At the national NSTA convention, I attended a day-long geology field trip to various points of interest in Georgia. Two of those sites were mines (turns out Georgia has the most diverse mining operations in the country--in terms of variety of things mined--who knew?). Mining hasn't been an area I've known much about, but I … Continue reading Of a Mine-d to Study Mining
Here’s an adventure I would do in a heartbeat: spend the summer with 29 other teachers and scientists in Hell’s Creek, Montana on a dig site. You have to get to Montana, but after that, room and board and a $5000 stipend are provided. This opportunity is open to teachers from kindergarten all the way … Continue reading Paleontology—Go on a real DIG!
One interesting sort of summer adventure involves spending the summer in a university of government research lab. These positions usually are paid (seems to be about $700/week on average), but don’t include travel, room, or board. The list below will get you started, but try searching your local university website for options near you. Fermilab: … Continue reading Real Research–with a paycheck–this Summer (2018)
If you’re in driving distance from the Georgia aquarium, you can spend February 24 doing hands-on activities with educators from NOAA. Not only is it free, but you get admission to the aquarium AND a $75 stipend. You’ll want to apply for this one now, as I’m sure it will fill up quickly (grades 6-12 … Continue reading Awesome Georgia Aquarium Opportunity
Fresh year, fresh semester, and a time of thinking about what comes next: the perfect time to consider a summer adventure. I consider the free summer programs available to science teachers to be one of the greatest perks of our profession—you can often find a program that lets you do something science-y that few other … Continue reading New Year, New Adventures
(my apologies to everyone else) The Atlanta Science Festival is coming March 9 – 24. But NOW is the time to sign up for a) bus vouchers up to $300 to take your students to for an exciting field trip to the Expo; and b) a chance to have an area STEM specialist come to … Continue reading Two Opportunities for Atlanta-Area Educators
Are you familiar with GSTA's Georgia Standards of Excellence Phenomena Bank? A phenomenon is an interesting "hook" for a topic that students can use to drive exploration. For example, The Blue People of Troublesome Creek introduces a (real life!) family in rural Kentucky who were blue. Students can work from this unusual example to studying … Continue reading Cool hooks and phenomena to drive explorations!
I have been learning about the Georgia Tech GIFT program recently, that allows science teachers to receive a stipend to spend part of the summer working in a research or industry lab. The opportunities are wide and interesting--there are labs at GA tech researching everything from the structure of cat tongues to improving solar power … Continue reading Real Laboratory Research for Teachers
Teachers (those of you in the South who start before labor day...), get your eclipse-explainer hat on! This is your chance to finally help your kids understand the Earth--moon-sun relationship. You'll never have them this motivated to understand it again. NASA has a huge collection of materials--you can access all of them from this launch … Continue reading NASA Eclipse Resources (plus MATH!)
Everybody knows you can't just stare at the sun, with an eclipse being no exception. The Washington Post helpfully explains about a program in which libraries are helping spread safe eye wear for the big event. Take a look, and get your free eclipse glasses today!
Once Upon a Science Book 