This lesson focuses on radio astronomy data collected with a $50 student-built telescope. The telescope is not needed to do the lesson. Students collect information on the locations of neutral hydrogen. Easy to do and a primary focus of radio astronomy. The data collected can be used in the classroom to teach lessons on the Doppler Effect, Wave behavior, galactic velocity curves, and effects of gravity as well as other science topics. Many physics concepts can be taught in a highly engaging way by studying the concepts found in astronomy. Doppler effect, rotational motion, wave behavior, the EM spectrum are examples. The challenges to doing such lessons is the high cost of the telescopes and the challenges of collecting astronomy data during daylight hours. Plans for building and operating the radio telescope will be provided. Lesson plans for teaching the Doppler Effect via Red Shift/Blue Shift and for teaching how to work with galactic velocity curves will be included.

TAKEAWAYS:
Radio astronomy is done during class time as radio wave detection is not affected by daylight. Students will learn about the unique nature of galactic rotational behavior as compared to circular motion and planetary motion under Kepler’s Laws.

SPEAKERS:
John Clark (Volusia Online Learning: Daytona Beach, FL)

California Northstate University College of Health Sciences offers several outreach programs supporting middle and high school students and teachers. Our outreach goals are to expand opportunities, interest, and awareness for students interested in pursuing careers in the STEM and health science professions and to increase and diversify the pipeline of students with access to these career opportunities. Currently, we have 3 active outreach programs engaging the regional communities: Biology Education to Careers, Institute for Chemistry and Physics for Middle School Science Teachers, and Student Powered Activities for Reach Knowledge. Over 400 students have participated in our various outreach programs, and we have added over 50 educators to our training network. Our regional community school affiliations have grown to over 30. By sharing our outreach experiences, we hope to inspire educators in engaging their regional communities about careers in STEM and health science professions.

TAKEAWAYS:
California Northstate University is dedicated to sharing insights gained from developing and implementing our outreach programs and to offer guidance for educators and institutions that seek to engage their local communities about careers in STEM and health sciences.

SPEAKERS:
Allan Ancheta (California Northstate University: Rancho Cordova, CA)

STEM educators often teach in traditional settings without exposure to innovative teaching methods. Traveling nationally or internationally can offer valuable insights into how other STEM educators use local experiences to teach. This session covers topics such as applying for national and international STEM professional development programs, benefits for educators and students, and strategies to broaden global perspectives through PBL. Participants will also learn how to apply for grants to fund classroom activities and potentially send students on the same experiences. The session provides practical examples and insights to empower participants to take action and apply their newfound knowledge in their communities. By attending, educators can enhance their teaching skills and create long-lasting lesson plans.

TAKEAWAYS:
Enhance teaching skills and knowledge in STEM subjects for better student learning outcomes with effective strategies and resources. Attend this session to discover the benefits of national and international educator study tours for professional development.

SPEAKERS:
Oktay Ince (Horizon Science Academy Columbus High School: Beavercreek, OH)

A lab done in science classes leads students to discover that the force of a hanging mass can be offset by the force of a spinning mass, finding equilibrium between centrifugal force and gravity. Discover how that same physics principle used in astronomy applies to the rotation of the Milky Way and led to the discovery of Dark Matter. Students will compare their calculations for circular and planetary motion with those for the rotation of the galaxy as collected by radio astronomer’s plotting the movement of neutral hydrogen. How will your students react when they discover these calculations don’t match? Learn how to lead your students through a discussion of the world of radio astronomers who grappled with the same problem when their data did not align with the laws of physics. The explanation became a new field in cosmology – the study of dark matter and dark energy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will learn that galactic rotational motion follows different rules than either circular motion or Kepler’s planetary motion laws. This led to the discovery of dark matter.

SPEAKERS:
John Clark (Volusia Online Learning: Daytona Beach, FL)

STEM SAIL Ohio project team members will share how this grant-funded work is supporting science education in Ohio through focused regional partnerships. The discussion will include topics like: The Appalachian STEM Collaborative, a STEM Ecosystem that serves some of Ohio’s neediest students and has demonstrated exceptional growth in the wake of COVID-19. The DreamSTEM Educator Summer Externship Program, where teachers participate in business and industry activities and learn how those roles connect with their own content area. “STEM Stories” of teachers like Mark, a computer science teacher at an Ohio high school whose Game Design students are developing job training simulations for a local factory. Participants will see the immense value of cross-sector collaboration to advance classroom and workforce connections in STEM fields. They will be inspired to seek professional and industry connections to strengthen the classroom-workforce pipeline in their own schools and communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the STEM SAIL Ohio project from the perspective of program designers, STEM ecosystem partners, and Ohio educators. They will hear examples of activities designed to support teachers and student success, and will be encouraged to connect with their nearest STEM ecosystem.

SPEAKERS:
Sadie Norwick (TIES: No City, No State), Christa Krohn (Director of Learning Systems: Mantua, OH)

STEM Education in rural areas needs to meet students where they are at, not push progress and advancement by utilizing non-relatable curriculums and extensions. Rural community culture needs to be recognized and respected as well as incorporated into STEM learning in order to achieve the most beneficial outcome for the student. The GO STEM Mobile Maker Lab is using & developing curriculum influenced by students and supported by teachers to elevate rural STEM Education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Awareness and insight into exploratory STEM education methods and tools designed to enhance classroom experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Kyle Koyle (GO STEM: La Grande, OR)

The vision of the Fairport STEAM Lab is to support, challenge, and prepare all Fairport students to be Future Ready. We believe that by engaging with curricular and extracurricular projects and inquiries, students will utilize their innate creativity to actively construct knowledge. Students engage with materials and technologies that help them share their learning and tell their stories. The Labs are a place for young people to develop skills that they can transfer to other parts of their lives as they prepare themselves for the future. The presenters will share our experience with building a Lab with attendees that are interested in creating them in their districts and how we have expanded our work to other area districts. We will explore how our curriculum is scaffolded to increase levels of sophistication regarding engineering design, computer science, and digital literacy concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with recommendations for creating STEAM Labs in their districts based on the blueprint that Fairport used to launch Labs that incorporate the NGSS Engineering Design standards, Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards, and a focus on social-emotional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Travis Wood (Fairport Central School District: Rochester, NY), Kristin Larsen (Honeoye Falls- Lima CSD: Honeoye Falls, NY)

The presentation begins with an introduction to our NIH interdisciplinary initiative followed by an overview of the unit. This phenomenon-based unit is composed of 6 3D lessons aligned with the NGSS. Participants will engage in various science and Nature of Science activities focusing on how to support students in developing informed views about science. Presenters will share examples of actual student work, teacher feedback and other relevant artifacts. Activities include interactive Jamboard on living and nonliving things exploring viruses, sharing what students from our study know about coronaviruses, tackling the misconception of "COVID-19 is just the flu", and modeling viral spread using a simplified mathematical model for high school. Finally, examples of actual student’s public health reports connecting wastewater surveillance to community decision making will be showcased. The presentation will end with a discussion on adoption considerations for others and future improvements.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engage in a series of interdisciplinary 3-D lessons on science, technology, and public health using relevant phenomena like COVID-19, water quality, & wastewater treatment. All supporting documents and activities will be shared with the participants. Examples of student artifacts will be showcased.

SPEAKERS:
Sagan Goodpaster (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY), Jeff Chalfant (Missouri University of Science and Technology: Lexington, KY), Sahar Alameh (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY)

The GISP2 H-Core was collected in 1992 adjacent to the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) drill site. The GISP2-H 125.6-meter firm and ice core is a record of 430 years of liquid electrical conductivity and nitrate concentrations. The liquid electrical conductivity sequence contains signals from a number of known volcanic eruptions that provide absolute dates. The terrestrial and solar background nitrate records show seasonal and annual variations and unique events. Several major nitrate anomalies within the record do not correspond to any known terrestrial or solar events, and there is compelling evidence that some nitrate anomalies within the GISP2 H-Core could be a record of supernova events. This investigation provides participants with a better understanding of the scientific process of analyzing data, developing models, constructing knowledge, and defending the results. Sometimes there is no answer key. This investigation is closely aligned with NGSS cross-cutting concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
In constructing knowledge, there is no definitive answer, only plausible conclusions based on constructing, analyzing, and comparing data and research from multiple disciplines. This investigation provides a better understanding of the scientific process of developing models and defending results.

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

In this presentation, we will be reviewing how our district has built a STEM Pathway program that has developed a community of STEM learners and led to the creation of programming opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom that builds knowledge of STEM careers, foster STEM skills, and ultimately begins to create a community of real-world problem solvers. In addition to discussing the programs, we will discuss how we have leveraged community resources, how the program has branched out to create other unique STEM opportunities for our students and has ultimately allowed us to close the gender gap for STEM in our schools, reach our diverse population, and promote our founding belief that STEM is for all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with resources and tangible ways to build a STEM community and provide a variety of opportunities for all students to participate and deepen their understanding of the STEM field.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Curtiss (Coordinating Supervisor of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Business: Parsippany, NJ), Rachel Villanova (Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Schools: Parsippany, NJ)

The presentation will cover the basics of high-altitude ballooning as done at Fort Hays State University. Attendees will be introduced to the FHSU website that we use with school groups who contact us to help with their launch. These cover physics and chemistry involved in launching a balloon, the FAA rules, where to find materials, tracking and recovery systems, designing an experiment, and processing data. We will also introduce the teachers to the technology that can be flown to collect data which includes cameras, data loggers, and how to make and code data collection devices with Arduinos. The presentation will include information about NASA resources on high altitude ballooning. We will also share the high school curriculum developed by Shepherd-Adams that she uses in her classroom for an aeronautics CTE course. Examples of student projects and presentations will be presented. The project aligns with NGSS standards related to engineering, earth and space science, as well as physi

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to prepare and launch a high-altitude balloon that integrates science and engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Cheryl Shepherd-Adams (Teacher: Hays, KS), Paul Adams (Fort Hays State University: Hays, KS)

The session will suggest ways in which to reach out of the science classroom and into the heart to connect climate science to the human factor of the climate crisis. Specific pieces of writing (fiction and essay), art, photography, poetry, music, and multimedia will be shared with audience members. These will be provided as examples of the science-humanities connection and how to leverage the emotions present in the work to underscore the severity of the climate crisis. The presentation will suggest entry points in the NGSS Standards to integrate the interdisciplinary approach. The session will also highlight artwork from diverse cultures, some of which will feel the impact of Climate Change earlier than industrialized nations (i.e. Marshallese or other Pacific Islanders). Resources and lists of potential works linked to Climate Change will be provided so attendees may select the works that would best connect to their unique student populations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers can use writing, art, photography, poetry, and other forms of expressions from our global culture to supplement a student's scientific understanding of the potential and current effects of Climate Change. If you humanize the problem, advocacy follows.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Knutson (Department of Defense Education Activit;y: Dubuque, IA)