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.

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

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)

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)

The GNOu Mechatronics Apprenticeship program showcases the framework of New Orleans' premier apprenticeship programs that was created through dynamic partnerships between 2-year community colleges and the manufacturing industry.

TAKEAWAYS:
The GNOu Mechatronics Apprenticeship program will showcase the framework used to create an apprenticeship program focused on advanced manufacturing- one of the leading new employment sectors. Attendees will learn how the partnerships were formed between the industry & 2-yr colleges.

SPEAKERS:
Osmar Padilla (Director of Workforce Programs: New Orleans, LA), Daphine Barnes (GNO, Inc.: New Orleans, LA)

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)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Are you a preservice teachers’ instructor? Learn how NSTA's digital resources, virtual experiences, and online community can help your students become the BEST teachers they can be. We will discuss what’s available on the NSTA website and how to easily access it with your own Class Landing page.

TAKEAWAYS:
Preservice teachers using NSTA as a Textbook (or as instructional materials supplement) create a library of resources, grow their network of professional colleagues, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge of science.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

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.

Inviting all Preservice Teachers and Faculty Advisors to learn about NSTA’s Preservice Teacher Chapter Program with National and Local Preservice Teacher Chapters options.

TAKEAWAYS:
Preservice Teachers and Faculty Advisors walk-away informed to participate in NSTA’s Preservice Teacher Chapter Program.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Hanuscin (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA), Morgan Glann (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Nicole Merner (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Emma Harma (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Lavender Bertsch (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Hannah Smock (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Makayla Spencer (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Annabelle Fortine (Central Michigan University: Eagle, MI), Jim McDonald (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI)

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.

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)

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!

Come and engage in hands-on activities, collect resources, and network with Informal Science Educators from a variety of institutions. Discover exciting new ideas and materials that you can use right away.

TAKEAWAYS:
Classroom teachers and informal science educators network to discover and engage in activities that will expand their knowledge and be usable in many aspects of their work.

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.

Join our roundtable of preservice and novice teachers to discuss experiences interning and as a first year teacher. Hear their stories and ask questions!

TAKEAWAYS:
Preservice teachers can be better prepared to student teach and begin their first jobs by hearing stories from and asking questions of preservice and new teachers who have just experienced interning or their first year.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Governor (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA), Rebekkah O'Beollain (The Ohio State University: Columbus, OH), Mutiara Syifa (The Ohio State University: Columbus, OH), SOPHIA JEONG (The Ohio State University: Columbus, OH), Tasha Thomas (University of Houston Clear Lake), Erika Reeves (Bodies STEM Early College Experience Teacher: Columbus, OH), Lizz Holtz (Glenn C. Jones Middle School: Buford, GA), Konrad Peterson (Kansas State University: No City, No State), Kenneth Herrenbruck (Kansas State University: No City, No State), Kimberly Staples (Kansas State University: Manhattan, KS)

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)

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)

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)

Pre-service teachers! Participate in this session to learn how NSTA Resources can provide the skills and knowledge needed to apply for and be successful in any teaching opportunity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Pre-service teachers will get a thorough overview of all the resources and materials available in our NSTA Library and professional development opportunities to strengthen their resume and build confidence when seeking teaching positions.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Angela Webb (James Madison University: Harrisonburg, VA), Jacob Hayward (Siloam Springs Middle School: Siloam Springs, AR)

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)