How can science departments expand offerings in ways that both engage students and strengthen enrollment? This session shares the step-by-step process of designing, launching, and refining a high school food science elective. Participants will learn how the course was structured to balance rigor with accessibility and connect chemistry, biology, and sustainability to real-world issues. The session will highlight strategies for curriculum design, lab experiences, assessments, and partnerships that made the course successful. Data on enrollment growth and student engagement will be shared, along with practical tools attendees can adapt to their own schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a roadmap and practical tools for developing a food science elective that engages students, boosts enrollment, and connects science learning to careers, sustainability, and everyday life.

SPEAKERS:
Yana Zubarev, Christopher Taylor

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

How do forensic scientists find evidence in invisible ink? Students must think like both detectives AND scientists to find out! By capturing spectra of ink samples, students investigate electromagnetic radiation, explore light-matter interactions, and use mathematical models to calculate energy.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Discover motion, sound, thermal, radiant, chemical, and electrical energy through hands-on experiments using everyday materials. Lessons are differentiated for all grade levels, making energy concepts accessible and engaging for every classroom. You’ll leave with fun, ready-to-use investigations that build scientific reasoning, connect to the real world, and give you the confidence to teach energy forms and transformations with ease.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to teach energy forms and transformations to students of all grade levels and can take right back to their classroom with all lessons available as a free PDF download, including translated to Spanish.

SPEAKERS:
Don Pruett, Jr.

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Stop the daydreaming and start the questioning! This high-energy session focuses on the power of the "visual hook" to drive engagement through the undeniable evidence of chemistry in action. Witness a series of demonstrations—from vibrant color changes and dramatic shifts in state to unexpected phenomena like boiling water in a bell jar or reactive metals in oil. These techniques grab attention and trigger immediate curiosity for students at all levels. Designed for any stage of a career, new and veteran teachers alike will leave with a practical toolkit of safe, high-impact demos ready for use on Monday morning!

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

This session will highlight strategies for supporting two key attributes of sensemaking: student ideas and science ideas. Presenters will share an NSTA tool for evaluating lessons, focusing on equitable instruction. In small groups, participants will experience hands-on strategies that promote student discourse and equitable access, such as chalk-talk, QFT, card sorts, and whiteboarding. These strategies will be grounded in classroom evidence from Physics, Chemistry, and Environmental Science, using examples of engineering design, data analysis, and models. The session includes dedicated time for reflection, allowing participants to connect these techniques to NSTA's sensemaking criteria and plan for implementation in their own teaching. Through small-group discussions and large-group share-outs, participants will personalize their learning and gain valuable insights from their peers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience and review student work from strategies that create equitable, sensemaking science environments. Focusing on science and student ideas, participants will identify strategies to implement in their own practice to improve sensemaking for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Emilie Cross, Kevin Henson

Sponsoring Company: Biozone, Inc.

Science teachers are master problem solvers, yet you’re stuck solving the wrong problems: endless prep, assessment creation, and juggling resources that don’t quite fit together. What if your science resources actually made your job easier? Join us to explore how BIOZONE’s innovative worktext format reimagines teaching with a cohesive suite of print and digital resources that reduce workload while boosting student engagement. Our resources support active, concept-driven learning, and the Teacher Toolkit provides fully built pacing guides, teacher notes, assessments, and slides that cut hours from your week. Paired with BIOZONE WORLD and the Resource Hub, you’ll see how BIOZONE’s system can transform instruction, empower diverse learners, and take the stress out of science instruction, making every student’s experience meaningful. Attendees receive a FREE print copy & 30-day digital access to a title of their choice.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

Join for an interactive session, where we will explore how the Flipped Classroom model and the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework can transform student learning and engagement. This session will highlight practical strategies for shifting direct instruction outside the classroom, freeing up valuable in-class time for collaborative, inquiry-based learning in chemistry classroom. Participants will discover how integrating CER into flipped lessons empowers students to think critically, construct scientific explanations, and support their claims with evidence and logical reasoning. Through real-world examples, hands-on activities, and discussion, educators will leave with actionable tools to foster deeper understanding, promote student voice, and enhance formative assessment practices. Whether you're new to flipped learning or looking to refine your use of CER, this session offers insights and inspiration to elevate your teaching practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session equips educators with practical strategies for designing flipped lessons that incorporate CER seamlessly. Participants will explore real classroom examples, tackle common challenges, and engage in hands-on activities that model the CER process.

SPEAKERS:
Bhagyashree Kulkarni

How can we make chemistry more interesting, relevant, and exciting to students while still keeping rigor? Hear from teachers across the U.S. who have used lessons centered around food-based phenomena that teach chemistry concepts like atomic structure, bonding, thermal energy, intermolecular forces, and chemical reactions, and are aligned to NGSS. Learn how this has helped student engagement, disposition, and understanding of science concepts, and their ideas about what science is. Teachers can answer questions about what this can look like logistically and how to support common classroom challenges like supporting students of different levels and backgrounds, lab equipment, and providing 3D assessments that align to NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
See how other teachers have used different series of lessons centered around different food-based phenomena and labs and how this has helped student engagement, disposition, and understanding of science concepts, and their ideas about what science is.

SPEAKERS:
April Thompson, Jacob Rice, David Meyer, Kate Strangfeld

Undergraduate chemistry is often a gateway course with high enrollment but low success rates. Underrepresented minority students are disproportionately impacted, reducing diversity in STEM. One way to address this is by integrating social-psychological interventions, like Growth Mindset (GM) and Effective Learning Strategies (ELS) into the curriculum. This study discusses results from three semesters (Fall 2024–Fall 2025) in general chemistry courses at one institution. Students were randomly assigned to one of four groups (control, GM, ELS, GM+ELS) and completed different modular activities. Findings show students are reflecting more on their study habits and shifting how they handle challenges and failure in chemistry. This poster highlights both quantitative and qualitative outcomes, emphasizing the pedagogical design of the modules and their adaptability to other science classrooms, including high school and undergraduate sciences courses beyond chemistry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn practical ways to integrate GM and ELS modules into science courses to better support diverse learners and improve persistence in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Emily Pak

How can we use cheese to explore science concepts like evidence of chemical changes, solubility, and pH? Experience how we can investigate these concepts in a fun, exploratory way that emphasizes building science practices (intended for Grades 6-8 or Grades 9-12). In this session, participants will engage in parts of a lesson that center around the phenomenon of fresh cheese. They will participate in a mini-lab and then “unpack” and make sense of the results through various second-hand data and information. This session strongly highlights how a lab can be framed in an investigative, rather than confirmatory, way. This introductory part of the lesson can be used for grades 6-8 (targeting standards MS-PS1-1, MS-PS1-2, MS-PS1-3) or grades 9-12 (HS-PS1-3, HS-PS1-5). It is a great way to teach about ways to identify if a chemical reaction occurred and introduce precipitates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will do a simple hands-on lab that can be easily scaled up or down and see how students can make sense of curd formation by drawing on what they already know, making meaningful observations, analyzing data, asking questions, and applying an understanding of how chemical reactions work.

SPEAKERS:
April Thompson, Jacob Rice, David Meyer, Shawn Boggs, Ashley Vandgrift, Kate Strangfeld, Miriam McMillian

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

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

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

In many science departments, lab safety relies heavily on the individual judgment and past experiences of teachers. However, experience can create blind spots where familiarity leads to informal protocols and unrecognized risks. This session challenges the reliance on personal intuition and introduces a systematic, shared framework for risk management. We will explore how to transition from isolated safety habits to a unified culture where educators explicitly uncover, name, and mitigate hazards through a common language. By moving toward a documented, framework-based approach, leadership can reduce liability and ensure a consistent standard of protection across every classroom. Attendees will leave with a 180-day plan for implementing a comprehensive lab safety framework within their own schools or districts. This session is appropriate for administrators and science teachers at all grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Jonnathan Medina Ramos, Ph.D.

How can teachers design assessments that capture what students know, can do, and can explain across diverse high school science courses? This interactive session explores three-dimensional (3D) assessment strategies for Chemistry, IB Sports Science, and Forensic Science. Participants will examine freely available OER tasks, rubrics, and student work examples aligned to the NRC Framework, NGSS, and state standards. Through collaboration, teachers will adapt tasks for their own classrooms, taking into account issues of equity, accessibility, and disciplinary relevance.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with ready-to-use, open-access 3D assessment tools and strategies to evaluate student sensemaking in Chemistry, IB Sports Science, and Forensic Science while addressing equity and instructional alignment.

SPEAKERS:
Ramon Reeves, Shannon Harris, Tracy Joyner, Dana Peeples

Sponsoring Company: BFW Publishers

Capture high school chemistry students’ curiosity by inviting them into a truly phenomenon-based curriculum. Explore a hands-on periodic table card sort and investigate whether it’s really possible to turn a copper penny into gold. Along the way, ground in NGSS - experience how Living by Chemistry’s guided-inquiry and three-dimensional learning approach helps students build deep conceptual understanding. Presented by Living by Chemistry author Dr. Angelica Stacy.

SPEAKERS:
Angelica Stacy

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

Why do some burned hillsides suddenly flood or slide after a storm? This session uses phenomena-based instruction to explore how soil chemistry and structure regulate water movement, nutrient transport, and pollutant filtration. Participants will engage in hands-on activities that model how soils can absorb or repel water, store and release nutrients, and contribute to hazards such as flooding, landslides, and fire-altered soils that become water-repellent. Investigating soil data and maps, educators will uncover how soil processes connect to essential Earth and environmental science concepts. Participants will leave with freely available resources, professional development opportunities, and strategies for guiding students to explain natural hazards and ecosystem functions through the lens of soil science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Why do burned slopes flood or slide? Engage your students in hands-on soil investigations to uncover how structure and chemistry regulate water flow, stability, and susceptibility to hazards and take home free resources to spark phenomena-based learning in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren Brase, Lindsay Mossa, Natalie Macke

This workshop equips both middle and high school teachers to use My NASA Data’s Earth System Data Explorer to investigate the Urban Heat Island Effect as a phenomenon for teaching heat transfer and thermodynamics. Participants will work with authentic NASA satellite datasets—land surface temperature, albedo, and vegetation indices—to explore how urban and rural environments differ in absorbing and releasing energy. Case studies from California and North Carolina provide contrasting examples of geography, land cover, and climate, helping participants connect conduction, convection, and radiation to real-world contexts. Educators will leave with NGSS-aligned, classroom-ready lessons and strategies for guiding students in analyzing satellite data, constructing explanations, and applying science concepts to local and global challenges of urbanization and climate resilience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Middle and high school science teachers will gain classroom-ready, phenomena-based lessons using NASA satellite data to investigate Earth’s energy budget, making heat transfer and thermodynamics meaningful through the Urban Heat Island Effect.

SPEAKERS:
Kellyn Hardin, Natalie Macke

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Discover how algae beads can transform the way students explore photosynthesis and cellular respiration. In this interactive session, participants will design experiments to test how light intensity, wavelength, and temperature influence these biological processes. Experience a hands-on investigation that helps students visualize complex concepts while practicing authentic scientific inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Zefeldt

How can we prepare students for a world where STEM careers are being reshaped daily by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies? This interactive session explores practical strategies to build “future-ready” STEM classrooms that integrate AI literacy, project-based learning, and 21st-century skills. Drawing on classroom-tested examples from middle and high school programs, participants will see how AI tools can deepen learning, how project-based experiences connect students to authentic challenges, and how career-focused skills such as collaboration and problem-solving can be intentionally embedded in STEM lessons. Attendees will engage in a guided design activity where they map out a future-ready unit that balances standards, innovation, and student agency. By the end of the session, educators will walk away with concrete strategies and a planning template that can be applied immediately in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to create future-ready STEM lessons that blend AI literacy, project-based learning, and career skills so students build the knowledge and habits needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

SPEAKERS:
Ashish Vadalia

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Are you struggling with instructional materials that feel overly scripted, too complex, or lack the essential background students need to succeed? This session introduces a new line of science kits designed for ease-of-use and student buy-in. We move away from sprawling, complicated sequences in favor of short, modular kits that focus on real-world science students care about. Explore context-rich investigations into the energy of lithium-ion battery fires, the molecular architecture of NSAID drugs, and the stoichiometry of Hollywood practical effects. Discover how these streamlined science kits provide the necessary support and high-interest phenomena to keep students engaged without the burden of heavy, inflexible curriculum. These manageable, hands-on experiences are designed to make modern science more accessible for students while maintaining clear alignment to NGSS standards.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Helping students make sense of the natural world is at the heart of science teaching. This session explores how thinking strategies make student reasoning visible and serve as powerful assessment tools. Participants will see examples from 7th- and 8th-grade classrooms where students use prompts and data to explain Earth and chemical processes, including a local water quality study that connects chemistry, geography, and human impact on ecosystems. These strategies help students explain ideas clearly, test them with evidence, and revise their understanding as they connect scientific concepts to real-world systems. They also support diverse learners, including multilingual, neurodivergent, and differently engaged students, by offering multiple ways to represent and share their thinking. Teachers can use this evidence to assess both understanding and process as all students engage in authentic scientific sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to use thinking strategies as assessment tools to make student reasoning visible, support diverse learners, and deepen understanding through authentic, evidence-based scientific sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Lara Kossiakoff

Sponsoring Company: Biozone, Inc.

Science teachers are expected to do it all, prep lessons, keep students motivated in any setting, and design assessments. Imagine if your digital tools finally helped lighten that load. Discover how BIOZONE WORLD transforms instruction with a cohesive platform built to reduce workload and elevate learning. Jump straight into ready-to-use activities, presentation slides, and rich media from the integrated Resource Hub, including videos and 3D models that bring complex concepts to life. Support multilingual learners instantly with in-platform translation, and use the Teacher Toolkit’s pacing guides, notes, and assessments to streamline planning and maintain instructional consistency. Our print and digital resources are identical, so whether you teach in-person, hybrid, or fully online, BIOZONE WORLD empowers you to work smarter, keep students actively engaged, and deliver science lessons that truly resonate. Attendees receive a FREE print title & 30-day digital access.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

What is the impact of having a dog park in your community? In this hands-on session, participants explore the chemistry of runoff from dog parks and how excessive phosphates from dog waste can disrupt ecosystems and contribute to water pollution. Participants will test soil samples for phosphate levels and use the data to design eco-friendly dog parks that minimize the impact of dog parks on the local community. Learn how phosphate buildup leads to problems like algal blooms and eutrophication. Copies of lessons are provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the chemistry of runoff from dog parks and how phosphates from dog waste can disrupt ecosystems and contribute to water pollution. Participants will apply analytical skills to measure soil chemistry and use the data to design eco-friendly dog parks.

SPEAKERS:
Cameron Good, Madeline Stallard, M. Gail Jones

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

PASCO’s Wireless CO2 Sensor provides an excellent way to measure and display carbon dioxide as a product or reactant of chemical reactions. In this workshop, you will learn how to facilitate hands-on student labs with user-friendly data collection sensors and analysis software. We will monitor CO2, oxygen, and water vapor levels as we explore several naturally occurring reaction types of respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition, and (small) combustion.

SPEAKERS:
Roger Palmer

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

What is the concentration of the dyes in beverages? How do you measure this value? Learn how to use Beer's law and colorimetry to determine the concentration of solutions while using Green Chemistry approaches.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

In this workshop, participants will engage in an immersive, hands-on investigation of thermal energy changes in chemical reactions through the lens of model rocketry. Using the “Feel the Heat” lesson plan from Estes Education, educators will explore how to design and test hot packs for a Moon mission, observe exothermic and endothermic reactions, and connect those experiences to the dramatic heat changes exhibited by model rocket engines during launch. The lesson supports multiple pedagogical priorities: inquiry, student agency (designing, testing, modifying), NGSS-aligned assessment, and cross-disciplinary integration (science + writing/art through creative assessments). Attendees will leave with practical strategies, materials, student assessments, and classroom-tested ideas for integrating this STEM lesson in ways that meet NGSS and other national/state standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover a ready-to-use lesson that blends STEM, energy, and real-world science through rocketry. Gain strategies, assessments, and confidence to engage students in NGSS-aligned investigations of thermal energy and chemical reactions.

SPEAKERS:
Bela Power

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

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

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Teachers seek ways to make learning more meaningful, relevant, and rigorous. We will share a practice-based approach that supports teachers in leveraging students’ cultural resources, such as community knowledge, lived experiences, and local practices, to deepen understanding of the three dimensions of scientific knowledge: disciplinary ideas (DCIs), scientific practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCCs). Using classroom-tested frameworks and examples from diverse settings, participants explore how integrating cultural resources serve as powerful vehicles to promote sensemaking and engagement. Teachers will engage with anchoring phenomena, student artifacts, and instructional routines to experience how to weave cultural resources into the three-dimensional design of a unit. Teachers will leave with tools, planning templates, and concrete strategies for implementing instruction that honors students’ identities and enhances mastery of the three dimensions of scientific knowledge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to adapt lessons so that students’ cultural and community knowledge becomes an asset for driving investigations, constructing explanations, and developing disciplinary understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Clausell Mathis, Joseph Krajcik

The Molecule Maker Lab Institute (MMLI) is combining revolutionizing chemistry education by replacing the “structure-first” approach with a dynamic, AI-driven "function-first" model. Today, most students struggle to master chemistry and few pursue it beyond high school. MMLI changes that. Using block-based chemistry and AI-powered molecular synthesis, students learn to solve real-world problems with molecules rather than memorize disconnected facts. With hands-on activities—like exploring the color spectrum, AI-chemical interactions, and organic photovoltaic cells—students experience chemistry as creativity, not rote learning. MMLI democratizes access to molecular literacy, giving every student the tools to imagine, design, and create molecules for drug discovery, energy capture, and more. This session will share curriculum examples, pilot data from high schools, and strategies for empowering the next generation of molecular innovators.

TAKEAWAYS:
To equip high school students with “molecular literacy" by combining block-based chemistry, AI, and "function-first" thinking, transforming chemistry from structural memorization into creative problem-solving for real-world challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Wolf

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

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

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: BFW Publishers

AP® Chemistry presents instructional challenges that differ from traditional college chemistry courses. Topics such as photoelectron spectroscopy and AP®-specific language and expectations often surprise even experienced instructors. Participants will explore a practical framework for navigating AP® Chemistry distinctives with clarity and confidence. Grounded in the AP® CED and classroom-tested strategies, the workshop will examine how to align content, pacing, assignments, and labs to the AP® Exam. Attendees will work through concrete examples—sample instructional materials, practice questions, and lab activities—that they can use immediately. The session will also preview a new BFW program, Chemistry for the AP® Course, designed specifically for AP® Chemistry (2027). Takeaways: • Insight into AP® Chemistry topics that differ from college coverage • Practical strategies for teaching and assessing AP®-specific concepts • Classroom-ready materials to support instruction and exam prep

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Revell

When I began my teaching career in 2005, I was struggling to explain how to create the chemical formulas for ionic compounds to my students. In return, my students struggled to write the chemical formulas for various ionic compounds. Until it hit me...teach them how to DANCE!!! The "Ionic Compound Dance" was born out of determination to create an engaging lesson on teaching students how to write the chemical formulas for ionic compounds utilizing the learning styles of all students in the chemistry classroom. Learn how to DANCE...The "Ionic Compound Dance" method.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use the "Ionic Compound Dance" to effectively teach writing chemical formulas for ionic compounds to all learners from special needs to gifted/talented students across all disciplines of middle school science to AP Chemistry and beyond.

SPEAKERS:
Nichole DePaul

Following the California 3-Course Integrated Model AND the NGSS Modified Science Domains High School Curricular Model, this storyline for the formation and history of the La Brea tar pits provides an excellent opportunity for place-based sensemaking of a local phenomenon that integrates Earth Science with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The storylines involves the development of Los Angeles as a sedimentary basin starting 28 million years ago, when the birth of the San Andreas fault tore off and rotated the Transverse Mountains; the development of petroleum in the rock beneath LA; the percolation of petroleum to the surface starting at least 55,000 years ago after the 6th-street fault cut across the sub-LA Puente rock formation; and the evolution and extinction of large mammals like the ground sloths, mastodons, and smilodons with changing climates and the arrival of humans in Southern California. Students can visit the site and see the ongoing excavations as a capstone experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
The La Brea tar pits provides teachers with a way to engage students with a local place-based storyline that helps in their sensemaking for integrating LA’s history in geophysics (earthquakes), geochemistry (petroleum production), geobiology (large mammal evolution), and climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession

Sponsoring Company: Ward's Science

Challenge and inspire your middle school students using the OpenSciEd curriculum. Perform hands-on experiments in Chemistry and Physics through problem-based learning activities from a 3D framework. Get a taste of Ward's Science kits that complement this free program.

SPEAKERS:
Norman Marshall

In this session, we will explore strategies and use tools to create and adapt lessons that foster sensemaking and active participation. Teachers will engage in a hands-on science task, debrief on how that task supported opportunities for sensemaking, and analyze an assortment of tasks for features that support varied learning opportunities. Attendees will leave with strategies for creating and modifying lessons to promote sensemaking and active student participation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn practical strategies to design and adapt science lessons that foster student sensemaking and active participation, leaving with tools they can use immediately in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Shafer, PhD

This presentation will address critical laboratory safety issues, helping participants with practical knowledge and advocacy skills to create and maintain safer high school laboratory environments. The session combines essential protocols for effective safety communication and decision-making. Participants will leave with safer demonstration and laboratory ideas, an easy-to-follow personal safety plan, and how to access the information from the NSTA safety advisory board.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session supports new teachers in developing confidence and competence in laboratory safety while helping experienced educators stay current with best practices. Our goal is to prevent accidents before they occur by empowering teachers with the knowledge, resources, and practical skills necessar

SPEAKERS:
Milene De Farias, Karen Newman

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Writing a balanced chemical reaction and seeing that the prefixes relates to amounts of chemicals present in the reaction can be quite the though leap. Many textbook problems are easy as they give exactly the amount needed of both reactants without having something left over. Why doesn’t adding more reactant always lead to more product? Help students develop a better understanding of mole ratios, stoichiometry and limiting reactants through this hands-on activity using household chemicals and a wireless pressure sensor. One participant will win a wireless sensor!

SPEAKERS:
Roger Palmer

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Students to explore microfiber pollution released from synthetic clothing during washing. Participants will simulate laundering, visualize fibers with fluorescence and microscopy, and compare shedding across fabrics and brands. Drawing on current research, the unit connects environmental science, chemistry, and biology while helping students evaluate evidence and consider the science behind everyday consumer choices.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

This workshop will demonstrate an inquiry-based, hands-on analytical chemistry lesson that fits seamlessly into a high school chemistry curriculum, aligning with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS 2013). The session will explore how the principles of chromatography, normally taught as a simple separation technique, can be applied to a compelling real-world scenario: a urinalysis case study. We'll show how this problem-based approach moves beyond procedural labs to teach critical thinking and sensemaking. Attendees will see how chromatography can reinforce core concepts like molecular polarity, intermolecular forces, solubility, and adsorption in a hands-on way. We will provide a complete guide to the lesson, including materials, safety considerations, and discussion prompts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use a chromatography-based urinalysis lesson to shift classroom labs from procedural steps to application-based problem-solving, teaching students to think and act like real-world chemists.

SPEAKERS:
Anastasia Davis

Wondering where familiar chemistry topics like naming compounds, stoichiometry, and gas laws fit into OpenSciEd High School Chemistry? In this interactive session, we will unpack how, where, and why these “traditional” topics are thoughtfully woven into the five OpenSciEd chemistry units. Participants will explore examples of how topics such as atomic structure, the Periodic Table, acids and bases, and the mole are incorporated into storylines in ways that build coherence and preserve students’ “aha” moments.    For example, atomic structure is introduced in C.2 as students use the movement of electrons to develop models for ions and polar molecules. They use these models to explain a variety of phenomena including lightning. These ideas are then expanded in C.3 as students construct atomic models and use them to explain bonding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how "traditional" chemistry topics are incorporated into OpenSciEd High School Chemistry storylines without giving away students' aha moments and still maintaining rigor.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Novak, Nicole Vick, Dan Voss

Sponsoring Company: Biozone, Inc.

Science teachers know that the most memorable learning happens when students can see and build a concept for themselves. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll create a 3D paper model you can use in your own classroom, plus take home a ready-to-run student activity that brings the model to life. But this session is more than crafting. As we build, we’ll explore BIOZONE’s interactive worktext approach and unpack a student-centric approach to learning, breaking down how thoughtful scaffolding turns a simple model into a powerful conceptual anchor. You’ll see how the Teacher Toolkit supports every step with pacing guides, teacher notes, and assessments, and how our digital platform BIOZONE WORLD and the Resource Hub add depth through interactive media and flexible delivery options. Leave with a classroom-ready model, an adaptable activity, and a toolkit of strategies to make hands-on science both engaging and easy to teach. Attendees receive a FREE print title & 30-day digital access.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

This session will demonstrate a hands-on lesson with extensions that focuses on using science and engineering practices for designing devices to convert energy. Participants will construct and test batteries using various solutions and metals to solve energy storage problems for NGSS Standards (HS-PS3-3, and HS-PS3-4), in addition to enhancing their understanding of electricity, circuit building and chemical reactions in practical application. The Engineering design process will be integrated to make this activity a must in real-world application!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies for teaching students to design and optimize devices that convert energy forms—emphasizing chemical potential energy—and to develop evidence-based solutions to real-world and societal energy challenges, considering criteria, constraints, and impacts.

SPEAKERS:
Britt Rohde, Jacey Hart, April Thompson

Sponsoring Company: Ward's Science

Let us show you how to incorporate exciting, engaging chemical demonstrations and hands-on activities into your chemistry curriculum. The demonstrations are guaranteed to grab your students’ attention, enhance their learning experience all while teaching fundamental science concepts. The hands-on activities are a great way to bring chemistry to life for your students. This workshop includes an overview of Innovating Science’s chemistry kits including sample activities highlighting topics like hydrogen fuel cell technology, electrochemical remediation of wastewater and several other topics.

SPEAKERS:
Norman Marshall

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

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

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

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

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

After data collection attendees will use vertical whiteboarding and poster making to create macroscopic particle level diagrams to "see" what is happening on the microscopic level. Conductivity, solubility, pH, and electrochemistry topics will be used for the "eye-opening" session.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will find new ways to help students conceptualize the concepts of microsciences.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Coker

Come discover how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all three dimensions of the NGSS to your physics, physical science and chemistry teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science Practices and AI integration. Bring a device to this interactive session and 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 simulation software for data exploration and science investigation developed by The Concord Consortium across decades of NSF funding. Participants will explore molecular models, biology models, earth science models, data exploration tools and more, and learn how they can be used to enhance use of three-dimensional learning in the classroom. Examples and hands-on interaction will engage participants in using models and simulations for powerful NGSS-aligned teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will demonstrate a wide variety of free simulation software developed by The Concord Consortium over a decade of NSF funding. Participants will explore molecular models, authentic biological simulations, physics interactives, and integrated data exploration opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

Attendees will see how using cardsorts have helped students create student centered activites and self discoveries. These activities are used as pre-lessons, reviews, or even data collection activites. From atomic mass to Zeff, come prepared to play cards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ideas on how to incorporate card sorts into lesson for pre, post and in lesson activites.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Coker

Students’ early success and skills learned in introductory chemistry courses are critical to successful completion of STEM degrees. One way to teach these skills is by targeting students’ social-psychological beliefs through interventions, like growth-mindset (GM) and effective learning strategies (ELS). Two chemistry-based GM and ELS modules were designed and implemented at two institutions. Here, chemistry serves as a model to show how science content can be integrated into discipline-based GM and ELS modules. These strategies are adaptable to other STEM fields, which share common practices and concepts. In this workshop, we will discuss the design, implementation, and findings of GM and ELS interventions aimed at supporting diverse science learners, especially those who may face challenges or need support engaging in science learning. Instructors will learn to tailor interventions to their teaching contexts and receive resources to engage class-wide discussions on GM and ELS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to design and implement science-based growth mindset and effective learning strategies interventions in STEM classes and will be engaged in groups to discuss research findings and collaborate on customizing interventions to their own specific teaching contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Julia Chan

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Stop the daydreaming and start the questioning! This high-energy session focuses on the power of the "visual hook" to drive engagement through the undeniable evidence of chemistry in action. Witness a series of demonstrations—from vibrant color changes and dramatic shifts in state to unexpected phenomena like boiling water in a bell jar or reactive metals in oil. These techniques grab attention and trigger immediate curiosity for students at all levels. Designed for any stage of a career, new and veteran teachers alike will leave with a practical toolkit of safe, high-impact demos ready for use on Monday morning!

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Re-engagement strategies serve the purpose to support students after a formative progress checkpoint. The goal of these strategies is to answer the questions of "How will we respond when students do not learn?" and "How will we extend learning to those who are already proficient?" In this session I will share the types of re-engagement strategies that I have developed over my time as a Disciplinary Literacy TOSA and piloted in my High School Chemistry and Physics classes. These interactive strategies will be showcased within the context of several lessons where I utilize universal supports, administer 3-Dimensional formative assessments, and then re-engage students to deepen their understanding of both the science content and skills. Participants will walk away with a list of instructional routines to use in their own classrooms and a better understanding of how to use these strategies to re-engage students after completing an assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session attendees will learn about the importance of re-engagement strategies and walk away with specific strategies and lessons to fill in missing conceptual understanding, raise cognitive demands, and improve students' scientific literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Stein Meisner

Years ago, I believed that leaving the classroom for administration was the only way to impact science education. Over time, I have learned that true leadership can flourish within the classroom. Through various opportunities and experiences, I have evolved as a science education leader while continuing to teach. Each new role challenged me, pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and reignited my passion for teaching. Your journey as a science education leader may look different from mine, and that is perfectly fine. What matters most is continuing to grow and evolve in ways that strengthen both your leadership and your classroom practice. As we grow as leaders, our students also benefit. Join me and learn how you can evolve as a science education leader, and how your growth can empower other educators as well as your students to grow.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaways for this session is for participants to recognize their leadership, pinpoint opportunities to lead, act to expand their impact, and guide others to become leaders which will create a ripple effect in science education.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Harry

Innovative chemistry labs focused on current topics play an essential role in inspiring and educating students at the undergraduate and high school levels. A timely example is the ongoing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. One promising approach to mitigate the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is the electrochemical reduction of CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a valuable precursor for renewable fuels. This presentation shows the development of a low-cost H-cell system so that CO2 electrolysis can be explored in the classroom laboratory. Different variables, including electrolyte source/concentration, voltage level, and CO2 source (compressed tank, human breath, mineral water, and dry ice), were investigated to determine their impact on CO2 production. With the results from these trials, a hands-on, accessible laboratory experiment was designed to make these complex scientific concepts become real for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
This new laboratory activity empowers all students to actively explore key principles in electrochemistry and current trends in renewable energy, promoting engineering, collaboration and problem solving in a hands-on, innovative, and accessible experiment.

SPEAKERS:
Kyra Morris

This study investigate the use of Alaskan blueberries as a natural and sustainable alternative to commercial pH indicators by creating a homemade pH test papers. The objective was to determine whether the blueberry juice, rich in anthocyanin, a class of naturally occurring plant pigments. This research also aimed to explore their practical applications in educational and environmental contexts. This project demonstrates pH paper production using locally sourced plant, offering an alternative indicators. In addition, this experiment presents valuable opportunities for hands-on learning in classrooms. Overall, the research highlights a simple yet effective way to merge environmental awareness with scientific inquiry by utilizing native resources for chemical testing. The researcher finds a potential feasibility of Alaskan blueberries as a natural alternative pH indicator. It can change a color and determine the acid and basic solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
The attendees will learn that being able to deliver a lesson with the used of localized materials with the used of localized and cultural-based resources can play a vital role in students' s learning success which can lead also to have a meaningful science experiment.

SPEAKERS:
Nova Paul, Skyla Frank-Young, Allison Demit, Adrian Suladay

There are limited resources to aid students in learning challenging concepts in higher education. The lack of educational tool development may originate from assumptions that gamification of learning is elementary at this level or does not convey the rigor of the material to be learned. A course critical for the majority of STEM majors is biochemistry, which often lacks engaging learning resources. One of the fundamental concepts in biochemistry is learning the twenty common amino acids. Inspired by the popular New York Times word game, our team has developed an online gamification tool for the purpose of aiding students in learning the twenty amino acids. Using our program, Aminole, students are provided a way to improve their recall of amino acids in an engaging and repetitive way. Currently, the application is being piloted in large lecture introductory biochemistry courses. The long-term goal of this work is to make this tool a widely available resource for college students.

TAKEAWAYS:
We have developed a fun and interactive game to aid students in learning biochemistry concepts through repetition. While this game is specifically designed for biochemistry, the goal is to spark conversations and ideas on development of similar tools for students in higher education.

SPEAKERS:
Janie McDonald, Sydney Kaminsky, Cooper Gill, Heidi Anderson, Davis Katz

This poster will showcase practical ways to make chemistry more engaging, accessible, and memorable by integrating student choice, gamified learning, and creative activities into daily instruction. The focus is on increasing motivation, conceptual understanding, and classroom community by inviting students to take an active role in shaping their learning experiences. Participants will see examples of how these approaches have been used to boost participation and collaboration in real classrooms with real student feedback (without requiring extensive prep time or expensive materials). Each activity aligns with NGSS science practices and can be easily adapted for a range of high school chemistry courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will walk away with ready-to-use ideas and full access to a shared Google Drive folder containing templates, printable game materials, digital activity links, and resources they can immediately bring back to their classrooms to make chemistry learning more engaging.

SPEAKERS:
Cassie Herndon

Students love labs. Students love food. How can we use both to transform students’ ideas about what “doing science” is and can be ? How can we do so while keeping up rigor and preparing students for more advanced science classes? See how to build foundational science skills & practices, connect science to students’ everyday lives, and leverage students’ unique backgrounds & ideas through food-based phenomena. Hear from teachers in different classrooms across the U.S. to get a taste for what using food-based phenomena can look like with a variety of student populations and needs, and get answers to questions like: How can we draw on students' interests and experiences outside the classroom effectively? How can we encourage student curiosity? What does this look like logistically? What does grading look like?

TAKEAWAYS:
Hear from teachers in different classrooms who have used lessons and units centered around food-based phenomena like tea, syrup, popcorn, salt, bread, pancakes, and more. Learn how this has helped student engagement, understanding of science concepts, and students’ ideas about what science is.

SPEAKERS:
Miriam McMillian, Ashley Vandgrift, Shawn Boggs, Kate Strangfeld

This poster presents a classroom-tested chemistry lesson on nixtamalization—the Indigenous process of cooking corn in an alkaline solution—to introduce students to reaction rates and collision theory through a culturally relevant lens. Structured with the 5E model, the lesson engages students in hands-on investigations comparing alkaline concentrations, modeling molecular collisions, and analyzing authentic data. Anchor charts capture evolving student wonderings, while differentiated assessments support multilingual and Indigenous learners. The poster showcases a visual storyline of the lesson’s “before, during, and after” phases, complete with student work samples and molecular models. Participants will leave with classroom-ready resources and strategies for linking chemistry concepts to community knowledge and cultural identity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience a ready-to-implement 5E lesson connecting chemistry content with culture. Explore methods for integrating Indigenous science into NGSS-aligned instruction. Access classroom-tested tools—worksheets, prompts, and adaptable assessments.

SPEAKERS:
Deena Gould, Daniel Delgado

Undergraduate students often struggle to connect abstract biochemical concepts with dynamic physiological processes. To address this challenge, we developed Cardio Chemistry: The Human Element, a guided-inquiry biochemistry lab activity in which students collected and analyzed their own physiological data during controlled exercise. Implemented in an upper-level laboratory course at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution, the intervention was evaluated using pre/post assessments, surveys, reflective responses, and exam comparisons. Results showed significant gains in conceptual understanding of the Bohr effect, increased familiarity with physiological metrics (p < 0.001), and higher final exam scores among participants. Student reflections emphasized enhanced engagement and clinical relevance, suggesting that integrating wearable sensors and personal health data into biochemistry instruction fosters interdisciplinary learning and improves knowledge transfer to real-world contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how using wearable technology and personal health data in undergraduate labs bridges abstract biochemical concepts with real physiology, leading to measurable gains in comprehension, engagement, and applications of oxygen delivery.

SPEAKERS:
Corey Damon

Discover the Health DataWell instructional materials, co-developed by HESI and NSTA, to address the lack of materials focused on public health and data literacy. The materials provide opportunities for students to build data literacy by analyzing complex public health data, using statistics and computational models, and comparing sources to develop evidence-based explanations and solutions. In this session, you will hear from teachers who implemented the materials (Health Data Well Ambassadors) and gain practical strategies for utilizing complex public health data analysis tools with your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain practical strategies for implementing the Health DataWell instructional materials, focusing on using real-world data and data analysis tools to identify disparities in health outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Davis

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

In many science departments, lab safety relies heavily on the individual judgment and past experiences of teachers. However, experience can create blind spots where familiarity leads to informal protocols and unrecognized risks. This session challenges the reliance on personal intuition and introduces a systematic, shared framework for risk management. We will explore how to transition from isolated safety habits to a unified culture where educators explicitly uncover, name, and mitigate hazards through a common language. By moving toward a documented, framework-based approach, leadership can reduce liability and ensure a consistent standard of protection across every classroom. Attendees will leave with a 180-day plan for implementing a comprehensive lab safety framework within their own schools or districts. This session is appropriate for administrators and science teachers at all grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Experience firsthand how PASCO puts a modern spin on four classic Gas Laws. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to facilitate sensor-based chemistry labs. Lead your students in hands-on experiments to determine Boyle's Law, Charles’ Law, Amonton’s (Gay-Lussac’s) Law, and Avogadro’s Law. For Boyle’s Law, we will demonstrate ways to easily graph the relationship between gas pressure and volume. Then, we will find the extrapolation of absolute zero for Charles’ Law. Next, we will explore Amonton's (Gay-Lussac's) Law to investigate the relationship between gas temperature and pressure. For our final lab, we will collect data to graph and calculate Avogadro's Law relating the number of moles of a gas to its volume.

SPEAKERS:
Roger Palmer

We will introduce our NSTA book containing a collection of units and resources to help teachers engage students in three-dimensional learning through model-based inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about four chemistry model-based inquiry units for rigorous and equitable instruction. Developed with secondary science teachers, the session guides three-dimensional learning, anchoring phenomena, modeling, and scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Audrey Baird, Jennifer Askew, Ron Gray

Description * How can learning about race, migration, and social justice issues occur within science curricula? This interactive workshop seeks to reimagine science instruction beyond rote-memorization and English-only practices. Justice means repositioning science as multilingual and multicultural, welcoming the diverse ways of knowing, doing, and speaking. Participants will engage with a model lesson that recognizes and challenges science’s history of exclusion, while fostering multilingual engagement and drawing on student funds of knowledge. Through discussions, we will reflect on curriculum while re-imagining ways we can integrate culturally and linguistically just practices that reflect and empowers all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science teaching can be reimagined as a multilingual and multicultural while aligning to the NGSS. Educators can integrate students’ diverse ways of knowing and speaking making learning more equitable and empowering all science learners.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Bonilla, Karina Hernandez

Sponsoring Company: Ward's Science

Too much work to do in preparation for OpenSciEd? We will share some time-saving measures and enhancements to give you back time to enlighten your students' learning of magnetism, electricity, and spectroscopy using Ward’s Science Kits. Get better results with less hassle.

SPEAKERS:
Norman Marshall

How can science classrooms - whether general, honors, or co-taught-become spaces where every student sees themselves as a scientist and engages in authentic sensemaking? This interactive session will showcase teaching strategies and classroom practices that transform high school science instruction into accessible, student-centered learning experiences across disciplines, including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Forensic Science, and IB Sports Science. Using the four pillars of sensemaking-participants will explore how intentional lesson design fosters deeper understanding, motivation, and equity in science learning. Presenters will model approaches to integrate real-world phenomena (integrate real-world phenomena with student-driven inquiry and collaboration. These examples will include adaptations for co-taught classrooms, highlighting how strategies can support diverse learners, including students with IEPs, English Learners, and those needing enrichment.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway from this session is that every high school science classroom-whether general, honors, or co-taught-can be a space where students learn science by doing science. Participants will leave with ready-to-implement strategies that balance rigor and accessibility.

SPEAKERS:
Ramon Reeves, Shannon Harris, Tracy Joyner, Dana Peeples

Why do some burned hillsides suddenly flood or slide after a storm? This session uses phenomena-based instruction to explore how soil chemistry and structure regulate water movement, nutrient transport, and pollutant filtration. Participants will engage in hands-on activities that model how soils can absorb or repel water, store and release nutrients, and contribute to hazards such as flooding, landslides, and fire-altered soils that become water-repellent. Investigating soil data and maps, educators will uncover how soil processes connect to essential Earth and environmental science concepts. Participants will leave with freely available resources, professional development opportunities, and strategies for guiding students to explain natural hazards and ecosystem functions through the lens of soil science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Why do burned slopes flood or slide? Engage your students in hands-on soil investigations to uncover how structure and chemistry regulate water flow, stability, and susceptibility to hazards and take home free resources to spark phenomena-based learning in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Natalie Macke

Join us for an interactive session that will empower you to bring the rich, student-centered learning experiences called for by the NGSS into your own classroom. In this workshop, you'll engage in collaborative, small-group activities designed to deepen your understanding of how to use meaningful tasks to spark productive and inclusive student conversations. You'll walk away with practical strategies for designing lessons that foster active sense-making through talk, as well as routines and norms that ensure every student has a voice in the discussion. Here’s what you can expect: • The Power of Talk in Learning (10 min): Why meaningful conversations are essential for student growth. • Hands-On Experience (30 min): Engage in two examples of tasks that encourage inclusive, collaborative student discussions. • Designing for Engagement (10 min): Learn key principles for structuring discussions that increases participation and sensemaking. • Next Steps (5 min): Resources you can use

TAKEAWAYS:
The establishment of routines and norms and the use of meaningful tasks are critical for increasing productive participation in small group and whole class discussions.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson

Sponsoring Company: South Dakota State University

Chemistry demonstrations are widely accepted as a method of instruction as they can create that moment of insight students need to engage their brain in the topic. This presentation will show safe chemical demonstrations, discuss recipes, and consider safe methods of disposal for all materials. As part of this workshop we will advertise two 1-credit courses offered at South Dakota State University regarding the use of and how to prepare demonstrations and three 1-credit courses involving topics about safety and chemical disposal issues.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Miller

Sponsoring Company: Biozone, Inc.

Chemistry can be a tough subject to make accessible. Discover how BIOZONE’s new title, Chemistry Explained, brings clarity, confidence, and real-world relevance to every learner. We’ll explore how our interactive worktexts build understanding through how-to guides, worked examples, annotations, foundational explanations, and real-world applications that make abstract ideas tangible. As we unpack Chemistry Explained, you’ll see BIOZONE’s student-centered pedagogy in action and how thoughtful scaffolding breaks down complex concepts without watering them down. Learn how the Teacher Toolkit, our digital platform BIOZONE WORLD, and the Resource Hub streamline planning, enrich lessons, and offer flexible tools for diverse classrooms. Attendees receive a FREE print copy & 30-day digital access to a title of their choice.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

Sponsoring Company: Positive Physics, Chemistry, Biology+

Positive Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Env Science is award-winning lesson and question bank built by teachers for student success. Key features include: + Immediate feedback / automatic grading + Randomized values to prevent copying + Google Classroom, Canvas & Schoology Integration + Built-in AI Tutor + Super Responsive Customer Service Attendees will receive a free school-wide subscription for the rest of the school year.

SPEAKERS:
Jack Replinger

Sponsoring Company: Comak

Teachers still think with pencils, markers, and quick sketches. The challenge comes when those ideas need to become clean, reusable teaching materials. Join this session to see how you can preserve the human side of teaching while creating clearer, easier-to-update lesson visuals without losing momentum.

In this session, we will engage in parts of a lesson that center around the phenomenon of tea. Participants will engage in an easy and simple lab that is used as an entry point to explore foundational concepts like particle models, states of matter, energy, and temperature. Participants will also explore how different cultures around the world make tea with different natural resources. Activities heavily emphasize NGSS standards and science practices. In a broader sense, participants can see how to use food in safe, low-cost, and accessible ways to make science more engaging and to empower students to make sense of things they see in their everyday lives and design their own investigations. Learn how different teachers use this as an introductory lesson in a larger series of lessons that encourage students to make connections between science, cooking, and their lives. Participants will engage in supported classroom routines that emphasize collaboration, observations, & lab skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to teach foundational science concepts like states of matter and particle models in fun and investigative ways using tea. Participants will engage in a simple lab, explore how different teas are made and see ways to empower student-led investigations in supported and scaffolded ways.

SPEAKERS:
Miriam McMillian, Ashley Vandgrift, Shawn Boggs, Kate Strangfeld

What comes first in your chemistry classroom, explanations or lab? Traditionally, chemistry is “taught” and then followed with a highly structured lab to reinforce the learning. However, the 5E Instructional Model flips this order upside down! Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate make up the 5Es, with Exploration right up front. But what does an exploration-based chemistry lab look like? How do you take a more traditional lab and convert it to an authentic opportunity for student discovery before they read a single sentence from a textbook? We’ll tackle these questions and show you how to facilitate discovery that will provide a truly 3D experience of chemistry in alignment with the NGSS. We will also explore the chemistry-specific research on why "lab first" improves students' views about science, and why "lab last," the old way, strengthens students' naive views about science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to redesign traditional labs into exploration-first experiences that spark curiosity, align with NGSS, and shift student views of science from rote memorization to authentic discovery.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Moore

Unleash student engagement using Marvel superheroes and villains to teach physical vs. chemical changes, elements, and the periodic table. Students use comic-book characters to explore real chemical reactions, CERs, and hands-on Marvel-themed labs like “Captain Combustion,” “Acid vs. Base Battle,” and “Villainous Variables.” Ideal for NGSS-aligned middle school science teachers looking to integrate pop culture into student-centered inquiry and culturally responsive pedagogy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with ready-to-use Marvel-themed chemistry lessons that integrate NGSS practices and engage diverse learners through superheroes.

SPEAKERS:
Ricardo Padilla

Interested in learning to incorporate the NGSS SEP “Using Computational Thinking” into your secondary science course but not sure where to start? Join us and learn how students can use computational thinking (CT) skills like decomposition, abstraction, and algorithm design to tackle complex problems or phenomena in a structured way. We will share our experiences implementing a CT+CHEM unit in the classroom and interviewing students. The session will offer you beginner-friendly CT tools and student samples to help you start integrating computational thinking into topics you already teach (whether physical science, life science, or earth science)!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to describe what computational thinking looks like in high school science classrooms and take away 5 teaching strategies and beginner-friendly tools to get students to use computational thinking while making sense of phenomena in their science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Dozier, Jessica Mendoza

Innovative chemistry labs focused on current topics play an essential role in inspiring and educating students at the undergraduate and high school levels. A timely example is the ongoing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. One promising approach to mitigate the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is the electrochemical reduction of CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a valuable precursor for renewable fuels. This presentation showcases the development of an accessible laboratory activity that could be utilized by students of all levels of chemistry, by focusing on electrolysis of CO2 to form CO, with the explanation of how this produced CO can be utilized in a “flow-battery” system reliant on renewable energy derived fuels.

TAKEAWAYS:
This new laboratory activity empowers all students to actively explore key principles in electrochemistry and current trends in renewable energy, promoting engineering, collaboration and problem solving in a hands-on, innovative and accessible experiment.

SPEAKERS:
Kyra Morris

This session will discuss the outcomes of a research project that focuses on integrating the use of VR labs to enhance and develop the curriculum for the Chemistry classroom. Our motivation thrived on minimizing safety concerns related to the handling of lab equipment, open flames or chemicals; providing equitable learning experience for students with different backgrounds and academic levels; accessing more challenging chemistry topics and providing students with meaningful connections between the curriculum and the real-world. In the first year of the project teachers focused on curriculum development, learning how to effectively use VR technology, writing grants to purchase the VR sets, and finding the most appropriate software to be used. The second year, the team worked with the implementation of VR technology along with the curriculum already developed. The data with our results will be presented with the goal of spreading the implementation of this approach on other STEM courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will observe some of the most popular VR Labs for the Chemistry classroom as well as samples of the lessons used with the students. Participants will also have the opportunity to experiment with the VR sets to have a glance of what students experienced when performing this type of labs.

SPEAKERS:
Ileana Bermudez Luna

Effective and equitable student sensemaking in science classrooms relies on authentic, collaborative experiences engaging in the NGSS SEPs. Yet, teachers may struggle to facilitate cohesive groups where all voices are heard and ideas are developed equitably. This session will provide concrete strategies for designing and supporting student groups that actively engage in sensemaking around phenomena. Participants will analyze classroom examples of student interactions to explore the social, cognitive, and affective dimensions of group cohesion. We will share specific strategies including “off-topic talk debriefs” after collaborative activities to strengthen group cohesion and support productive engagement in the SEPs argumentation and explanation and “co-designed student groups” which elicits student input when designing and facilitating groups. These tools can be used to promote deeper understanding of phenomena and ensure an equitable experience in groups.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with two practical strategies to build and support cohesive student groups. Participants will be able to explain the role of the social, cognitive, and affective dimensions of group work and use student perspectives to turn group activities into powerful sensemaking opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Dozier, Donald Buckley

Join us for an engaging introduction to a new digital platform designed to bring safety science into undergraduate chemistry and engineering education. Developed by the Institute of Research Experiences and Education at UL Research Institutes, this innovative resource helps students explore real-world applications of safety science through case studies. Tailored for integration into existing coursework, the platform supports instructors in fostering critical thinking around consumer safety, risk analysis, and responsible product development practices. Attendees will gain insight into the platform’s features, pedagogical alignment, and opportunities for classroom implementation. Discover how this tool empowers the next generation of scientists to prioritize safety in their academic and professional pursuits.

TAKEAWAYS:
Undergraduate chemistry, physical science, and engineering instructors will be introduced to a new digital platform that seamlessly integrates safety science into coursework, equipping students with essential knowledge and skills to prioritize safety in scientific practice and consumer product use.

SPEAKERS:
Bethany King Wilkes, UrLeaka Newsome

Stoichiometry is frequently one of the most difficult units in a chemistry course. While dimensional analysis is a powerful tool that can be applied to a wide range of problems, novice chemistry students struggle when required to chain multiple conversion factors together. Even for many students who do succeed, the approach is algorithmic and non-intuitive. This session will use the NGSS cross cutting concept of scale, proportion, and quantity to provide an alternative approach to solving questions involving theoretical yields, limiting reactants, and other stoichiometry aligned concepts. Not only will students find greater success with solving the problems, they will have much better intuition about the process and understand the significance behind each step in the calculations. This presentation is also great for teachers with a non-chemistry background who have been assigned to teach chemistry and have concerns about the stoichiometry unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn an alternative approach to solving stoichiometry problems that will allow students to experience success much more quickly in solving stoichiometry problems while simultaneously improving the intuitive understanding behind each step in the calculations.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Carlson

As graduation nears, many students remain unsure of their career goals, and the steps to obtain a career path remains unclear. To bridge the gap between STEM education and workforce, an innovative science career course (SCC) emphasizing real-world professions was designed. Teaching strategies include collaborating with an industry outreach program to teach disciplinary problems, inviting guest speakers, marketing oneself, and presenting group projects. This study evaluates to what extent the SCC impacts students’ career readiness, competency, and career choices through mixed-methods approach. Repeated surveys, exit tickets, and open-ended questions were administered over the semester. Results showed that the SCC significantly increased students’ career readiness and competency. This presentation showcases the unique features of the SCC course and explores how such courses deepen students’ understanding of STEM sectors and sharpen students’ skills in planning an actionable career path.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn teaching strategies for designing an innovative science career course, how to facilitate discussions in science careers with students, and assessments for measuring student growth in career development.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Ana Ramirez

This session features a culturally relevant, phenomenon-driven chemistry lesson that teaches reaction rates and collision theory through the Indigenous process of nixtamalization—cooking corn in an alkaline solution to release nutrients. Structured with the 5E model, students investigate how changing alkaline concentration affects reaction rates through hands-on labs, molecular modeling, and authentic data analysis. The lesson bridges chemistry and culture, supporting sensemaking through anchoring phenomena and student-generated questions aligned with NGSS HS-PS1-5. Participants will engage with classroom-tested strategies, sample student work, and adaptable assessments that promote equity, deepen engagement, and affirm cultural identity. The session offers practical guidance for connecting rigorous scientific inquiry with community knowledge to enhance student belonging in chemistry classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how nixtamalization can anchor culturally relevant chemistry instruction. Experience hands-on and modeling strategies that strengthen sensemaking in reaction-rate lessons. Access adaptable NGSS-aligned tools to promote equity and student identity in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Deena Gould, Daniel Delgado

This session explores collaborative learning exercises using manipulatives like pop-beads to enhance student understanding of cellular respiration and fermentation. By engaging their tactile sense, students actively participate in tracing a glucose molecule (modeled by a string of 6 pop-beads) through the various stages outlined on a provided handout. This hands-on approach allows them to track carbon movement and record its release throughout the process. Additionally, students learn to distinguish between energy production via substrate-level phosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation. The activity fosters a clear understanding of how glucose hydrolysis fuels cellular processes. This simplified approach to cellular respiration and fermentation effectively conveys key details without sacrificing scientific accuracy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Unravel the secrets of cellular respiration! Track the fate of carbon atoms in glucose as it undergoes oxidation through various stages.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah Cardenas

Tired of digital overload and one-size-fits-all assessments? Explainers invite students to put pencils—and brains—back in motion. These hand-drawn, color-rich creations combine words, visuals, and annotation to reveal what students really understand about science concepts. Developed over eight years in a chemistry & physics classroom, Explainers transform assessment into an act of learning and reflection. Participants will see classroom-tested examples, learn the core design principles (“the non-negotiables”), and explore how Explainers align with NGSS and formative assessment goals. Walk away with templates, rubrics, and strategies for implementing this simple yet powerful practice that celebrates clarity, creativity, and comprehension.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how to spark deeper understanding with hand-drawn “Explainers” that make thinking visible, transform assessment into learning, and re-engage students through creativity, color, and clarity—no screens required.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Brady

Join for an interactive session, where we will explore how the Flipped Classroom model and the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework can transform student learning and engagement. This session will highlight practical strategies for shifting direct instruction outside the classroom, freeing up valuable in-class time for collaborative, inquiry-based learning in chemistry classroom. Participants will discover how integrating CER into flipped lessons empowers students to think critically, construct scientific explanations, and support their claims with evidence and logical reasoning. Through real-world examples, hands-on activities, and discussion, educators will leave with actionable tools to foster deeper understanding, promote student voice, and enhance formative assessment practices. Whether you're new to flipped learning or looking to refine your use of CER, this session offers insights and inspiration to elevate your teaching practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session equips educators with practical strategies for designing flipped lessons that incorporate CER seamlessly. Participants will explore real classroom examples, tackle common challenges, and engage in hands-on activities that model the CER process.

SPEAKERS:
Bhagyashree Kulkarni

Forensics on the Fly is an innovative program that brings forensic science into high school classrooms. Developed by recognized forensic scientists, it translates professional lab practices into accessible experiments reflecting real-world methods. Students explore forensic biology, chemistry, and toxicology, learning how science applies to evidence examination. Each module combines lectures with hands-on labs emphasizing the scientific method and data analysis. Students conduct tests using materials that simulate forensic samples, reinforcing key concepts in biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology. Interactive elements like assessments and critical-thinking challenges evaluate understanding and application of science in context. Successfully implemented in schools across Greater Philadelphia, the program shows gains in student engagement and retention. Scalable nationwide, it adapts well to STEM fields emphasizing lab-based, career-connected learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
By bridging theoretical instruction with practical experimentation, Forensics on the Fly exemplifies modern STEM pedagogy—cultivating observation, inference, and problem-solving skills while fostering a deeper understanding of how science operates in real-world forensic investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Coral Smith

Writing laboratory reports is a powerful way to assess student understanding and scientific communication skills. However, grading these reports is often time-consuming for both students and teachers, which limits the amount and quality of feedback that can be provided. Even with rubrics, the many required elements of a lab report can make consistent evaluation a challenge.  While AI (artificial intelligence) platforms offer new ways to support assessment, most fall short when analyzing graphical data. In this workshop, I will share how I have integrated AI to provide efficient, standards-based grading and actionable feedback in my honors physics and AP chemistry classes to evaluate lab reports against state standards and custom rubric criteria. Participants will see how an open inquiry lab using a graphical analysis application can be used to teach key concepts, measure student learning, and be used with certain AI programs to streamline grading—all while enhancing the feedback students receive.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to use an AI-powered learning management system to efficiently grade lab reports against state standards and custom rubric items. This includes saving time, improving consistency, and delivering more meaningful feedback to students.

SPEAKERS:
Randy Booth

Helping students make sense of the natural world is at the heart of science teaching. This session explores how thinking strategies make student reasoning visible and serve as powerful assessment tools. Participants will see examples from 7th and 8th-grade classrooms where students use prompts and data to explain Earth and chemical processes, including a local water quality study that connects chemistry, geography, and human impact on ecosystems. These strategies help students explain ideas clearly, test them with evidence, and revise their understanding as they connect scientific concepts to real-world systems. Teachers will see how notebooks, models, and discussion reveal growth in reasoning and provide authentic assessment data. They also support all learners by offering multiple ways to represent and share thinking. Teachers can use this evidence to assess both understanding and process as students engage in scientific sensemaking and deeper conceptual understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to use thinking strategies as assessment tools to make student reasoning visible, support all types of learners, and deepen understanding through authentic, evidence-based scientific sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Lara Kossiakoff

As students transition into college-level STEM courses, they face more complex course material and higher academic expectations. Without adequate skills, academic success may be at risk. This study designed two chemistry-based learning interventions (Growth Mindset, GM and Effective Learning Strategies, ELS) to support diverse learners by targeting mindset beliefs, learning strategies, and learning outcomes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four study groups: control (tips), GM, ELS or GM+ELS. Mixed-methods were used for evaluation; Quantitative analyses found that GM+ELS group achieved higher averages across final exam scores and GPA. Synergistic effects between GM and ELS were evidenced in students’ personal reflections and focus group interviews. This study showcases the integration between science and social-psychological interventions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to engage students with discipline-based growth mindset and effective learning strategies modules in STEM classes, especially for students who may face barriers to engagement in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Natalia Morales, Jocelyn Diaz

Many middle school students exhibit one or more of the characteristics of dependent learners, which include reliance on the teacher and scaffolds, hesitance towards new tasks and difficulty making “real world” connections. Students may exhibit characteristics of dependent learners because they have not built the cognitive processes that enable them to do complex thinking and independent learning. Project based learning (PBL) can promote acquisition of knowledge and skills, cognitive growth and active participation in the learning process, which may facilitate students' cognitive growth and transition to independent learner. Results of a study on the impact of an Earth Sciences PBL entitled “LA Through Time” on cognitive growth and transition from dependent to independent learner in eighth-grade middle school science students will be presented.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how project based learning can be used to strengthen cognitive processes and transition of middle school students to independent learners.

SPEAKERS:
Renee JiJi

Sponsoring Company: Comak

Teachers’ most valuable asset is time. A large part of that time is spent redrawing content to keep lessons fresh and engaging. See how Comak turns classroom sketches into editable visuals you can update, reuse, and drop into teaching materials fast.

How can we make concepts like atomic structure interesting to students? Explore a lesson on sports drinks that is rooted in sense making through data and investigations, but also emphasizes core chemistry concepts, avoids “phenomena-fatigue,” and relates to students’ everyday lives. In this session, participants will engage in a variety of sensemaking activities to explore “what makes electrolyte-based drinks unique” (which includes a mini-lab). Participants will then see how this can be used to drive investigations and questions about atomic structure and subatomic particles. They will engage in another hands-on activity that makes these highly conceptual topics more tangible and drives student learning. We will discuss ways to assess learning through activities that highlight science practices like models and data analysis. Different teachers who have facilitated this lesson across different classes will discuss how their students experienced the lesson and what they learned from

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in two activities that center around making sense of electrolyte-based drinks. They will hear from different teachers about how these activities, as well as a larger series of food-based chemistry lessons, encourage curiosity and interest in chemistry while keeping rigor.

SPEAKERS:
April Thompson, Jacob Rice, David Meyer, Kate Strangfeld, Jacey Hart

Hydrogen is often called the “fuel of the future,” but what does that look like in today’s science classrooms? In this session, high school teachers share how they brought renewable hydrogen technology into chemistry and environmental science courses through a curriculum developed in collaboration with clean energy initiatives. Tested in classrooms, these lessons use real-world phenomena to deepen student understanding of energy, chemical reactions, and sustainability while sparking engagement with cutting-edge clean energy technologies. We will demonstrate how the curriculum was implemented across two disciplines, from stoichiometry and reaction energy profiles to evaluating human impacts on climate change. Attendees will leave with classroom-tested resources, instructional strategies, and assessments that support three-dimensional learning and can be readily adapted across multiple course contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain access to classroom-ready resources that use hydrogen energy as a real-world context for teaching core chemistry and environmental science concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Cassie Herndon

How would you like to use Fruit Loops to show ionic bonding and create Lewis Structures for Binary Ionic Compounds? This hands-on activity shows attendees how to utilize Fruit Loops to show how ionic bonds are formed between metals and nonmetals while creating Lewis Structures for ionic compounds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to make the Fruit Loops for Lewis Structures for Ionic Bonding activity and bring the resource to their high school chemistry and physical science classes at their schools.

SPEAKERS:
Nichole DePaul

Models are excellent tools assisting students’ understanding of chemical reactions. Models enable students to visualize molecular structure and chemical bonding. Students build 3-D structures of glucose using two modeling systems. Models are used to develop questions, predictions, and explanations. Remember, models are representations, not replications. Students explain the photosynthetic reaction in terms of Conservation of Mass and Conservation of Energy. Photosynthesis is not just a chemical equation; it is a physiological process whereby light energy is transformed and stored as chemical energy. LEGOTM bricks and/or MolymodTM atom representations of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen are used to build water and carbon dioxide. Students then build glucose. Oxygen gas is emitted. Students will understand the 3-D structure of the five-carbon, one-oxygen ring in the glucose molecule and discuss how the ring structure affects the orientation of the OH- and H+ groups on the glucose ring.

TAKEAWAYS:
Models of atoms create small molecules, build glucose, and assist students’ understanding of photosynthesis. These models are used to explain chemical bonding and molecular function. Science misconceptions are addressed. Students misconstrue the source of the oxygen gas produced from the reaction.

SPEAKERS:
Suzanne Cunningham

This workshop will allow teachers to see how household items can be used to create lip balm and fragrances. It will show how these items can become high engagement labs that teach wet chemistry methods and basic formulation.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeway for this workshop is to implement low cost chemistry labs using every day household products while explaining chemical concepts.

SPEAKERS:
NiKisha Kelly

In this session, we’ll dive into both formative and summative strategies that get students thinking out loud—whiteboarding, quick checks, CERs (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning), lab assessments, and project-based tasks tied to Science and Engineering Practices. But we won’t stop at theory—you’ll actually chew gum to model counting molecules and build a “mini airbag” with ziplock bags, Alka-Seltzer, and vinegar. Along the way, you’ll pick up ready-to-use activities, creative whiteboarding questions, practice problems, and quick digital reads to keep students engaged and make their thinking visible. Come ready to think like your students—and leave with strategies that will pop, fizz, and stick in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Make student thinking visible with engaging formative and summative strategies—whiteboarding, CERs, labs, and projects. Experience hands-on demos like gum molecule models and a mini airbag while leaving with ready-to-use activities, questions, and tools to spark curiosity.

SPEAKERS:
Kendia Herrington

This presentation shows how teachers at Laguna Beach High School have been using a professional video game development engine (Unity) to create differentiated learning activities that engage students in fun, rewarding explorations of complex concepts. The presentation will focus on Chemistry games designed by teacher Steve Sogo and Biology games designed by teacher Alonda Hartford. Teachers of other subjects are welcome to attend, as the Unity templates provided will enable teachers to make games for any subject. The games shown in this presentation are freely available at the website InteractiveChemistry.org, and Unity itself can be used free of charge by teachers. Participants will leave with a number of innovative teaching tools to add to their classrooms, and motivated teachers can learn how to begin creating their own games with Unity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced to teacher-designed video games that engage students in fun, powerful learning activities. The presentation will provide teachers with free web-based games as well as customizable templates that enable teachers to create their own games.

SPEAKERS:
Steven Sogo

Engage your students in chemistry without breaking the budget! This hands-on workshop will show educators how to create fun, standards-aligned demos and labs using everyday materials from discount/dollar stores. Participants will explore activities featuring items like Twizzlers, candies, and Whack-a-Pack balloons—each linked to NGSS Performance Expectations, Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts. Walk away with ready-to-use, low-cost lesson ideas that make abstract concepts like half-life, stoichiometry, gas laws, and chemical reactions exciting, accessible, and unforgettable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with creative, low-cost chemistry activities using discount store materials that align with NGSS and make complex concepts like half-life, stoichiometry, and gas laws engaging and easy to understand.

SPEAKERS:
Marlene Gutierrez

Too often, science in the earliest grades takes a back seat to literacy and numeracy until high-stakes testing begins in upper elementary. This delay undermines children’s innate curiosity and their capacity to build cross-disciplinary skills. This interactive workshop will invite participants to step into a “student hat” perspective and experience hands-on inquiry activities designed for preschool and early elementary classrooms. Participants will engage in playful investigations of natural phenomena, practice weaving literacy and numeracy into science lessons, and explore strategies for integrating culturally relevant knowledge from families and communities. By modeling these practices, the session demonstrates how early science is not just a content area but a powerful vehicle for language, cognitive development, and equity in learning. This workshop equips teachers with practical tools and inspiration to make science a foundation—not an afterthought—in every child’s education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to: Develop early-science inquiry activities; Apply strategies to integrate literacy, numeracy, and cultural knowledge into science instruction; Advocate for equitable early science education; and Return to school with concrete lessons to elevate science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Shekkola Gray

Copper, with an average atomic mass around 29 amu, is heavier than all of the most common elements in typical crustal rocks. In some places, however, the concentration of copper rises to levels that have attracted the attention of humans longer than any other mineral. This doesn’t make sense based on what we understand about density and how the planet formed. Until very recently scientists could not explain how copper and other heavier elements could rise from deeper inside the Earth all the way to its surface in some places. In this activity, students will create physical models to illustrate the significant differences between seemingly similar small numbers that represent copper concentrations in different types of crustal rocks. They will then create a different type of physical model to visualize how copper gets to the places where we find and mine it.

TAKEAWAYS:
Session attendees will learn how copper and similar element ores form where we find them and visualize what is meant by very small numbers that represent mineral concentrations.

SPEAKERS:
Joshua Page, Dan Moreno

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson, Scott Spohler

The Isotope Walk is an activity for students to learn about isotopes through visualize representation. Attendees will learn how to make various isotopes using beads and petri dishes to bring to life the concept and understanding of isotopes. Attendees will bring back to their schools the resources necessary to make the isotopes for the Isotope Walk activity for their chemistry and physical science classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to make the isotopes to utilize in the Isotope Walk and implement them in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Nichole DePaul

Structured student interactions (SSI) are important because they promote active learning, improve conceptual understating, allow all students to access content, and relay crucial social and emotional skills. Over my past 22 years of teaching I have found ways to incorporate structured student interactions into all of my lessons. During this session participants will learn about the importance of these interactions, gain access to a list of many types of SSI, and be lead through practicing SSI during a lesson on energy including a SEL check-in, partner listen and share, group models, driver-navigator routine, and partner reflection. Although these strategies are pulled from my chemistry and physics classroom they can be used in any science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a greater appreciation for the importance of structured student interactions, the confidence in using them in their own classrooms, and a list of interactions with step-by-step instructions to seamlessly integrate into their own lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Stein Meisner