Join education staff from Tellus Science Museum to see fossils that call Georgia home and discuss how to incorporate place-based geoscience education with elementary science standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will see how a science museum has worked to improve its own geoscience education using a place-based approach and how similar processes can be applied to education practice in classrooms or other localities.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Eisla (Tellus Science Museum: Cartersville, GA)

In a 4-day summer workshop, teachers learned to fly a drone, completed STEM-based activities, and wrote an original activity to be presented to high school students. A computer programming efficacy scale, administered at the beginning and end of the workshop, quantified change in efficacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
The computer programming efficacy scale has five subscales. Survey results will be presented. Word clouds will summarize open-ended survey questions regarding comments for content that was learned, how activities can be used in an educational setting, and suggestions for workshop improvement.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah McAllister (The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Chattanooga, TN)

NASA’s Astrophysics UoL network of partnerships provide STEM educators programs, from exoplanet searches to image analysis of supernovas and galaxies to implement programs specific to individual audiences - and provides a wide variety of supporting webinars, tutorials, activities and investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA’s UoL team connects the public and learners to data, discoveries, and experts from NASA’s Astrophysics missions. The team of scientists, engineers, and educators have direct connections to these missions, and provide a range of projects and interactive activities for any educational setting.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young (NASA/NSO/UoL Program Manager: Laughlin, NV)

We share an approach used to recruit and train STEM professionals in a rural community to engage middle school youth using programmable environmental sensors and 3D printing technology to design solutions to real-world problems. The result? Authentic connections to STEM careers in their community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how a research team developed and implemented a model to increase middle school students’ interest in STEM careers through integration of STEM curricula using programmable sensors and 3D printing technology, STEM mentors from local community partnerships, and career focused activities.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel (UCAR Center for Science Education: Boulder, CO)

Celebrate Earth Day Every Day in and out of the classroom. Learn how to incorporate fun hands-on projects at your school to promote awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Start a program at your school that celebrates the notion of Earth Day Every Day 2. Gain resources to start engaging in hands-on projects for your students that promote conservation. 3. Learn how to partner with local and national agencies to create projects for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Kristi Gnage (Science Teacher: St. Petersburg, FL)

Learn about an interdisciplinary research project that studied how atmospheric dust affects climate change. A team of educators collaborated with researchers to develop hands-on activities targeted at upper elementary through high school students that highlight science concepts from this project.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how a team of educators collaborated with paleoclimate researchers to develop activities targeted at upper elementary through high school students that explore how atmospheric dust affects climate change, highlighting how climate is influenced by complex interactions within the Earth system.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel (UCAR Center for Science Education: Boulder, CO)