Announcing the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Seventh Flight Opportunity

May 20, 2013

Announcing the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Seventh Flight Opportunity – SSEP Mission 5 to the International Space Station for the 2013-2014 Academic Year Opportunity for a School District, Even an Individual School, to Engage a Few Hundred Grade 5-12 Students in Very Real Microgravity Experiment Design for Flight to the International Space Station (ISS)

Note: this program is not for an individual class.

From Dr. Jeff Goldstein, Director of the (501c3 non-profit) National Center for Earth and Space Science Education in the U.S, and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally, and creator of the SSEP initiative –

Dear STEM education colleague,

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program was designed as a model U.S.  national STEM education initiative to inspire and engage the next generation.  SSEP provides truly authentic STEM education experiences with seamless integration across STEM disciplines, and cross-disciplinary connections to reading, writing, communication, and art and design. And it is garnering very significant media attention at the local and national level.  We are truly inviting YOUR students to be real researchers, and your community to be part of America’s Space Program – in fact we want you to have your OWN Space Program.

SSEP TOP-LEVEL STEM AND COMMUNITY-ENGAGMENT OBJECTIVES:

1.   For school districts, even individual schools, SSEP provides an opportunity to implement a systemic, high caliber STEM education program tailored to local curricular need, which immerses a community of grade 5-12 students in every facet of authentic research. The program is designed to reflect the Next Generation Science Standards.

2.   The program is designed to inspire and engage the next generation of scientists and engineers, and is accomplished by providing each participating community their own very real Space Program. This is not a simulation.

3.   More broadly, SSEP is about a commitment to student ownership in exploration, to science as journey, to the joys of learning, and to science as an interdisciplinary tapestry that extends to vital written and oral communication skills, and design.

4.   The program uses a Community Engagement Model for STEM Education, which can extend to all K-12 students, their teachers, and families, and generate significant excitement across the community.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

SSEP Mission 5 to ISS will provide each participating community a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to ISS in Spring 2014. Mirroring how professional research is done, student teams across the community design their own microgravity research programs, and submit real but grade level appropriate research proposals. Proposals from across the community go through a formal review process, and the community’s flight experiment is selected by a Review Board meeting at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, a National Partner on SSEP. The design competition – from program start, to experiment design, to submission of proposals by student teams spans 9 weeks from September 9 to November 11, 2013.

Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experiment design.

This is a true science immersion program where students are asked to be real scientists and go through the exact same process as professional researchers vying for research resources and research opportunities.  SSEP addresses a wide range of biological and physical science disciplines, including: seed germination, crystal growth, physiology and life cycles of microorganisms (e.g. bacteria), cell biology and growth, food studies, and studies of micro-aquatic life. Students design experiments to the technology and engineering constraints imposed by a real research mini-lab and flight operations to and from Earth orbit.

MILESTONE DATES:

9-Week Experiment Design Phase in Your Community: September 9 to November 11, 2013

Selection of Your Community’s Flight Experiment: December 12, 2013

Ferry Flight to ISS: Spring 2014

Ferry Flight Return to Earth: expectation is Launch + 6 weeks

National Conference at Smithsonian in Washington, DC: early July 2014

TIME CRITICAL: ALL INTERESTED COMMUNITIES ARE ASKED TO READ THIS EMAIL CAREFULLY AND INQUIRE BY

JUNE 30, 2013: schools and districts need to assess interest with their staff and, if appropriate, move forward with an Implementation Plan.

DEADLINE FOR COMMUNITIES TO BE ABOARD (approved Plan and funded):

September 4, 2013. To meet this deadline, the Center needs to begin working with interested communities as soon as possible.

HERITAGE:

Since program inception in June 2010, there have been six SSEP flight opportunities: SSEP on STS-134 and STS-135, which were the final flights of Space Shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis; and SSEP Missions 1 through 4 to ISS.  To date, 60 communities have participated in the program. Not yet counting Mission 4 to ISS, a total of 17,670 grade 5-14 students were fully immersed in microgravity experiment design and proposal writing, and 4,347 experiment proposals were submitted by student teams. To date, 14 communities have participated in 2, 3, or 4 flight opportunities, reflecting the sustainable nature of the program.

Latest news: the payloads containing the 28 Mission 3 and Mission 4 flight experiments, one experiment selected for each of 28 participating communities, are scheduled to launch this Fall on SpaceX-3 Dragon out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station adjoining Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and aboard the historic flight of Orbital Sciences D-1 Cygnus out of the nation’s new spaceport the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in Virginia. Community delegations will be in attendance. (YES THIS IS VERY REAL.)

The initiative was also highlighted last year at the 2^nd Annual White House Science Fair event.

NEXT STEPS – WE ARE ON A FAST TRACK:

1.   CAREFULLY read the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program home page (link

below), which includes links to all aspects of the program, including program operations, how to participate, profiles of the 60 communities participating to date, and summaries of all selected flight experiments. Also below are the links to the extensive media coverage, and program testimonials from community leadership.

2.   Contact us via the SSEP home page, or call me directly at: 301-395-0770

SSEP HOMEPAGE: http://ssep.ncesse.org

TESTIMONIALS: http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities/in-our-own-words/

MEDIA COVERAGE: http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities/in-the-news/

Be part of history by making history

CONTACT:

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Honda Foundation Grants

American Honda Foundation

More than 25 Years of Changing Lives – One Dream at a Time

Overview

Since 1984, more than $27 million have been awarded to organizations serving approximately 115 million people in virtually every state in the U.S.

AHF was established by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., to commemorate its 25th anniversary in the United States and to show its appreciation of America’s support through the years. It is Honda’s desire that in every community in which it does business society will want Honda to exist.

Mission Statement

Help meet the needs of American society in the areas of youth and scientific education by awarding grants to nonprofits, while strategically assisting communities in deriving long-term benefits.

Guidelines

The American Honda Foundation engages in grant making that reflects the basic tenets, beliefs and philosophies of Honda companies, which are characterized by the following qualities: imaginative, creative, youthful, forward-thinking, scientific, humanistic and innovative. We support youth education with a specific focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in addition to the environment. When considering the American Honda Foundation as a potential funding source, please note the following:

Eligible Organizations:

Nonprofit charitable organizations classified as a 501(c) (3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service, or a public school district, private/public elementary and secondary schools as listed by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

To be considered for funding organizations MUST have two years of audited financial statements examined by an independent CPA for the purpose of expressing an opinion if gross revenue is $500,000 or more. If gross revenue is less than $500,000, and the organization does not have audits, it may submit two years of financial statements accompanied by an independent CPA’s review report instead.

Geographic Scope:

National

Funding Priority:

Youth education, specifically in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, the environment, job training and literacy

Other Important Information:

• Organizations may only submit one request in a 12-month period. This includes colleges and universities with several departments/outreach programs
• The grant range is from $20,000 to $75,000 over a one-year period
• Proposals should be submitted online. Click here to start the online process
• No faxed applications will be accepted
• Support materials such as annual reports, pamphlets/brochures, newsletters, articles, DVDs, etc. should be mailed to the following address: American Honda Foundation
• 1919 Torrance Blvd.
• Mailstop: 100-1W-5A
• Torrance, CA 90501-2746
• ahf@ahm.honda.com

Our grant-making schedule is as follows:

Deadline for Submission       Anticipated Board Review    Anticipated Grants Awarded

February 1                                            April                                                  May 1

May 1                                                     July                                                   August 1

August 1                                                October                                            November 1

November 1                                          January                                            February 1

• Should the deadline for submission of applications fall on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday), the deadline will be extended to the following Monday.

Apply Online

To determine if your program/project meets the qualifications for consideration, the online application process begins with an Eligibility Quiz. Click here to start the quiz.

Frequently Asked Questions

Grant Awards

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2012

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2011

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2010

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2009

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2008

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2007

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2006

List of Grant Awards — Fiscal Year 2005

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Middle School and High School Science Teachers Needed for Survey

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TiffanyGram May 14th, 2013

This week: (1) Greetings (2) #OKSci Leadership (3) Vision 2020 Conference (4) Professional Development Opportunities (5) Student Opportunities

“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.” – Unknown

This is one of my favorite quotes as an educator and so true! Many of my former students are graduating, some from high school and some from college, and I am thrilled to see them wear their caps and gowns. I wonder what paths their lives will take in the coming years and how they will grow as individuals. As your school year comes to a close, I hope you have time to reflect on the many lives you have impacted this year. You may not be able to see the fruit yet, because some fruit takes many years to develop, but I hope you know that the long hours you’ve put in planning, grading, and mentoring will certainly produce an abundance of it!

I am so proud to be a part of this profession and even prouder to be a member of the science education community in Oklahoma! I’ve had numerous opportunities this year to meet so many of you and I have had the great honor of working with the outstanding members of the Oklahoma C3 Science Standards Writing Team this spring. We are so fortunate to have such expertise in our state!

With that in mind, we have an exciting opportunity for those who might be interested in a science leadership opportunity in our state.

 #OKSci Leadership:

Recognizing the extreme need around recruiting and retaining highly effective mathematics and science teachers, the OSDE seeks to create a cadre of highly motivated and innovative educators who will actively contribute to the statewide effort to improve mathematics and science education. Recognizing lack of opportunities for leadership, innovation, and autonomy as key factors leading to the low retention rates of our best educators, the OSDE will bring together 30 math and 30 science educators to be empowered leaders within a highly competitive and prestigious professional learning network called #OKMath Leadership and #OKSci Leadership. Each class will last for one year, consist of quarterly meetings, and culminate with a Class Project.

At the 2013 Vision 2020 Conference, 60 educators will join together as Class 0, the pilot classes of the #OKMath and #OKSci Leadership effort. It is imperative that members of this first class are highly motivated, invested in mathematics education, desire to refine their educational leadership perspective and capacity, and committed to helping shape the future structure and vision for leadership classes to come.

Selection for Class 0

The pilot class, Class 0, will be hand selected from each of 30 REAC3H Coach Regions and must be currently teaching mathematics or science students at a PK through 12 level.

Selection for Subsequent Classes

Membership for subsequent classes will be the result of an application and blind review process. Further communication around the official selection procedures will be determined to a greater degree by members of Class 0.

Responsibilities

·         Attend each quarterly meeting (all meetings are 2 days):

o   Alpha Meeting – Vision 2020, July 9-10, 2013

o   Beta Meeting – TBA (Sept-Oct)

o   Gamma Meeting – TBA (Jan)

o   Delta Meeting – TBA (May)

·         Contribute a Class Project to Oklahoma Education based on Class expertise and experiences over the course of the four meetings.

·         Class 0 Members will contribute to the vision and procedures to guide future #OKMath and #OKSci Leadership Classes.

Requirements

·         Must teach math or science during application process and during membership.

Inquiries?

·         #OKMath – Levi Patrick (levi.patrick@sde.ok.gov)

·         #OKMath – Sara Snodgrass (sara.snodgrass@sde.ok.gov)

·         #OKSci – Tiffany Neill (tiffany.neill@sde.ok.gov)

Applications will be going out later this week through the science and math listservs and on the #OKSci and #OKMath Facebook pages.

If you would like to have an applications mailed to your summer e-mail account please e-mail me with that information.

Vision 2020 Conference:

Registration is now open for the 2013 OSDE VISION 2020 Summer Conference!

The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s VISION 2020 conference will be held July 9-11, 2013 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Online registration for attendees and exhibitors, and proposals to present are now available on our website along with other conference information such as hotel accommodations.

Science Sessions: Tuesday July 9th

The science sessions scheduled for July 9th at Vision 2020 will provide participants with a wide variety of opportunities to engage in interactive professional development in science! Topics of focus include: exploring scientific practices, literacy in science, lesson designing. Several members of the Oklahoma C3 Science Standards Writing Team will be presenting at the conference and I will also be giving an update on the Oklahoma C3 Science Standards. I hope to see all of you there!

For general conference information and to register, please visit:  http://ok.gov/sde/vision2020

Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers:

NASA Eclipse Professional Development Institute:

The ECLIPSE project is a STEM Education grant awarded by NASA to Seminole Public Schools and Oklahoma State University. It promotes problem-based learning in science and mathematics education and provides an online learning environment that helps students develop individual and collaborative problem solving skills. ECLIPSE (Environment for Cyber Learning Integrating Problem Solving Experiences) provides instructional design and assessment tools for the teacher to create an authentic problem solving activity and implement it effectively in the classroom, together with providing scaffolding for students to engage in real-life problem solving.

When: June 26-28, 2013

Where: Seminole State College, Seminole OK

Contacts:  Pasha Antonenko (p.antonenko@coe.ufl.edu) Ronda Townsend (rtownsend@sps.k12.ok.us)document

See attached document for more details.

Oklahoma State & Haliburton Geosciences Ambassador Program:

Enrich your geosciences classroom and link with OSU scientists. The OSHGA-GAP includes workshops, labs, field trips and accommodations.

When: June 9th-15th

Where: Oklahoma State University in Stillwater

See attached flyer for more details

Environmental Blast:

Please see the attached document for details on free programs, awards, and grant opportunities related to environmental education.

Oklahoma Environmental Education Guide:

Link to download: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/pubs/lpd/EnvResourceGuide_Web.pdf

First Robotics:

Interested in starting a FIRST Robotics team [First Lego League (FLL), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in your school? Sign up to attend a FIRST Robotics training.

See attached memo for details.

Opportunities for Students:

Cyber Patriot:

A high school level computer network skills competition.  Teams may register now but won’t start the learning and competition until next fall’s semester.  We have teamed with Rose State College to offer free classes to teams on Saturdays if they wish to learn more and successfully complete.

http://www.uscyberpatriot.org/Pages/default.aspx

Summer Academy for Chemistry:

The UCO Department of Chemistry is holding a summer academy for 8th-10th graders. Students will participate in lab activities that show the many ways chemistry impacts human health. If you would like more information please contact Dr. Dana Rundle at drundle@uco.edu.

See attached document for details.

Stay Connected:

Follow me on Twitter: @tiffanyneill

Facebook: #OKSci

Hashtags: #oksde #OKSci #OKSTEM

Sign Up for a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/

OKSci Recources:

Classroom Strategies: http://www.scoop.it/t/oksci-classroom-strategies

Website Resources Elementary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SciElemLinks

Website Resources Secondary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SecScienceLinks

Accessing Archived Science Messages:

You can access Archived Science Messages I’ve sent out since March via the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association (OSTA) website. Scroll down to see previous posts.

Science Listserv:

Please encourage others to register for the science listserv and pass along the following registration link:

Register for Science Listserv

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!

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OKLAHOMA – Outstanding Biology Teacher Award

Every year, the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (OBTA) program attempts to recognize an outstanding biology educator (grades 7-12) in each of the 50 states; Washington, DC; Canada; Puerto Rico; and overseas territories. Candidates for this award do not have to be NABT members, but they must have at least three years public, private, or parochial school teaching experience. A major portion of the nominee’s career must have been devoted to the teaching of biology/life science, and candidates are judged on their teaching ability and experience, cooperativeness in the school and community, inventiveness, initiative, and student-teacher relationships. OBTA recipients are honored at a special event during the NABT Professional Development Conference; microscopes from Leica Microsystems, Inc.; and certificates and a complimentary one-year membership from NABT.

Nomination’s may be from colleagues or self-nomination.

Applications must be mailed to Kay Gamble by May 31, 2013

Oklahoma nominators and applicants can find required forms on the Forms page of http://obtaoklahoma.wikispaces.com. If you have further questions please contact Kay Gamble.

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GAP at OSU

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Field Test Opportunity for Middle Level Teachers from BSCS

We are excited to announce a field-test opportunity for teachers of 6th through 8th grade life science!

BSCS is developing a curriculum supplement titled Allergies and Scientific Inquiry for middle school students (Ed note:  Could there possibly be a more topical subject for study by Oklahoma students than this?  sniff) .

Supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the supplement will be composed of five lessons focusing on food allergies, including their diagnosis and management. The lessons will be accessed through a dedicated website.

Field–test teachers are critical in helping us design and improve programs like Allergies and Scientific Inquiry. Teachers like you are key partners in the development process by helping us test what will benefit future teachers and their students.

There are a limited number of field-test spaces available for the Allergies project. Prior to field testing, selected middle school life science teachers will participate in a webinar that describes the project and introduces teachers to the five lessons. Teachers will receive a stipend after completing the field-test process

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NSTA Express

NSTA Student Competition Teams to Participate in April 22 (TODAY) White House Science Fair

Student teams from NSTA’s student competitions—Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision, the U.S. Army’s eCYBERMISSION and the DuPont Science Essay Competition—will join President Obama for the White House Science Fair on Monday, April 22, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET. The president will speak at 2:25 p.m. The event will be webcast live at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

Elementary students Evan Jackson, Alec Jackson, and Caleb Robinson (at right) from Flippen Elementary School in McDonough, Georgia, will present their 2012 National award-winning ExploraVision project “COOL Pads: Shoulder Pads that Keep Players Safe from Overheating.”

Hayden Hilst, Riya Kaul, and Rebecca (Becca) Mackey (at left) from Jenks East Intermediate School in Jenks, Oklahoma, will present their eCYBERMISSION winning project that explored the benefits of using technologically advanced energy and water efficiency devices in their school.

Representing the 2012 DuPont Science Essay Competition will be Mike Espy from Little Snake River Valley High School in Baggs, Wyoming, for his essay titled “Moo-ing Energy,” and Cecelia Poole, from Carvel Academy in Bear, Delaware, for her essay titled “Breathe Easy: Bronchial Thermoplasty.”

The President hosted the first-ever White House Science Fair in late 2010 to celebrate the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. As part of the Administration’s Educate to Innovate campaign, the President told students in 2010 that “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.” 

Congratulations to these teams for their achievements, and plan to watch the White House Science Fair live Monday at 2:25 p.m. ET.

Congratulations to the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition Winners

This year’s winners of the DuPont Challenge researched and wrote about some of the world’s most pressing issues: Feeding the World, Building an Energy Secure Future, Protecting People and the Environment, and Innovative Science. Twenty-six NSTA members judged the nearly 10,000 thought-provoking essays, selecting eight winners. This is quite an honor for the students and the sponsoring science teacher. The winners will receive US Savings Bonds, reference materials from Britannica Digital Learning and NBC Learn, and much more. Grand prize and first runners-up winners along with a parent and sponsoring teacher are packing their bags for an all-expenses paid trip to Orlando, Florida, and the award ceremony at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Learn more about these amazing winners of the 2013 DuPont Challenge here.

National Environmental Education Week Resources

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan relates how environmental education can be a tool to improve student health and engagement in STEM fields in a public service announcement for National Environmental Education Week (EE Week). “We know so many of the jobs of the future are in the STEM fields, and there are so many great ties between STEM education and environmental education,” he said. View the PSA here.

To celebrate EE Week, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) has released a variety of timely resources. Its video toolkit demonstrates lessons that use technology to connect students to the natural world. Its 10 Apps for Taking Tech Outdoors and Tech & Our Planet infographic illustrate the widespread use of technology among kids and adults and possibilities for environmental learning, career pathways, and implications for the economy. NEEF is also sponsoring an Environmental Educator Photo Contest running through May 31, 2013.

Secretary Duncan will also announce the second annual U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools and first-ever District Sustainability Awardees on April 22 at 10:30 a.m. ET. Honored schools and districts will have an important role to play modeling best practices for all schools who wish to provide an education geared toward the challenges and jobs of the future, which is why the Department of Education will release a report with summaries of each of the honorees.

NSTA Legislative Update: President’s FY2014 Budget Consolidates Major STEM Education Programs

As expected, President Obama’s FY2014 budget request includes a major reorganization of federal STEM education programs, and comprehensive immigration legislation introduced last week by the Gang of Eight contains funding for STEM education. Read all about it in this issue of the NSTA Legislative Update.

NGSS@NSTA

Register for April 30 Web Seminar on Crosscutting Concept; Energy and Matter—Flows, Cycles, and Conservation 
Prepare for NGSS in your classroom by learning more about the important crosscutting concept of Energy and Matter—Flows, Cycles, and Conservation. This web seminar will be held April 30 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. ET. Join Andy Anderson in this great professional development experience that will explore the role that energy and matter play in science, how student understanding of energy and matter might develop over the course of K–12 education, how learning about energy and matter can take place during the learning of disciplinary core ideas by engaging in scientific and engineering practices, and what studying energy and matter really looks like in the classroom. Visit the NSTA Learning Center to register.

Dive Into NGSS with the NSTA Reader’s Guide to the Next Generation Science Standards 
The e-book is available now and the print edition coming in May. Written by science education expert Harold Pratt, the publication gives readers a deep understanding of NGSS core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. To order, visit the NSTA Science Store. View the standards online at www.nextgenscience.org or www.nsta.org/ngss. Want your own print version of the entire NGSS (coming this fall)? Pre-order your print version now at the NSTA Science Store.

Three New Everyday Science Mysteries Books for K–8 Classrooms

Everyone loves a good mystery—and thousands of teachers love the way the Everyday Science Mysteries series gets K–8 students engaged in real experimentation about real science content. Our three new releases in this bestselling series each focus on a specific content area—Earth and space science, physical science, or biological science. The stories come with lists of science concepts to explore, grade-appropriate strategies for using them, and explanations of how the lessons align with national standards. They also relieve you of the tiring work of designing every one of your inquiry lessons from scratch.

Member Price: $20.76 | Nonmember Price: $25.95

Budget-Friendly PD

Scholarships for New Science Teachers—Apply by August 1

Special career-enhancing experiences for middle and high school science teachers in their second through fifth year can be found through the New Science Teachers Academy, a yearlong professional development and mentoring program that offers unique support and resources. Hundreds of teachers will be chosen to participate in the 2013–2014 Academy and take advantage of cost-free, consistent online professional development activities along with face-to-face educational experiences. Simply apply and take control of your career. Principals should consider making this a priority for their newest science teachers.

The Academy provides each teacher with

• Discipline-specific mentoring throughout the year
• Web-based content development courses and other resources
• Membership with full benefits in NSTA
• 2014 National Conference on Science Education attendance, including air travel, lodging, meals, and registration fees

To find out more about the Academy and how to apply for a scholarship, visit www.nsta.org/academy. The application deadline is August 1.

Lab Out Loud Episode 95: Helping Students Imagine Mars

This week hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk with David Delgado, lead of the Imagine Mars project from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Imagine Mars Project gives students a chance to work with scientists and engineers to build and design a future human community on Mars. Listen to Lab Out Loud to learn about the project and other educational outreach opportunities from JPL.

Focusing the Lens on STEM

Do you need help implementing engineering concepts in your early childhood classroom? Are skills development in math and science preparing students well enough for integration of technology and engineering into the curriculum? Get hands-on experience and practical knowledge for improving student performance in STEM subjects. Learn how to put an action plan into place. Participate in panel discussions and teacher workshops that include instructional models and activities. Attend NSTA’s second STEM Forum & Expo in St. Louis, Missouri, May 15–18.

Strands:

• PreK–2 (Early Childhood)
• Grades 3–5
• Grades 6–9
• Grades 10–12
• Effective STEM Partnerships
• Administrators

Panel Discussions:

• Successful K–12 STEM Schools
• Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards
• State STEM networks—How Are They Working to Change STEM Education?
• STEM in Urban Science Education and Engaging—and Keeping—More Girls and Minorities in STEM
• Public/Private Partnerships, Out-of-School and Informal Programs that Excite Students to the World of STEM
• Putting the “T” and “E” in Your STEM Program
• A Whole School Approach to STEM: What You Need to Know
• Promising STEM Programs: Three to Watch

For more information, including a list of teacher workshops, visit www.nsta.org/2013stemforum. Register today.

Online Courses from the American Museum of Natural History

Are you interested in learning about evolution? Do you want to know more about Earth or the solar system? Are you looking for graduate or professional development credit? If so, check out the Seminars on Science program from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Online courses run from May 27 through July 7 and include Earth: Inside and Out; Climate Change; The Solar System; Evolution; Genetics, Genomics, Genethics, and more.

Each course is available for graduate credit and is co-taught by an experienced educator and a scientist. For more information, or to register, visit www.amnh.org/learn or contact AMNH directly.

Registration deadline: May 13 
Registration: www.amnh.org/learn/Register 
Phone: 800-649-6715 
E-mail: seminfo@amnh.org

Popular Science Magazine/Delta Science Fair

Calling All Teachers! 
Know a student with a genius idea for a science project that could help make the world cleaner and greener? Here is a chance to share it with the world and win cash prizes! Popular Science magazine in partnership with Delta is hosting its 1st Annual Science Fair and is now accepting submissions for best original science projects in the category of sustainability.

This nationwide competition is open to elementary, middle school, high school, and college students. Judges will select one Grand Prize winner and runner-up winners in each of the four educational divisions. Prizes include cash awards and the chance to see your project in the pages of Popular Science magazine!

To learn more and register, visit www.popsci.com/sciencefair.

Science of Innovation

NBC Learn, in partnership with the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, looks at the Science of Innovation. More than just a single event or brilliant idea, innovation is a process that anyone from a garage tinkerer to a federally-funded scientist can take to discover new solutions. This 11-part series, narrated by NBC’s Ann Curry, highlights top innovators from across the country working on innovative projects in industries such as healthcare, energy, transportation, and agriculture. Free lesson plans are provided by NSTA.

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American Museum of Natural History Seminars on Science

For those of you looking for professional development and graduate credit, registration is open for Seminars on Science from the American Museum of Natural History. Each six-week course is fully online and can be taken for up to 4 graduate credits each. You can sign up now at amnh.org/learn.

Courses include: Earth: Inside and Out; Climate Change; Evolution; The Solar System, and more. Since the courses are online, there is no need to come to the museum at any time (though we’d love to have you if you’re in the area!). All of our courses are led by both an experienced classroom teacher and a Ph.D. research scientist.

The next 2013 session runs from May 27th to July 7th.

Sign up today and receive $50 off your registration cost!

For more information about the program, check out Seminars on Science at our website: amnh.org/learn.

If you have any questions, send us an email at semadmin@amnh.org, or call us at 800-649-6715.

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Oklahoma Youth Forestry Camp

Oklahoma Youth Forestry Camp provides students, ages 13 – 15, the opportunity to
experience the forestry and wildlife professions, learn about Oklahoma’s natural
resources and build an awareness of environmental components.

Explore Oklahoma’s natural resources with professionals from across the state!
Hands on activities including forest management, stream ecology, fire management,
wildlife management, urban forestry, and how they all work together.

Of course, there is time for swimming, hiking, and outdoor recreation!

Camp Tuition: $175 per camper

For more information, please contact our camp staff at
okforest@ag.ok.gov or (405) 522-6158.

2013 Camper Application
2013 Counselor / Adult Staff Application
Scholarship Form
Sample Schedule
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