Join us at the Georgia World Congress Center for an opening reception to mark the start of NSTA Atlanta23! We’ll keep it casual—meet new colleagues and greet returning friends while enjoying beverages and small bites and a photo opportunity with keynote speaker—NASA Astronaut, Dr. Megan McArthur. The event is complimentary and open to all registered conference attendees. Immediately following the reception, McArthur will share her thrilling experiences while working on the International Space Station in an inspirational fireside chat facilitated by NASA’s K-12 Education Advisor Cindy Hasselbring.

Join NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur as she shares her passion for science and the experiments she conducted during her stay on the International Space Station. McArthur will be joined by NASA’s K-12 Education Advisor Cindy Hasselbring for an inspirational fireside chat. They will discuss McArthur’s thrilling experiences during more than 200 days in space, lessons learned, NASA's return to the moon through the Artemis program, and much more.

Join us to find out how being mindful can reduce stress and other benefits. Share tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into your life. We will practice breathwork together and share in a meditation exercise.

TAKEAWAYS:
A sense of calm, peace, and balance.

Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and join us for an informal get-together with your peers. Each day of the conference will feature a morning coffee chat, providing participants an opportunity to share ideas and experiences, expand their network, and connect with colleagues and friends from around the country. All are welcome to attend!

Calling all yoga enthusiasts. Regardless of whether you’re a newbie or veteran, schedule time to join Jasmine for a gentle warm-up; traditional vinyāsa-style yoga (balance poses, core, strength building); deep stretching for hips and hamstrings; and, of course, meditation for relaxation and de-stressing. Beginner friendly!

Feeling overwhelmed by all there is to see and do at an NSTA conference on science education? Join us for an interactive exploration through the conference app and NSTA’s social media. By the end of the session, you will know just how to get the most from your conference experience in addition to bu

Explore the NSTA Website with us! NSTA provides high-quality digital resources and opportunities—all within a professional community—that supports professional learning and classroom instruction. NSTA staff will be available to answer questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become knowledgeable about the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, and professional learning community that can help them enhance their knowledge and improve their teaching practices.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Phillips (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

In today’s fast-paced world, chronic stress is common, but your mind and body can pay a high price. Learn to recognize overwhelming stress—and what you can do about it. Most importantly, learn how to use the power of your senses to relieve stress on the spot and stay calm, productive, and focused—no matter what life throws at you.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to manage stress.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Phillips (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Azra Chughtai (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

How can we integrate climate change into different biology units? We'll use data-rich HHMI BioInteractive resources to demonstrate how to incorporate this topic across scales.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Eberhard (St. Clair High School: Saint Clair, MI), Samantha Johnson (Arroyo High School: San Lorenzo, CA)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Engage students in authentic research through Genes in Space: the experimental design competition that launches experiments to the International Space Station. Learn about free educational resources, including lesson plans, classroom activities, explainer videos, and biotechnology equipment loans.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

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 make the real-world connection between the phenomena explored in the lesson and actual hands-on laboratory activities.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans (Kent County High School: Worton, MD)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Link physical science concepts like circuits and charged particles to the essential biotech method gel electrophoresis. Build a reusable gel electrophoresis system with the Bandit STEM Electrophoresis Kit, and use it to separate colorful dyes. Also add the A to STEAM with creative pipetting art!

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress at work and home, there are steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life. Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to relieve pressure and regain control.

SPEAKERS:
Azra Chughtai (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Michelle Phillips (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Develop data-literate students! We'll use BioInteractive resources to model instructional strategies that incorporate the science practices and improve scientific thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Orr , Ann Brokaw (Rocky River High School: Rocky River, OH)

Sponsoring Company: EarthScope Consortium

Explore our new web-based interactive earthquake lab! Have your students learn and practice earthquake location and analysis techniques with real seismic data! Bring a laptop/ipad!

SPEAKERS:
Michael Hubenthal (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

A purrfect introduction to genetics! Track inheritance in a family of cats using Punnett squares. Then, use gel electrophoresis to examine the gene that controls that trait. Students connect Mendelian genetics with our modern understanding of genes! No stains or extra visualization equipment needed.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA), Katy Martin (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Join us as we model how to engage students in data analysis using BioInteractive Data Points, a free collection of authentic scientific graphs and figures.

SPEAKERS:
Amit Morris (Science Teacher: , ON), Brian Mason (Teacher: , AK)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Discover a new way to study DNA and enzymes! Use fluorescence to see changes to DNA structure and enzyme activity with your own eyes. Explore how temperature, pH, and genetic sequence affect DNA base pairing. Then, see inhibitors, concentration, temperature, and pH affect enzymatic reaction rates.

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

In April 2013, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released just before the NSTA Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. In that time, nearly every state in the country has either adopted the NGSS outright or developed similar standards of their own. This session will reflect on the impact those standards have had in the last decade and consider what the future holds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into how standards are an essential step in the process of student learning, but how implementation of those standards plays an equally important part in the process.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard (Discovery Education: Silver Spring, MD), Stephen Pruitt (Southern Regional Education Board: Atlanta, GA), Brian Reiser (Learning Sciences, SESP, Northwestern University), Edel Maeder (Rochester City School District: Rochester, NY), Maya Garcia (Colorado Dept. of Education: Denver, CO), Cristina Thomas (SpEd teacher: Hayward, CA)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

How do selective pressures shape elephant populations? We'll explore HHMI BioInteractive activities that have students analyze data and construct explanations about this phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Marisa Alvarado (Grossmont High School), Dionne Reid (Teacher - Science: Pembroke Pines, FL)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! Discover fun, simple hands-on ways to explore evolution, adaptation, and behavior in your classroom with a variety of insects and arthropods. Learn about care and handling, as well as easy ways to integrate Organisms and Environments standards. Addit

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon (Chemistry Teacher: Boone, NC)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Add a hands-on lab to your study of the central dogma! With the cell-free BioBits® system, students can watch as polymerases transcribe RNA and ribosomes translate it to make protein, all using fluorescent indicators. Now you can experiment directly with transcription and translation!

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

Join us for a sneak peek of WILD HOPE, a new series of short films from Tangled Bank Studios highlighting the intrepid changemakers who are working to restore and protect our planet. Each half-hour episode inspires audiences with stories of bold interventions, unexpected alliances, and nature’s resilience. Dinner and drinks and discussion will be provided. The screening is free but please REGISTER to attend. Link to Registration page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hhmi-night-at-the-movies-nsta-2023-tickets-514907130087

SPEAKERS:
LaShawn Duckett (Director of Meetings: Arlington, VA)

Join us to find out how being mindful can reduce stress and other benefits. Share tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into your life. We will practice breathwork together and share in a meditation exercise.

TAKEAWAYS:
A sense of calm, peace, and balance.

Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and join us for an informal get-together with your peers. Each day of the conference will feature a morning coffee chat, providing participants an opportunity to share ideas and experiences, expand their network, and connect with colleagues and friends from around the country. All are welcome to attend!

Calling all yoga enthusiasts. Regardless of whether you’re a newbie or veteran, schedule time to join Jasmine for a gentle warm-up; traditional vinyāsa-style yoga (balance poses, core, strength building); deep stretching for hips and hamstrings; and, of course, meditation for relaxation and de-stressing. Beginner friendly!

An introduction for teachers to free standards-based lessons focused on a diverse group of scientists who have made scientific breakthroughs and the positive role of science in our lives provided by #ScienceSaves.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will become familiar with free resources to teach how science has benefited human outcomes with lessons focused on a diverse group of scientists, including teacher notes with curriculum standards, student response sheets, rubrics, and lesson plans.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Clapp (The Catamount School: Sylva, NC), Alison Seymour (Science Teacher: Winchester, 0)

Do you impact your school and community with STEM? If you teach K–12, come learn how to apply to win up to $20K through this teacher competition.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to apply for the Shell-sponsored teacher competition, and collaborate with past winners and judges to learn how to strengthen your application.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Ruud (Cleveland State University: Cleveland, OH), Amanda Upton (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Harness the power of technology with student designed solutions for a changing climate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use technology to expose students to coding and engineering design solutions for severe weather.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA), Jessica Kohout (Educational Consultant: Voorhees, NJ)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Join us as we explore how to use HHMI BioInteractive's rock pocket mouse resources to connect evolution and inheritance, and strengthen students' data literacy skills.

SPEAKERS:
James Clark (Director: Pleasanton, CA), Jennifer Barnes (Gwinnett Online Campus: Lawrenceville, GA)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-rad Laboratories

Taxonomy in action: use visual cues and biotechnology techniques to sort bumblebees into separate species. Experience how PCR, sequencing, and bioinformatics help scientists distinguish bee species.

Sponsoring Company: Anatomy in Clay

In this workshop, attendees will build replicas of human anatomy using clay and a specially designed skeletal model in a class-room setting. Educators will learn how to implement a unique curriculum system which helps students create a kinesthetic map of the human anatomy.

SPEAKERS:
Chuck Roney (ANATOMY IN CLAY Learning Systems: Loveland, CO)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Meet Bandit™, the electrophoresis system that brings accessibility to a new level. Build an affordable, durable, and reusable electrophoresis system. Then, make connections between molecular and Mendelian genetics with electrophoresis labs that run in 20 minutes and don’t require staining.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

SPEAKERS:
LaShawn Duckett (Director of Meetings: Arlington, VA)

Tackling burnout requires intentional reflection and actionable solutions from teachers, administrators, districts, and state departments of education. How can we join together to bring about that change? How can the professionalism and humanity of educators be elevated and supported through such strenuous times? Join us as we walk through Teacher Burnout in Georgia and current initiatives launched across Georgia in response to it. Gather your own “tool kit” for developing a plan to address or avoid teacher burnout and confront the real challenge of teacher recruitment and retention.

SPEAKERS:
Cherie Goldman (Teacher: No City, No State), Matt Taylor (Assistant Principal (P - 8): Dublin, GA)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

The Informal Science Division is packed with professionals volunteering their decades of experience for NSTA. Join this open format meeting as the committee discusses future plans and ways that you can engage with them. You'll also have the chance to ask questions and find out how they can help you.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ways to engage with the Informal Science Division.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsay Milner (Mad Science Group Inc.: Montreal, QC)

Have you ever wondered where to find Federal STEM education resources that can provide authentic learning experiences for your students? Come join many federal agencies including NASA, NOAA, Dept. of Defense, EPA, Smithsonian, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, to learn more!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn what K-12 STEM learning resources are offered by federal agencies. In addition, teachers will engage in two-way conversations with federal representatives about the STEM resources, programs, and opportunities that are available.

SPEAKERS:
Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD), Carrie Olsen (NASA Headquarters: No City, No State), Carol ODonnell (Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC), Melissa Anley-Mills (U.S. EPA: Washington, DC), Jorge Valdes (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Alexandria, VA), Cindy Hasselbring (NASA Headquarters: Washington, DC), Reginald Duncan (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Alexandria, VA)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Why do some people with the sickle cell genotype not show symptoms? Using HHMI BioInteractive resources, we'll engage with science practices to unpack this phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Koehler (Riverside Brookfield District 208: Riverside, IL)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-rad Laboratories

Experience CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing experiments designed for your students' learning! In this hands-on workshop edit a chromosomal gene, complete with essential experimental controls, using the same cut-and-repair technology used in medicinal and agricultural applications.

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Bring molecular techniques to Ecology and Evolution units. Join an expedition to Madagascar to decide if an extinct lemur species has been rediscovered! Test DNA with gel electrophoresis, build phylogenetic trees, and analyze authentic field data from the Duke Lemur Center.

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA), ALEXANDRA Dainis (Owner/Producer: LOS ANGELES, CA)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

NMLSTA is the ONLY science teacher association devoted to meeting the unique needs of middle school science educators. Members of the NMLSTA Board of Directors will be on hand to share a variety of information about the organization.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn about NMLSTA activities during this conference, specifically our Share-a-Thon, and throughout the year, including various awards available to our members

SPEAKERS:
Mary Lou Lipscomb (National Middle Level Science Teachers Association: Naperville, IL)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Introducing students to real-world engineering problems is a key component to engaging them in the science classroom. In this project, students solve the problem of saving pets from a hot car. Many students are aware of this issue and would have many ideas on how this could be achieved. This projects gives them the tools to help solve such a problem by building a model and finding a solution. Participants in this session will get to build the model themselves to see how information from sensors (input) can determine what should be done (output) through simple lines of code. No coding or engineering experience is needed, just imagination and logical thinking. Projects like these can expose students to STEM Careers. The exposure to coding and engineering design can also get them interested in doing more in the STEM field.

TAKEAWAYS:
Solve a real-world problem with coding and engineering design - no prior experience needed.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) provides teachers with free and downloadable resources for an entire unit of instruction, including a variety of assessments.

TAKEAWAYS:
The TIES website contains a variety of teaching materials including presentations, online resources, online games, video questions, data analysis, puzzles, and formal assessments. The formal assessments include student response sheets and rubrics to support teaching evolution.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Clapp (The Catamount School: Sylva, NC), Alison Seymour (Science Teacher: Winchester, 0)

This session provides an opportunity for NSTA members to start an important conversation about the intersection of informal and formal science education. There will be a panel of informal educators leading the discussion and sharing success stories about meaningful formal-informal collaborations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with an increased awareness and understanding of potential synergies between informal and formal science education organizations as well as a better understanding of NSTA’s Informal Science Division.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Hays (Denver Zoo: Denver, CO), Julie Travaglini (Allegheny Land Trust: Sewickley, PA), Christine Moskalik (NSTA: No City, No State)

This session will introduce teachers to a variety of note-booking techniques that will increase student engagement and excitement for learning. Students will take pride in their notebooks and therefore increase the level of effort they put into their work.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will provide teachers and administrators with various strategies to differentiate learning for English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and General Education Students and accurately assess student learning through note-booking. By using our notebook format students will d

SPEAKERS:
Darren Wells (Mather Elementary School: Dorchester, MA), Karen Ziminski (EMK Academy for Health Careers: Boston, MA)

Join members of NSTA’s Professional Learning Committee to explore effective strategies and resources that focus on helping students make sense of data using the Crosscutting Concepts. In this session, you will have the opportunity to engage with the strategies and consider how to implement them with

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with sensemaking strategies for engaging students in the Science and Engineering Practice of Analyzing and Interpreting Data, through the lens of the Crosscutting Concept of Patterns, that can immediately be implemented with students!

SPEAKERS:
Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

How does temperature affect coral ecosystems? We’ll use resources and model instructional strategies that incorporate phenomena, questioning, and modeling to make student thinking visible.

SPEAKERS:
Elise Cooksley (Professional Development Provider-Teacher: North Bend, WA), Ann Brokaw (Rocky River High School: Rocky River, OH)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-rad Laboratories

Genetic engineering in medicine and agriculture can be achieved with various techniques, all of which require secondary experimental confirmations. In this workshop learn how to use models to teach CRISPR gene editing, experimental controls, and various techniques for validating observed results.

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

PTC tasting is a classic way to link genotype and phenotype. Use PCR and gel electrophoresis to determine if students have taster or non-taster alleles for bitter perception. Learn about our all-new curriculum and see how easy it can be to bring molecular genetics to your class!

SPEAKERS:
Ezequiel Alvarez-Saavedra (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA), ALEXANDRA Dainis (Owner/Producer: LOS ANGELES, CA), ALEXANDRA Dainis (Owner/Producer: LOS ANGELES, CA)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Do your students know their food is an ecosystem? Students apply science, technology, engineering and math concepts to the exploration of microbes that they encounter every day. Come microbe hunting with us using BioPaddles. Participants leave with easy to implement lesson plan ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans (Kent County High School: Worton, MD)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Still confused about the basics of the NGSS? Need a refresher about what it is and why it matters? Come learn from the experts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with a basic understanding of the structures of the Next Generation Science Standards and how they inform 3-dimensional standards and 3-dimensional science teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Karin Klein (Museum of Science and Industry: Chicago, IL)

How do we teach Tier 3 science vocabulary to students with limited English (or no English) and encourage success? We will share multiple strategies for teaching Tier 3 Academic Science vocabulary, as well as modalities that incorporate visual aids, manipulatives, and kinesthetic activities to engage

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Tier 3 strategies for teaching science; 2. The inclusion of visual and kinesthetic activities to engage ALL students; and 3. Forms of assessment for ALL level of English Language Learners.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Ziminski (EMK Academy for Health Careers: Boston, MA)

The session will cover 3 different types of gardens spaces. The session covers how to evaluate and set up different garden spaces. The session will cover what standards the spaces will cover and how to receive funding for the spaces.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away how to plan and incorporate a garden space of some sort for their school while supporting NGSS standards.

SPEAKERS:
RaeAnn Wood (8th Grade Science Teacher/Lab Science: Little Rock, AR), Jackie Scott (Mann Magnet Middle School: Little Rock, AR)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Join us as we use HHMI BioInteractive resources, including the VIDA Tool, to scaffold student understanding as they construct robust explanations about natural selection.

SPEAKERS:
Valerie May (Woodstock Academy: Woodstock, CT), Robin Bulleri (Science Teacher: Carrboro, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-rad Laboratories

Two out of three drug overdoses are due to opioids. Understanding the environmental & genetic links to drug dependency can reduce risk when opioids are prescribed to high-risk patients. Discover how math, genetics, & personalized medicine can determine the likelihood of addiction.

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Sickle cell disease is an excellent model to discuss topics ranging from protein structure and function to inheritance and genetic diseases. Add an engaging hands-on activity that only takes one class period! This lab helps a fictional family obtain a molecular diagnosis using gel electrophoresis.

SPEAKERS:
Ezequiel Alvarez-Saavedra (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA), ALEXANDRA Dainis (Owner/Producer: LOS ANGELES, CA)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Join us for a demo of our database of 1,300+ educational resources from NOAA. We host ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, and climate resources. Tour our lesson plans and activities and ask us your questions. Learn more at noaa.gov/education/resources. This session is appropriate for K-16 educators.

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Your students deserve some recognition! Join our presenter as they highlight opportunities for your students to get involved in Nationally recognized STEM based programs.

The Scoop on K-12 STEM Competitions Administered by NSTA
Join us for a chance to learn about the value and how to implement K-12 STEM innovative competitions with hands-on learning strategies utilized to motivate engagement. NSTA administered competitions include Army Educational Outreach Program, Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge and the Toshiba/NSTA

Engaging K-12 students in STEM innovation projects - Where to begin and how to get started
In this speed sharing session, participants will collaborate together on effective strategies to engage K-12 students in STEM innovation projects.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Winnie Boyle (Army Educational Outreach Program: , United States), Amanda Upton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Michelle Butler (National Science Teaching Association: No City, No State), Kathryn Lasky (NSTA/Army Educational Outreach Program)

Learn how to join NASA’s online community of practice for STEM educators (CONNECTS) and gain access to NASA content, resources, educator community, exclusive events, and NASA experts. Join us for this fun session including a foam rocket activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the vast resources offered by NASA's online community of practice for STEM educators and they will receive a foam rocket activity they can implement in their classrooms using simple materials.

SPEAKERS:
Carrie Olsen (NASA Headquarters: No City, No State), Richard Arnold (Director of Professional Studies), Cindy Hasselbring (NASA Headquarters: Washington, DC)

Learn new science and explore more than a dozen, simple, easy to build, and fun physical models to develop students’ understanding of abstract earthquake and plate tectonics related concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be able to support explanations of important Earth science concepts by linking multiple types of models to earthquake phenomena!

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Bravo (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Vancouver, WA), Michael Hubenthal (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Washington, DC)

As Earth’s climate warms, the heat and humidity are rising, with major consequences for ecosystems. NASA scientists are tracking heat stress that can warn us of harmful conditions. Explore interactive inquiry-based lessons and participate in a heat island experiment.

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA provides free earth science resources and engaging interactive climate change lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Kohler (NASA Glenn Research Center: Cleveland, OH)

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

During this session, we'll model how to employ storyboards to enhance student understanding of evolution by natural selection using HHMI BioInteractive's lizard phylogeny resources.

SPEAKERS:
Tanea Hibler (Phillips Exeter Academy: Exeter, NH), Christina Moran-Johnson (Teacher)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-rad Laboratories

Put your epidemiologist hat on and determine the transmission mode of a new virus using molecular data, patient histories, and clues hidden in a restaurant.

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Learn about our suite of CRISPR/Cas activities. From using Cas9 to target DNA in a test tube, to knocking out a gene in bacteria, our labs will put real CRISPR/Cas in your students’ hands. Free educational resources like CRISPR/Cas paper models will also be demonstrated.

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

Join us to find out how being mindful can reduce stress and other benefits. Share tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into your life. We will practice breathwork together and share in a meditation exercise.

TAKEAWAYS:
A sense of calm, peace, and balance.

Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and join us for an informal get-together with your peers. Each day of the conference will feature a morning coffee chat, providing participants an opportunity to share ideas and experiences, expand their network, and connect with colleagues and friends from around the country. All are welcome to attend!

Calling all yoga enthusiasts. Regardless of whether you’re a newbie or veteran, schedule time to join Jasmine for a gentle warm-up; traditional vinyāsa-style yoga (balance poses, core, strength building); deep stretching for hips and hamstrings; and, of course, meditation for relaxation and de-stressing. Beginner friendly!

Engage in a variety of activities, collect information and resources, and network with high school-level leaders. Discover new ideas and materials that you can use next week.

TAKEAWAYS:
The participants will network with other high school-level science educators and leaders to discover and engage in activities that will expand their knowledge and be usable in all aspects of their work.

Engage in a variety of activities, collect information and resources, and network with middle-level leaders. Discover new ideas and materials that you can use next week.

TAKEAWAYS:
The participants will network with other middle-level science educators and leaders to discover and engage in activities that will expand their knowledge and be usable in all aspects of their work.

NASA’s Artemis program will return humans to the moon. Practice computational thinking while including elements of a real NASA mission. Use the engineering design process to design, build, and test a foam rocket to understand the relationship between a rocket’s process to ability and its trajectory

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA STEM educational resources incorporate classroom strategies for implementing Engineering Design Challenges. Gain an understanding of how to integrate computational thinking into a standards aligned lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Kohler (NASA Glenn Research Center: Cleveland, OH)

Explore how excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes water more acidic through hands-on activities from the free 5E lesson plans in middleschoolchemistry.com.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers practice using grade-appropriate explanations of the interactions of atoms and molecules to help students better understand the causes of the phenomena they observe and its connection to the problem of ocean acidification.

SPEAKERS:
James Kessler (American Chemical Society: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Habitat fragments often function as ecological "islands." We'll use HHMI BioInteractive's island biogeography resources to have students analyze data and propose solutions to ecological challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Koehler (Riverside Brookfield District 208: Riverside, IL), David Hong (Diamond Bar High School: Diamond Bar, CA)

Paper is so commonly used for drawing and writing but it is amazingly versatile and easy to use for making 3-dimensional projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
You do not need fancy equipment to do STEM and hands on activities.

SPEAKERS:
Godwyn Morris (Dazzling Discoveries / Skill Mill NYC: New York, NY)

Water is the major force in shaping our planet. Students use simple models to measure water outwash and soil erosion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Simple models show students how plants and plant residue play major roles in preventing water runoff and soil erosion.

SPEAKERS:
Suzanne Cunningham (Purdue University: West Lafayette, IN)

Hear how a K-8 district just north of Chicago with 18 schools is transforming science teaching and learning through cultivating Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), leveraging student experience surveys, and providing professional learning opportunities for-teachers-by-teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teacher leaders & students are crucial to scaling reform efforts. Participants will walk away with a detailed model for cultivating science PLCs, example student experience surveys that elevate student voice, and structures that support the offering of professional learning for teachers by teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Kafi Chase (Chute Middle School), Yang Zhang (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Shannon Dangerfield (Haven Middle School: Evanston, IL), Megan McDermott (8th grade science educator), Alissa Berg (Evanston Skokie School District 65)

Projections are that by 2050, there may be more plastic in our oceans than fish, leading to calls for a worldwide treaty restricting plastics. In this session, participants will explore new remote-sensing capabilities for monitoring microplastics from space and relevant STE[A]M+G educator resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
To offer participants resources and strategies for developing a STE[A]M+G Earth science unit that integrates problem-based learning (PBL), hands-on NASA student design challenges and cross-curricular material.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Weiss (Educator Professional Development Specialist)

Come learn how to host an Earth Day STEM outreach event for families! We will share activities, planning aspects, and implementation strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
STEM Outreach events can be a way to engage students and families in equitable STEM learning to encourage and support all learners. This will provide information on how to replicate a STEM outreach event we hosted at our local STEM Center along with ideas about implementing it in different formats

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Meadows (Tennessee Tech: Cookeville, TN), Kelly Moore (Tennessee Tech: Cookeville, TN)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Why do dogs look so different from one another? We'll use HHMI BioInteractive resources to analyze data about phenotypic changes in dog breeds.

SPEAKERS:
James Clark (Director: Pleasanton, CA), Cinthya Fernandez (Tec de Monterrey: Monterey, Mexico)

Preservice and novice teachers will learn tips and participate in systems for running an efficient and safe science classroom from experienced educators. Safety, management, and organization tips are the highlights of this session. Time-saving strategies for lesson planning will also be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Pre-planning safety, lesson content, and lesson organization/implementation saves instructional time, freeing up brain space to tackle the inevitable classroom challenge.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Governor (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA), Tasha Thomas (University of Houston Clear Lake), Takisha Gastile (University of Houston-Clear Lake: Houston, TX), Omah Williams-Duncan (University of Houston-Clear Lake: Houston, TX)

What’s a good assessment? Learn what to look for (or include) in an effective assessment that tracks students’ 3D learning related to middle school PEs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn about key features for summative, benchmark 3D assessments designed to be used in any NGSS-aligned middle school classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Jackson (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Ben Koo (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Maia Binding (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

With the catalog of known exoplanets growing, NASA scientists are searching these worlds for signatures of life as we do (and do not) know it. In this session, participants learn through hands-on activities about NASA astrobiology missions that attempt to answer the age-old question: are we alone?

TAKEAWAYS:
To offer participants resources and strategies for developing an astrobiology [life sciences] unit that integrates hands-on NASA education activities, cutting-edge scientific research, and differing worldviews [cosmologies] that combine science, culture, art and storytelling.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Weiss (Educator Professional Development Specialist)

100Kin10 recently developed a bold new vision for the future of STEM education - to understand how to foster belonging in STEM. STEM Ed Innovators is a longtime 100kin10 partner. Our transformative community of practice for teachers, by teachers, and about culturally responsive and anti-racist teaching has fostered belonging in the margins for nearly a decade. In this workshop we will present research on STEM belonging and create a space to discuss what belonging looks like, sounds like, and feels like in a classroom, school community or district as well as in a school’s professional learning programs. Participants will work in affinity groups to identify ways to foster belonging for all students in the STEM classroom and for all teachers in professional learning spaces. Groups will share out and their contributions that will be memorialized so we can all look back on the learnings together after we return from the conference.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop an understanding of how instructional practices can create or hinder a sense of belonging in STEM and identify some teacher moves that can be used to foster a sense of belonging in the STEM classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Houston (STEM Ed Innovators: Saratoga, CA), Daniel Babauta (Sunset Park High School: Brooklyn, NY)

Moths play key roles in food webs, as pests, and as nocturnal pollinators. The MothEd Project invites students and teachers to investigate moths in local places by building blacklight traps, developing hypotheses, collecting and analyzing moth data in collaboration with others using a web platform.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will prepare to engage students in science investigations of moth ecology by building blacklight traps, developing research questions/hypotheses, collecting/analyzing data from local habitats, and using technology-enhanced curricular materials to foster collaboration & agency among students

SPEAKERS:
Peter White (Associate Professor: No City, No State), Brian Keas (Research Associate)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Join us as we use HHMI BioInteractive resources to help students develop models of the evolutionary relationship between natural selection and human skin color.

SPEAKERS:
Deanna Digitale-Grider (Solorio Academy High School: Chicago, IL), Alexis Black (Explore Academy: No City, No State)

Create large scale models and diagrams on a wide variety of subjects in open spaces both on inside floors and outdoors. Learn how to get the most out of your school building spaces and engage your students’ interests using inexpensive materials and kinesthetic activities!

TAKEAWAYS:
You and your students will learn how to make and use large scale models to explore many scientific topics. Using materials like electrical tape, sidewalk chalk, string and other simple materials, we will make and use large scale models of an ellipse, heart and body systems, cells, water cycle.

SPEAKERS:
David Ebersole (Greece Athena Middle School: Rochester, NY)

Forensics is a great way to engage students through hands-on, real world activities but some elementary & middle school teachers feel it is not age appropriate & struggle to affordably create relevant forensics units that meet their standards. In this hands-on session, teachers will see how forensics is fun for all ages! They will learn how to engage their community through a personalized, age-appropriate scenario that uses their community as the crime scene and suspects. Engage in blood typing, fingerprints, genetics, hair, fiber, handwriting analysis & chromatography. Students will learn how to think as scientists, to collaborate & ask relevant probing questions & collect, preserve & analyze evidence during the course of their investigation. Teachers will learn how to create a CSI escape room using Google Forms for remote & in class learners. Both hands-on & virtual activities encourage safe environments & social interactions. Leave ready to set the stage with their own crime scenes!

TAKEAWAYS:
How to use your school community to create an engaging crime for students to solve while encouraging socialization, collaboration, and critical thinking through blood typing, fingerprints, genetics, hair + fiber + handwriting analysis, chromatography, plus ways to create a virtual crime activity.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Guzzetta (Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women: Rochester, NY)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI Tangled Bank Studios

We will introduce a new package of classroom and informal science education resources funded by NSF and produced by the team behind Blue Whales: Return of the Giants, a new IMAX film. The workshop will explore animal feeding strategies, communication, and specialization through virtual field trips a

SPEAKERS:
Alex Duckles (Digital Media & Impact Producer)