Growing up in a single parent home on the south side of Chicago, IL, Justin J. Shaifer had little awareness of the potential of a STEM career. His worldview drastically transformed after experiences at Hampton University. Justin graduated with a bachelor's degree in marine and environmental science with the highest departmental GPA, and was also president of Hampton University's student body while receiving scholarships from NASA and NOAA that covered 100% of his tuition and room and board. Now 24 years old, Justin travels the country empowering young students to "embrace their inner nerd" despite their surroundings, and developing culturally responsive STEM curricula for New York City institutions.

Justin is executive director of Fascinate, Inc., an organization created to excite underrepresented students about STEM. He is known for his work on the Magic Cool Bus Project. Past partners of his organization include Microsoft, MIT Media Lab, and the Children’s Aid Society. Justin is studying these programs’ effects as a PhD student at Columbia University.

SPEAKERS:
Justin Shaifer (Fascinate, Inc.: New York, NY)

Hear about the new administration’s priorities and plans for supporting science and STEM educators and learn more about education and funding priorities in Congress. Bring your questions, and join us in this discussion about what’s going on in Washington, D.C.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Peterson (: Arlington, VA)

Speed-sharing chat topics will include:

• Science experiments gone awry 
• Funniest teacher jokes
• Funniest administrator jokes
• “Worst day ever” experiences that you can now laugh at
• Funniest teacher sayings 
• Funniest things you’ve heard students say
• Weirdest experiment results
• Best science experiments
• If you could rename teachers, what would it be?
• If you could rename science, what would it be?
• Things you wish you would have known before becoming a science teacher
• Weird things you’ve done in class
• Weird things students have done in class
• Most hilarious things you’ve seen or heard at school
• Funniest tweets about teaching, teachers, or students you’ve ever seen.

Join in, have fun, and let loose! This event will be one you’ll never forget!

Note: This session involves Breakout Rooms. In order to participate, you must have the latest version of Zoom downloaded to your computer. Before accessing our Zoom platform, please visit Zoom.us/download, click on Download, and then click on Execute file to initialize.

Please note that these chats are available to the first 500 participants.

This event is not being recorded.

Don’t miss your opportunity to hear from U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel A. Cardona as he shares a special message and answers questions from science teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Miguel Cardona (U.S. Secretary of Education: Washington, DC)

Bestselling author Max Brooks believes in the power of educating through entertainment, whether it’s learning survival skills through zombie fiction or better understanding our own history through graphic novels. What better way to reach students than through mediums they have fun using, such as video games? Join Max as he explains why he thinks the massively popular game Minecraft has the potential to be the greatest teaching tool since Gutenberg’s printing press.

SPEAKERS:
Max Brooks (Author: Venice, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

STEM is not just about integrating science, technology, engineering, and math. Dr. Carol O’Donnell discusses how schools can support STEM students and teachers of diverse backgrounds through curricula, professional development, and leadership development that take an integrated approach to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in K–12 STEM. Participants will learn about several free Smithsonian resources to integrate inclusive design into K–12 STEM curricula, apply PD strategies for teaching English learners and girls in STEM, and diversify the STEM teaching workforce.

SPEAKERS:
Carol O'Donnell (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

What have we learned during the past year about what we most value about teaching and learning? Where does science fit in a responsive relaunch? Join leaders from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science as we reflect on these questions and begin to explore how to capitalize on a phenomenon-based approach to create a culture that values student voice and fosters curiosity and engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Alejandro understands that students arrive each day with an abundance of cultural wealth. He will share how establishing authentic relationships with his students and strategically integrating culturally relevant instruction has increased student motivation, morale, and engagement in his class. He will also provide insight to some of the challenges that our students from underrepresented populations face, and how providing his students access to a variety of people, programs, resources, and experiential learning opportunities has been critical to his students’ success.

SPEAKERS:
Alejandro Diasgranados (Aiton Elementary School: Washington, DC)

In this session participants will get an overview of how environmental and climate justice have been introduced to classrooms through partnerships, expos, and educational programming. Participants will also get an overview of key terms, focus areas, and resources for learning more about environmental and climate justice through a local lens.

SPEAKERS:
Taylor Morton (WE ACT for Environmental Justice: New York, NY)

Hear about the new administration’s priorities and plans for supporting science and STEM educators and learn more about education and funding priorities in Congress. Bring your questions, and join us in this discussion about what’s going on in Washington, D.C.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Peterson (: Arlington, VA)

Speed-sharing chat topics will include:

• Science experiments gone awry 
• Funniest teacher jokes
• Funniest administrator jokes
• “Worst day ever” experiences that you can now laugh at
• Funniest teacher sayings 
• Funniest things you’ve heard students say
• Weirdest experiment results
• Best science experiments
• If you could rename teachers, what would it be?
• If you could rename science, what would it be?
• Things you wish you would have known before becoming a science teacher
• Weird things you’ve done in class
• Weird things students have done in class
• Most hilarious things you’ve seen or heard at school
• Funniest tweets about teaching, teachers, or students you’ve ever seen.

Join in, have fun, and let loose! This event will be one you’ll never forget!

Note: This session involves Breakout Rooms. In order to participate, you must have the latest version of Zoom downloaded to your computer. Before accessing our Zoom platform, please visit Zoom.us/download, click on Download, and then click on Execute file to initialize.

Please note that these chats are available to the first 500 participants.

This event is not being recorded.

Sponsoring Company: Estes Industries

Learn how model rocketry altitude tracking is a great way to get students comfortable with collecting, graphing, and analyzing data. Win a Mini AltiTrak set for your classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Tips to incorporate graphing into a lesson; 2. Information on data analysis activities for students; and 3. How to use the Estes Mini AltiTrak as a technology tool for data collection.

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Biernat (Zanilu Educational Services, LLC), Nicole Bayeur (Estes Industries: , United States)

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

This workshop will demonstrate an authentic engineering practice so compelling that science and engineering students create an average of 62 virtual design iterations of balsa wood bridges, gliders, mousetrap cars, wind turbines, drones, and many others before (optionally) building a physical model of their optimized design.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Time and money (nearly) prohibits science and engineering classrooms from presenting an authentic engineering practice; 2. WhiteBox Learning provides an authentic experience by utilizing powerful web-based tools with roots in industry that leverage gamification for motivation; and 3. It is possible to leverage familiar projects like balsa wood bridges, balsa wood gliders, mousetrap cars, and others to teach engineering in an authentic way. This is great news because the familiarity of these projects makes it easier for teachers to take on engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Tom Robertson (WhiteBox Learning: Louisville, KY)

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

Learn how to create a project-based camp or classroom lesson that enable students to apply concepts, such as photosynthesis and the water cycle, to design a smart irrigation system. Inspired by real-world events, students are motivated to apply problem-solving skills and learn some basic programming to come up with innovative solutions to using water more efficiently.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Developing models to better understand a process; 2. Constructing explanations and designing solutions; and 3. Introducing students to coding to solve a science problem with an engineering solution.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout (Howard County Conservancy: Woodstock, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Estes Industries

Give your students the opportunity to nurture their inquisitive nature with our Does Mass Matter? lesson plan. Learn more about how Estes is working with cool educational companies and industry professionals to provide you with hands-on, real-world learning experiences for your classroom. All participants will be entered to win our Green Eggs™ Starter Kit!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Improve inquiry-based learning techniques; 2. Foster students' inquisitive nature with the PocketLab; and 3. Incorporate all four elements of STEM with the Does Mass Matter? lesson plan.

SPEAKERS:
David Bakker (PocketLab: San Jose, CA), Kathy Biernat (Zanilu Educational Services, LLC), Nicole Bayeur (Estes Industries: , United States)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Co.

Water is the single most valuable resource essential for life on Earth, yet is subject to increasing scarcity, pollutants, and overuse. The Tapwater Tour curriculum makes the real-world connection between the phenomena explored in the lesson and actual hands-on laboratory activities that students experience while revealing the quality of their own tap water. Group discussions, activities, and analysis of class data provide opportunities for teamwork, collaboration, and reflection.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Simple hands-on methods that students can easily and safely perform in the classroom, or as teacher demonstrations for distance learning, will be presented; 2. Examples of phenomena to engage students in water quality testing will be given; and 3. Ideas for adapting lessons to suit student audience/grade levels/abilities will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Margaret Hill (LaMotte Co.: , United States)

Sponsoring Company: Amazon Future Engineer

Give your students real-world computer science and career exposure through Amazon Future Engineer's new live, virtual, and interactive Fulfilment Center Tours! From our online store to doorstep, students will discover how computer science, state-of-the-art engineering, and incredible people deliver customer orders at Amazon.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: how Amazon uses computer science, engineering, and amazing people to deliver customer orders around the globe; 2. how algorithms, sensors, cloud computing, machine learning, databases, and more all help make Amazon possible; and 3. what it's like to be an engineer at Amazon.

SPEAKERS:
Trinidad Cisneros (Amazon Corporate Affairs: Seattle, WA), Tony Wallin (Amazon Corporate Affairs: Seattle, WA), Hilah Barbot (Amazon Corporate Affairs: Seattle, WA)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA Office of Education

Modern society is awash with data that tell complex stories in the language of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Most humans are intensely visual and find it difficult to find meaning in just numbers. NOAA's answer—SOS Explorer (SOSx), now available as a FREE APP on your tablet or smartphone!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Interpreting data through visualizations; 2. Using mobile device apps in teaching; and 3. Resources available from NOAA.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Russell (NOAA's Global Systems Laboratory: Boulder, CO), Hilary Peddicord (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory: Lyons, CO), Stephen Zepecki (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD)

Join us for a variety of short, modified Pecha Kucha–style presentations, after which the presenters will be available for questions and further discussion.

The presentations included in this session are:

EarthKAM: Have Your Students Take Photos from ISS
Presenter: David Curry

The Post-COVID Dissection Lab
Presenters: Nicole Green and Bailee Henderson

Teaching Physics on the Cheap
Presenter: Shannon Hudson

Shape of Life: Virtually Teaching The Greatest Story Ever Told—Evolution of the Animal Kingdom on Planet Earth
Presenter: Denise Ryan

NMLSTA Award Opportunities
Presenter: Alison Betz Seymour

Parent/Family Involvement in Science: Why It's Important and How to Make It Work
Presenter: Jessica VanValkenburg

Teaching the Engineering Design Process Through Urban Gardening
Presenters: Elizabeth Weissman and Rebecca Somogyi

Moderator: Mary Lou Lipscomb

Note: This session involves Breakout Rooms. In order to participate, you must have the latest version of Zoom downloaded to your computer. Before accessing our Zoom platform, please visit Zoom.us/download, click on Download, and then click on Execute file to initialize.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover a variety lessons, units, professional development opportunities, and resources for hybrid or virtual instruction; 2. Learn ways to engage middle level students in exciting inquiry learning; and 3. Become aware of ways to involve parents and/or community in science.

SPEAKERS:
Denise Ryan (Shape of Life: Capitola, CA), David Curry (Newtown Middle School: Newtown, PA), Nicole Green (Animalearn: Jenkintown, PA), Bailee Henderson (Animalearn: , United States), Shannon Hudson (Crawfordsville Middle School: Crawfordsville, IN), Alison Betz Seymour (Science Teacher: Winchester, 0), Jessica VanValkenburgh (Columbus State University: Columbus, GA), Elizabeth Weissman (The Ramaz School: New York, NY)

Sponsoring Company: NSTA Press

Learn about Argument-Driven Inquiry and how it can help students engage in real-world science while using literacy-based materials in the service of sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will: 1. how to use this instructional model, or way of teaching, to give students an opportunity to learn how to use the core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and practices of science to make sense of natural phenomena; 2. how to give students an opportunity to talk, read, and write in the service of sensemaking in science; and 3. ways to support students as they engage in real-world science while using literacy-based materials in the service of sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX)