Climate change naysayers, anti-vaxxers, COVID myths, wonder diets & greenwashing by industry -- all challenge our students. Here, we present a set of inquiry lessons for developing competences in NGSS SEP#8, “Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information.” Help students navigate the concepts of scienc media literacy: expertise, credibility, the role of consensus and institutions, the nature of trust, cognitive pitfalls, and recognition of deceptive tactics. From the Editor of the "Fact-or-Faux" column in NSTA's The Science Teacher.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore a collection of inquiry lessons about scientific misinformation and media literacy practices. "Fantastic Beasts" | "The Vaccine Skeptics of 1721" | "Fact Checking 101 & 102" | "The New Madrid Earthquake, 1990" | "The Science Liars Game" | "The Noisy Response to Silent Spring, 1963" & more.

SPEAKERS:
DOUGLAS ALLCHIN

Looking to elevate student achievement through immersive learning? Discover how to harness the universal appeal of flight by captivating students with lessons and engaging activities rooted in biology standards while exploring exciting and fast-growing aviation career fields!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies to construct activities resulting in greater interest and mastery of biology for students in grades K-12. Explore distinct professional practices that expand biology standards into unforgettable learning experiences associated with human life, animals, plantlife, and so much more!

SPEAKERS:
Jesse Steiner, Christina Davis

This poster presents a lesson that has students explore how single phrases can allow you to pick up on a source’s tone towards climate change. Students begin by highlighting and coding an article using a key provided with the goal of identifying biases in the news source. Then, students create a blackout poem using the key phrases they identified to focus attention on the source’s bias towards climate science. This lesson combines critical reading & creative writing with climate science communications and is adaptable for students ranging from middle school to graduate school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will learn how to identify hidden biases in news sources discussing climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Zachary Krauss

Discover the fun and fundamentals of STEM with this hands-on workshop on building balloon cars from recycled materials. This session is designed to inspire creativity and innovation using everyday items like plastic bottles, cardboard, and bottle caps. Participants will learn key engineering principles, including Newton's laws of motion, aerodynamics, and friction, through an engaging, project-based activity. This is more than just a craft project; it's a practical lesson in sustainable design and problem-solving. We will cover the entire design process, from brainstorming and material selection to construction and testing. You'll leave with a fully functional, self-propelled balloon car and a new perspective on upcycling. This workshop is perfect for educators, students, and anyone interested in making science accessible and exciting. Join us to transform trash into a thrilling race car!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to set up an engaging, hands-on lesson using simple recycled materials like plastic bottles and cardboard to teach core engineering and physics principles, foster creative problem-solving, and highlight the benefits of sustainable design in a fun, educational activity.

SPEAKERS:
Daniell Cossey

Join us for our Earthquake Tower Share-a-Thon, where student engineering teams present their earthquake-resistant structures and share what they’ve learned about seismic waves, plate boundaries, and earthquake-proof design. This event highlights the creativity, problem-solving, and scientific thinking of our student engineers as they rise to the challenge of building and testing their towers on the Shake Rattle and Roll Earthquake Board.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain a ready-to-use, hands-on engineering project that integrates seamlessly with earth science concepts. This activity equips students with authentic opportunities to apply vocabulary, practice critical thinking, and develop design skills while making meaningful, real-world connection

SPEAKERS:
Diane Ripollone

Students will create a Pokémon with specialized structures that assist them with their "powers". This will involve drawing the Pokémon, creating a Pokédex entry, and giving a short presentation about their Pokémon and how its anatomy leads to its function.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to make anatomy and physiology more engaging and relevant to students. It will also allow for more creativity to be involved in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Laurelin Geno

This poster presents a structured group learning activity for teaching PCR, restriction enzymes, and gel electrophoresis in microbial genetics. Students assume defined roles (Encourager, Recorder, Time Keeper) while working through progressively complex scenarios involving primer binding, exponential amplification, and DNA fragment analysis. The activity integrates multiple molecular techniques and includes advanced concepts like DNA methylation effects. Initial implementation showed an increased in student engagement and understanding compared to traditional lectures.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to implement structured group roles and scaffolded activities to improve student engagement and understanding of PCR, restriction enzymes, and gel electrophoresis integration.

SPEAKERS:
Louis Bru

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

This lesson incorporates an engaging phenomenon that has been a part of Louisiana history for generations. With our warm an mostly tropical climate, we have become home to several invasive species. Students will first hear about our great states law makers radical resolution for one aggressive plant species in particular and also fix the decline in meat on the bayous! Can you guess the species our dear Huey P was trying to bring into our waterways? The solution was not only 2 fold, but utterly ridiculous! But, this lesson in ecosystem balance, biodiversity, natural selection, and invasive species shines light on how far we have come and how biotechnology may pave the way ahead in ecosystem balance in the future.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ecosystems present as a delicate balance. Our Bayous, though complex and brackish, have a very delicate composition of abiotic and biotic components that make it such a magnificent sanctuary. Solving the problem of invasive species is more difficult due to this balance.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Marshall

I will share my experience using the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope (CHART) in my high school classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
I will explain why and how we should teach radio astronomy in high school.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Palmer

The goal of this poster presentation is to highlight a new interdisciplinary course called Build It, Dream It: The Da Vinci Way. We are already a STEM-centered school, but we wanted to create a course that goes beyond that. We wanted a course that invites students who are artists and who are historians, students who do not view themselves as science-minded. We want to wow these students into understanding that science is embedded in every discipline. Science is thinking critically. It is looking at a problem and brainstorming ways to find an answer. This is done in literature, in math, and in social studies. Overview of Units in this course: Renaissance, The Engineering Process & Art, Simple Machines,. Sculptures,Animal Anatomy, Human Anatomy, and Space. Da Vinci was a master student although he was not well educated in the traditional sense. He thrived on learning and sought out experts to help him absorb knowledge. This is a great starting point for many middle school students.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster highlights Build It, Dream It: The Da Vinci Way, an interdisciplinary course designed to engage all students not just STEM students. The display will showcase the course units, sample activities, guest speakers, student artifacts, and qualitative feedback from students.

SPEAKERS:
Ana Simzer

Dive into a hands-on experience where students explore buoyancy, density, and forces through culturally relevant activities inspired by chinampas and the axolotl! Learners design a floating paper axolotl capable of holding 20 pennies, testing and selecting materials based on observable properties while planning and conducting investigations. By connecting ancient Mesoamerican ingenuity to modern sustainable farms in flood-prone Sri Lanka, students discover how diverse cultural and global perspectives inform real-world problem-solving. These immersive experiences foster curiosity, critical thinking, perseverance, confidence, and positive identification with science, helping learners see themselves as capable problem-solvers and innovators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies to teach buoyancy with hands-on projects inspired by chinampas and axolotls, creating culturally relevant experiences that foster curiosity and problem-solving while helping students see themselves as capable scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Monica Dennis

This poster session highlights climate change lessons and units developed by teachers who participated in a year-long professional development and research experience funded by an NSF grant. The work responds to California Assembly Bill AB 285, which mandates that educators include content on the causes, effects, and strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, with implementation required no later than the 2024–25 school year.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take away classroom-tested ideas for teaching climate change in the areas of water justice, sustainable energy, and waste upcycling.

SPEAKERS:
Bobbi Hansen

This poster highlights the Physics of Climate lesson set, co-created by scientists, teachers, and professional society staff. The lessons address systems thinking, the distinction between climate and weather through data-driven graphing activities, and the physics of greenhouse gases including their role in trapping heat, the effects of absorption and heat islands, and strategies for carbon removal. Designed collaboratively, the lessons combine scientific rigor with classroom practicality, increasing teacher confidence while engaging students in authentic climate data and physics concepts. The co-creation process builds a professional community that values outreach, public engagement, and shared expertise: teachers gain support and confidence, while scientists and staff connect their work to real-world classrooms. This model demonstrates how collaborative partnerships can deepen understanding of climate physics and strengthen both teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Collaborative partnerships between teachers, professors, and professional societies can create research-based physics of climate lessons that both strengthen teacher confidence and engage students in authentic, data-driven climate science.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Schrode

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

Inspired by How to Train Your Dragon and developed through the AEOP-RESET 2025 program, this lesson engages students in asking, “Could a dragon really fly? How big would its wings need to be?” Using film clips, discussion, and the Engineering Design Process, students apply dimensional analysis and the square-cube law to compare real animal flight data with Toothless’ fictional design. Through guided investigations, scaling calculations, and creative blueprinting, students explore math, science, and engineering in a high-engagement, literacy-integrated challenge. The culminating project tasks students with designing a scientifically realistic, flight-capable dragon while documenting their work in an Engineering Design Journal. This session highlights how fantasy and STEM integration can deepen engagement, equity, and critical thinking for diverse learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to integrate fantasy literature with STEM by using dimensional analysis and the Engineering Design Process to engage students in exploring flight, scaling laws, and creative problem-solving through a “Design Your Dragon” challenge.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Alvin De Lara

This Lesson Showcase poster features the Xplorlabs Engineering Design Challenge on lithium-ion battery enclosures. Acting as safety engineers, middle and high school students test materials, develop prototypes, and evaluate how well their enclosures balance thermal protection: too much trapped heat risks runaway, too little risks burns. The lesson mirrors real safety science, referencing safety standards such as UL 2272. The poster highlights the before, during, and after stages: before, students build a foundation in battery science and thermal runaway concepts; during, they apply the engineering design process with data-collection tools and NGSS-aligned practices; after, they compare results, refine designs, and connect their work to safety standards and engineering careers through identity development and the joy of learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students act as safety engineers to design and test battery enclosures that manage thermal energy and prevent thermal runaway. Educators gain classroom-ready resources, NGSS connections, and strategies to bring authentic engineering design into science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Sternberg

Objective: Despite the growing importance of bioinformatics in modern biology and medicine, few undergraduate science programs provide instruction in this field. Bioinformatics involves using computer technology to extract information from DNA and protein sequences including evolutionary relatedness and genetic predisposition to certain diseases. Methods: This learning unit consists of video tutorials, written instructions for the laboratory activity, and a post activity review video. The effectiveness of the instruction is evaluated using pre assessment and post assessment questions, performance of the bioinformatics tasks, and a survey assessing the students’ attitudes toward the learning unit. Results: The module was tested with Guttman Community College biology students. The participants responded favorably to the learning unit and successfully achieved the learning objectives, gaining familiarity with fundamental bioinformatics concepts and their application.

TAKEAWAYS:
Despite the growing importance of bioinformatics in modern biology and medicine, few undergraduate science programs provide instruction in this field. This learning unit is a promising tool for introducing science students to the field of bioinformatics and data science.

SPEAKERS:
Edimarlyn Gonzalez

Discover a wealth of free, high-quality instructional resources from Windows to the Universe to enhance Earth and space science teaching and learning. This poster/share-a-thon presentation will introduce attendees to a variety of materials, including engaging activities, multimedia, and interactive simulations, designed to captivate their students and foster a deeper understanding of our planet and the universe. They will learn how to seamlessly integrate these resources into their curriculum to address a wide range of NGSS-identified Earth and space science topics. From plate tectonics to solar system exploration, they will find everything they need to create dynamic and effective lessons. By utilizing these resources, they can inspire their students to become lifelong learners and develop a passion for scientific inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Enhance your Earth and Space Science teaching and student learning with free instructional resources from Windows to the Universe! Bundle high-quality materials for effective lessons related to any Earth and space science topic.

SPEAKERS:
Margaret Holzer

How do you make science exciting and relevant to your elementary students? This session aims to help participants learn to create authentic, standards-aligned, and engaging problem-based lessons that relate to students’ lives. Goals of problem-based learning include increasing student engagement through the use of authentic problems that relate to students’ lives, increasing students’ experiences with scientific practices through hands-on investigations, and increasing students’ critical thinking skills as they problem-solve and sense-make in collaborative small groups. This session will include examples of lessons and student-created products from lessons implemented in 1st through 5th grade classrooms. Participants will learn how to plan for standards-aligned problem-based lessons and how to support students through the process of problem-solving and sense-making to create their own solutions. Prepare to be amazed at how students learn to take ownership of their learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to create authentic problem-based lessons aligned to their science standards that are fun and engaging and promote student ownership of learning.

SPEAKERS:
Cindy Young, Dawn Avolt

Take your students on a design adventure by building a miniature city out of paper. Using only simple materials—paper, tape, and scissors—you’ll learn a “paper engineering alphabet” of shapes and connections that quickly turn flat sheets into buildings, bridges, and streets. This presentation blends creativity with STEM concepts, while encouraging reuse of everyday supplies like printer paper, magazine pages, and cereal box cardboard. Learn to cut, fold, and construct your own cityscape and bring easy, low-cost design projects back to your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
That engaging STEM activities can be done with simple supplies.

SPEAKERS:
Godwyn Morris

This session showcases an interdisciplinary set of lessons that connect middle school science and math standards across 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Participants will explore how life science, physical science, and earth science concepts can be paired with grade-level math practices to deepen student understanding of real-world phenomena. From applying the constant of proportionality in physical science, to writing in scientific notation the energy released in an earthquake in earth science, these lessons emphasize inquiry, problem-solving, and data analysis. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use strategies that integrate NGSS and math standards, fostering critical thinking and demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn ways to implement lessons that seamlessly integrate middle school science and math standards, helping students apply mathematical reasoning to scientific phenomena for deeper, real-world understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Ariel Raymond

K–12 students explore climate science and real-world climate solutions. Developed by the UCAR Center for Science Education, these interactive resources engage learners in systems thinking, modeling, and decision-making. We share learning games for a range of ages and learning targets, including simulations that explore carbon emissions and energy choices, paper-based role-playing games about greenhouse gases and the nitrogen cycle, and playful games from our SkySci for Kids website for early elementary learners. All resources are designed to build understanding, spark curiosity, and empower students to see themselves as agents of change. Participants will hear tips from one of our seasoned educators about integrating these resources across grade levels to foster climate literacy and action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover free, classroom-ready climate games and simulations that engage K–12 students in systems thinking and real-world problem solving. Learn how to integrate these tools to build climate literacy and inspire student action.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel

Learn from two experienced transdisciplinary teachers how to assess students as they combine science-based storytelling and justice advocacy. In our food systems/justice context, students make observations around urgent food-related topics, including interviews at local farmers' markets and with community partners. They then explore related scientific evidence on topics they choose, including SNAP budgeting, food waste, and front-of-packaging labeling. Students generate ideas for evidence-based storytelling through interactive "tabling" showcases held during school lunch. For this poster, we'll showcase the lesson arc, portfolio rubric, student work, and sample booths as a clear before/during/after model for other teachers to use. As food insecurity, climate impacts, and equity shape students’ lives and policy shifts affect access and opportunities, this assessment provides a model for teaching science in a social justice context, empowering youth to connect content to action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover a model of authentic assessment where science and justice meet as students observe, investigate, and generate ideas while turning their science learning into civic leadership.

SPEAKERS:
Tania Bettis, Elizabeth Gottlieb

Discover Rubin Observatory’s free, classroom-ready astronomy investigations, built to support NGSS and spark curiosity with authentic data. Each begins with a phenomenon and guides students through interactive tools, scaffolded questions, and active learning strategies that strengthen sensemaking. Formative and summative assessments with scoring guides support classroom use. Additional resources—such as Rubin Voices Trading Cards that highlight diverse STEM careers, animated videos, interactive tours, and activities ranging from galaxy counting to Rubin Bingo—bring astronomy to life. Teachers can also access free professional development, classroom support, and an education mailing list for ongoing updates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore Rubin Observatory’s free classroom-ready astronomy investigations and STEM activities, all designed to support the NGSS. Discover how to access professional development, teacher support, and additional resources like videos, games, data-based image tours, and trading cards.

SPEAKERS:
Ardis Herrold

This Lesson Showcase shares an interdisciplinary elementary unit developed in response to a parent’s concern about food waste at school. Using the bilingual trade book Rainbow weaver / Tejedora del arcoíris as a central teaching resource, students engaged in real-world investigations of food waste at home and school. Hands-on activities, such as sorting and weighing food waste, helped students connect abstract science concepts to real world experiences. Literacy connections through reading, discussion, and family interviews made complex science content more relevant to their everyday lives. Students also highlighted cultural traditions that shaped how families reuse food and materials, illustrating the power of integrating personal and community knowledge into science learning. By grounding lessons in authentic issues of waste and sustainability, the unit encouraged student agency by linking science with meaningful action in their lives and communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive all lesson materials and resources to implement this interdisciplinary, bilingual unit that connects food waste, culture, and sustainability through hands-on science, literacy, and family knowledge.

SPEAKERS:
Caitlyn Ishaq

As educators, how can you design cognitive lift to empower students to do most of the thinking and meaning-making? How can you spark genuine curiosity that gets students excited to learn and uncover new facets of their world consistently? That’s what happens when students experience science before it’s explained. In this lesson showcase, experience an “Explore Before Explain” approach to understand how it can spark curiosity, drive inquiry, and deepen understanding of core concepts. You’ll see a classroom-tested lesson that begins with a compelling phenomenon, inviting students to make observations, ask questions, and construct meaning through investigation. The poster will illustrate how educators set the stage for curiosity, guide sensemaking, and support students in connecting new ideas to scientific principles. Attendees will leave with a repeatable process and criteria for designing phenomena-based learning, helping students think and act like scientists every day.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to design and facilitate “Explore Before Explain” lessons that use real-world phenomena to spark curiosity and deepen student understanding. As leaders, learn how to support teachers in shifting classroom practices toward student-driven inquiry and sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Drenth, Solona Hollis

Learning in this curriculum is rooted in the idea that Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Medicine (STEMM) can be used as a tool for caring for oneself and for others. In the 2024-2025 school year, this curriculum was implemented in 11 schools, serving 41 classrooms and reaching over 850 students. The Infectious Diseases Learning Module is a part of a larger STEMM curriculum that focuses on ‘What Do Humans Need to Survive?’ Throughout the lessons, student inquiry drives exploration of the human need for people, shelter, food, clean air, and clean water. The learning curriculum is rooted in literacy practices which spark student inquiry to conduct further research, analyze and interpret classroom data, as well as to develop investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage with the creator of the inquiry-driven learning module to identify how to use the curriculum in their learning environment. Participants will examine the scientific practices evident in the learning module. Participants will be given free access to the learning module.

SPEAKERS:
Anika Britton, Krisderlawn Motley, Hailey Wolfe

This session demonstrates how the use of the ‘Culturally Relevant Engineering Design Framework’ (CRED) can support rural elementary teachers in designing NGSS-aligned engineering lessons connected to extreme weather patterns in their local context. The CRED framework adapts the traditional engineering design process to include culturally specific questions and considerations. We draw on case examples from 3-5th grade lessons to illustrate how teachers engaged students in identifying community-relevant problems and generating solutions. Attendees in this session will work in groups to 1) review the CRED rubric and consider opportunities for assessing student engagement, 2) brainstorm opportunities to assess students’ skills, performances and understandings during each stage of the CRED design framework, and 3)gain practical strategies for applying the CRED rubric to classroom practice and for assessing student learning throughout the engineering design process.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how the CRED Framework helps rural teachers design NGSS-aligned lessons rooted in local contexts. Attendees can use the CRED rubric to assess student engagement, skills, and understanding across all stages of the engineering design process.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Robinson, Nicole Valine, Ashley Iveland

Spice up your science classroom—and your students’ kitchens! Explore the NIST Metric Kitchen, a free, hands-on resource that turns everyday cooking into a fun and effective way to teach and learn the metric system (SI). Use recipes and common kitchen tools to help students build confidence in measuring, strengthen lab techniques, and reinforce concepts like scale, proportion, and quantity. The learning doesn’t stop at school! These culinary activities are perfect to take-home activities and get families involved. Parents can join the fun as students use grams and degree Celsius to cook, measure, mix, and explore STEM right in their own kitchens. It’s a flavorful way to connect classroom learning to real life—and bring science home. Stop by to explore how cooking with metric units can build skills, spark curiosity, and turn every student into a confident STEM chef!

TAKEAWAYS:
Bring math and science to life through the universal language of food. This free, deliciously fun resource from NIST uses cooking and baking to teach the metric system (SI) through real-life, hands-on activities your students will eat up—literally!

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Benham

Wipro Climate V-CCLS This is a course study with Stanford/Wipro/SFUSD. Climate Science, Climate Anxiety, Climate Change, and Climate Justice. This was a research study through research articles at Alice Fong Yu K-8 in SFUSD. The research was done by four educators, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade and the Middle School Music Teacher, along with entire Middle School student body. The lessons are aligned to the Common Core, SEL and the NGSS. Along with the research and lessons, AFY was filmed by the Sustainability Office of SF Gov, which was played on SFGov.. The final component was the students were Climate Change Agents at the SF GOV 2nd Annual Climate Action Youth Summit. The students designed stations for the 2500 students, along with writing and performing a Climate Change Summit Song for the event. This summit, has and will continue to be part of the fabric of Alice Fong Yu and commitment as stewards of change.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway is aligned to creating a culture where Science Research at a school site can impact and not only a student, their family but the community at large. The collaboration, creativity, curiosity, collaboration, communication was demonstrated by the educators, for the students.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Yue, Lisa Ernst

El Niño is the most energetic year-to-year climate variation on Earth. El Nino impacts food, water resources, health safety around the world. Climate change will likely increase El Nino’s impacts.. But practically all definitions of this important Earth Systems phenomenon are convoluted: “a condition, a cycle, characterized by, climate pattern, a weather pattern, etc.” The Decade of the Ocean gives us an opportunity to collectively build a basic conceptual model based on the scaffolding from elementary school: a water wave and the water cycle. The Ocean Literacy Essential Principle #3 (MS) provides a ‘bingo card’ structure for applying the seven crosscutting concepts that will yield a memorable visual and textual model.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will go away with an easy-to-remember and easy-to-share conceptual understanding of El Niño: how the ocean and atmosphere are dance partners of our Earth System of Systems.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Witte

Congratulations, Planet Finder! You’ve just found a new planet in our Solar System! When you have an engaging problem to solve, even Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion can become exciting. This poster will summarize a standards-based unit on Planets and Orbits that will include student work and examples of a final project (HS-ESS 1-4 and HS-ESS 1-6 and SEPs 2, 4, 5, and 6). As a summative task, individual students are given the average radius of their newly discovered planet’s orbit only. Using just this information they describe their planet’s characteristics and produce a NEW and IMPROVED version of the Solar System in small groups. All instructional materials will be available and have been Google translated into Spanish. This unit is designed for a freshmen Earth & Space Systems course but can be used in any Earth-focused physical science course.

TAKEAWAYS:
A creative summative task can help elicit student interest, especially when the topic is not very much fun. Learn how to engage students in using Kepler’s Laws and planet traits to create an “updated” group model of the solar system. (HS-ESS 1-4 and HS-ESS 1-6 and SEPs 2, 4, 5, and 6)

SPEAKERS:
Taylor Salazar, Amanda Libke

It’s no question that humans have vastly changed the landscape of local and global environments. Pollution has many detrimental and unintended impacts throughout ecosystems. What remains less understood is how organisms adapt to these changes. Pollution Evolution invites students to analyze data on peppered moths and draw conclusions about how organisms adapt to human-caused changes. This lesson plan follows the following standards: first, from NGGS HS-LS4-3. Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that organisms with an advantageous heritable trait tend to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait; second, Alabama’s SC15.BIO.14 Analyze and interpret data to evaluate adaptations resulting from natural and artificial selection that may cause changes in populations over time.. This lesson utilizes a simulation lab developed by askbiologist.asu.edu that students follow along with a lab worksheet.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers should take away that this lesson is about connecting environmental science with evolutionary biology, while students are encouraged to think critically about human impacts on nature.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Santallana, Jonathan Scott

Informal learning environments are vital for children in K-2 to improve science learning and achievement. This poster will describe the development of a science kit to teach children in K-2 about composting using storytelling in public libraries. NGSS life science standards, science practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts for the kit will be discussed, as well as hands-on learning activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
After attending this session, attendees will be able to describe the development of a science kit to teach children in K-2 about composting using storytelling in public libraries.

SPEAKERS:
Abednego Bansah, Kerri Greene, David Holben

This poster presents a 7th-grade PBL unit integrating Western science and Native Hawaiian knowledge to restore ecosystems at Kalauhaʻihaʻi. Students investigate biodiversity, energy flow, and human impacts, conduct field studies, test models of structures like kuapā walls, engineering, and present solutions to community experts. The project shows how culturally grounded, place-based science fosters engagement, collaboration, and stewardship.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-driven PBL units that integrate Western science and Native Hawaiian knowledge, using real-world ecosystem restoration to foster student inquiry, cultural relevance, and community stewardship.

SPEAKERS:
Shawna Nishimoto

Several hands-on activities/demonstrations will demonstrate various soil physical, chemical and biological properties and their application to engineering and environmental science. Sand castles demonstrate the basic forces of friction, adhesion and cohesion and the effect of particle size on the angle of repose. Soil is a Filter and Soil is Charged are companion activities that demonstrate soil charge properties and require students to use inductive reasoning to determine the charge on the soil and organic dyes in grape Koolaid and discuss leaching and water pollution. A biology activity will demonstrate microbial diversity or activity. All demos start as simple, visual activities suitable to demonstrate principles for elementary students but are easily scaled to all grades by applying the scientific method to design experiments and make observations, measurements and calculations and draw conclusions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Every Soil Has a Story. Learning its story starts with basic science. Soil science is an applied, interdisciplinary science that can be used to introduce and generate interest in physics, chemistry, biology and environmental science for all grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Clay Robinson

Planting a school garden is a goal for many classroom and science teachers. Gardening helps connect science with a variety of subjects, and students love eating what they have planted. Gardening connects to NGSS such as describing patterns of what plants need to survive, organization for matter and energy flow in organisms, crosscutting concepts such as patterns in the natural world, and how systems in the natural and designed world have parts that work together. But many schools are reluctant to begin a garden because of both space and financial restrictions. This class will show teachers how to begin planting using upcycled and free materials, how to reuse containers as planters, how to make biodegradable seedling planters in seconds, and how to transform desolate ground into a blooming wildflower garden with seeds and a container of air-dry clay. Educators will learn how to start a successful garden using such common materials as newspaper, tin cans, and air-dry clay.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to start a school garden, even with a very limited budget.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Kurson

Stories stick—facts fade. This poster showcases classroom-tested ways to harness the power of narrative to make science unforgettable. From movie-style “explainers” to pop-culture anchors like The Martian and Metamorpho and the Periodic Table, students learn to think and communicate like storytellers of science. Using quick, adaptable frameworks such as the And–But–Therefore (ABT) structure, teachers can transform ordinary lessons into moments of curiosity and connection. The poster highlights what happens before, during, and after these story-infused lessons, with examples of student work, ready-to-use templates, and QR-linked resources. Walk away with practical tools to make your classroom a story lab—where science content connects, creativity thrives, and every student finds their voice as a storyteller of the natural world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Stories make science stick. By using simple storytelling frameworks—like the And–But–Therefore (ABT) model and short, movie-style explainers—teachers can transform lessons into narratives that spark curiosity, strengthen understanding, and help students think like storytellers of science.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Brady

Discover how to easily replicate a research-based, lunch-and-learn PD session that introduces educators to free STEM and career exploration resources from the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) — all available through the NIST Educational STEM Resource (NEST-R) registry portal. Lead meaningful PD for your team while supporting students’ career awareness and engagement with real-world science applications. NEST-R is a bridge into NIST, a world-renowned federal laboratory focused on measurement science and technology. NIST interdisciplinary work touches many STEM areas, including the Metric System, AI, cybersecurity, the smart electric power grid, chemistry, atomic clocks, nanomaterials, computer chips & earthquake-resistant skyscrapers. Free & publicly available content includes engaging videos, articles, scientist interviews, classroom materials, internships, PD info & more. Stop by this poster to learn more, ask questions, & leave with tools you can use right away!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants receive resources needed to host a 30-60 minute PD session, including an outline, presentation template, Google form, and user guide. Deliver in live, virtual or hybrid mode. Help your teacher community discover resources to augment curriculum with examples of disciplinary core ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Joanne Krumel, Cara O'Malley

How do students learn biology best? The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) scaffolded students in science, if used. Scaffolding information continues as students enter college. Most scaffolding occurs in courses students want to take for their majors. Sometimes science is a general education requirement and not a desired goal. Data collected from a three-year study on student perceptions of their learning in a non-major’s biology class has directed a foundational class and laboratory. A prominent theme in the data emerged, as students want to participate in their learning process. This poster represents one of the class topics presented with multimodal strategies. The lecture focuses on the immune system using lecture, films and games. The lab focuses on viruses using individual virtual work, which can be paired-checked for thoroughness before submission and a group hands-on activity where students become more collaborative as they must decide where a virus originates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use multimodal learning instructional strategies to encourage differentiated learning in science without differentiating students.

SPEAKERS:
Tamera Klingbyll