, while misinformation and disinformation arise from intentional distortion for political, economic, or ideological reasons. To address these issues, we must guide students through 3D learning practices aimed at cultivating functional scientific literacy: the ability to understand and apply scientific concepts in everyday life. This goal requires equipping students with the ability to evaluate sources, interpret data, and recognize logical fallacies or manipulative rhetoric. Along the way, we must integrate critical thinking, sense-making, and media analysis with solid, factual information. We should also encourage students to question dubious claims, seek credible sources, and make scientifically-informed decisions aimed at sustainable goals.

TAKEAWAYS:
Enhancing functional climate science literacy empowers individuals to recognize and reject climate misinformation by using 3D learning to foster critical thinking, source evaluation, and a deeper understanding of scientific evidence, aimed at encouraging sustainable solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

Don’t let the technology teachers have all the fun! Game design can be woven into any science curricula at any grade level, providing an engaging way for students to learn science content and to creatively apply what they have learned. Serious games address real-world challenges, encourage systems thinking, and promote active engagement, making them particularly well suited to science education. Learn about the basic elements of game design, tools, rubrics and strategies and how to use a game jam to rapidly prototype game designs (online, digital, role-play, board games, card games) through simple tools and rubrics to bring game design to your classroom or after-school program. Attendees will experience a role-playing simulation from NOAA, Beat the Uncertainty, that asks students to choose strategies that can help coastal communities to be more resilient with one of the most dangerous climate impacts of our time, sea level rise.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in a mini game jam to develop working prototypes of an environmental game and receive information and tools to develop their own game jam.

SPEAKERS:
Peggy Steffen

“Ecology isn’t rocket science— it’s much harder” (Hilborn and Ludwig, 1993). Natural resource management provides rich, meaningful phenomena for classrooms that support students in the complex science- and data-driven decision-making that all students will face, regardless of their ultimate career trajectories. This presentation will showcase a unit that, through a natural resource management and decision-making lens, provides students with rich learning about complex ecosystem dynamics through a 3D lens grounded in student interests. This phenomenon-based unit progression compares ecosystem dynamics between two local reservoirs. I will share the methods students used to integrate multiple real-time data sources to predict and model food webs and trophic structures. Students confirm their predictions and models by engaging in a fish dissection and stomach-content analysis, and interpretation of stable fish isotope data to make management decisions about our two local reservoirs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away a unit progression for ecosystem dynamics, practical implementation resources to support and engage all students, tools for students to collect and critically analyze data, and assessment ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Jenny Edwards

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

This workshop will present an innovative approach to developing scientific argumentation skills in pre-service elementary teachers through pairing the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework within a real-world socio-scientific issue (SSI) role play lesson. This lesson was part of a semester long, undergraduate science methods course at a Midwestern University. This workshop will present details about the SSI Role Play lesson, the incorporation of the CER framework into the SSI Role Play lesson, and the shared perspectives of the pre-service elementary teachers as they navigated the experience of the SSI Role Play lesson with the CER framework. Additionally, the presenters will share their insights about the design, delivery, and assessment of the CER with a SSI Role Play lesson and its implications as a more equitable, inclusive approach to developing scientific argumentation in pre-service elementary teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this workshop with basic knowledge of how to implement an SSI role play paired with the CER within a science methods course that effectively promotes the scientific argumentation of pre-service elementary teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Sanderson, David Kimori, Trish Arnold

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Thomas Meagher, Raymond Heinz, Haley Kalina

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Liz Dengate, Sarah Oppelt Santelli, Craig Nowicki

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

This workshop engages participants in an activity from a newly available free curriculum for high school students called Scientific Thinking for All: A Toolkit. The material is an adaptation of a University of California, Berkeley course created in part by Nobel Prize winner Saul Perlmutter. The course utilizes scientific approaches for interpreting evidence, engaging in probabilistic reasoning, identifying sources of uncertainty, and developing iterative solutions. Participants will learn how scientific methods can reduce sources of scientific uncertainty in data by engaging in a fictional scenario. They will map and analyze air quality sensor data before and after work begins at a construction site. They will be able to identify the sources of uncertainty in the data and will brainstorm ways to reduce it. Participants will then be able to discuss how addressing limitations of the data can lead to new conclusions about air quality.

TAKEAWAYS:
Investigate air quality with an interactive activity! Participants map and analyze air quality data in a fictional community, and identify how scientific methods can reduce scientific uncertainty. Part of a free high school curriculum from the University of California, Berkeley.

SPEAKERS:
Ben Koo

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Elesha Goodfriend, Kelly Moore