2012 National EE Week: Greening STEM

April 15-22 is the National Environmental Ed week, culminating in Earth Day on April 22.  I love the theme this year because it incorporates 2 of my favorite topics...environmental ed and STEM activities.  The website has a lot of great information.  Teachers can register for EE toolkits with resources.

Also, CSI is sponsoring their annual Green Week.  The Sustainability Council stays busy all year, but this is their week to shine.  Follow the link to the activities happening all week on campus.  And like them on FB!  I do!

http://sustainability.csi.edu/


http://eeweek.org/greening_stem

I shared this image once before, but it is worth posting again.

Idaho Gov and First Lady Honor STEM teachers

My new friend, Dick Jordan of Timberline HS in Boise, is one of the winners!  Congratulations!

http://educationidaho.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-lady-governor-honor-stem-teachers.html

Updated: Declo Science Fair with newspaper article

Wow!!  Where do I start?  The 4th and 5th grade students did such a great job on their projects.  The projects were creative and relevant, and the kids all worked hard to follow the scientific method to answer their questions.   Teachers, Staff, and Parents were supportive and proud, and the PTO volunteers were absolutely critical to the success of the Science Fair.  We had 130 projects displayed, and 8 local judges visited over 2 days to read and score all the projects.  The overall winners in 4th and 5th grade won a trip to Science Camp, and the fee was paid for by a generous donation by a parent who contacted me out of the blue to see how they could help.

http://minicassiavoice.com/community/declo-elementary-holds-science-fair/
There were teachers' choice winners and Honorable Mentions.  There were winners in Plant Science, Physical Science, Earth Science, Health and Nutrition, Animals, and Scientific Method.  But there were so many great projects...I am grateful I didn't have to judge.  Way too hard!

I am so thankful for the support I received from all my friends and teachers to make this such a positive experience for the students.  Just imagine what we will see next year!

5th Grade Winner, Brinley, did a fabulous experiment with her dog.  The judges were impressed with her research and procedure.  She interviewed a dog trainer to make sure her methods would be effective.  Great job!!

This 5th grade student did his project on rockets and could not wait to launch his rocket for the class.  But the wind took it much farther than he expected...and we are still looking for it!  :(

Math Career Panel tomorrow at CSI

Representatives of the math, computer science, and engineering fields will come together for a panel discussion at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 to discuss how students can use their math-related education. Included on the panel will be an electrical engineer, civil engineer, mechanical engineer, database administrator, and a high school math teacher. Admission is free and refreshments will be provided. This will take place in room 276 of the Taylor building.

This looks great!  I will be supervising the Declo Elementary Science Fair tomorrow, and I can't wait to post pictures! 

Update: Rupert Elementary Science Fair and Family Night

I had a great time at the Family Science Night in Rupert.  The Science Moms, April, Amber, and Lori, organized a fun evening with volunteer presentations and hands-on activities about fiber optics, fossils, microscopes, evidence collection, and more.  More than 40 projects were displayed by the kids and they were excited to see their ribbons and prizes.  I was able to bring the microscope station and the squishy circuit station so kids could investigate and discover.  Thanks goes to INBRE for funding the microscope materials.

Three grand prize winners won a trip to the CSI Summer Camp in Burley June 18-21.  Congratulations to all the kids who chose to participate!  Go Science!

http://minicassiavoice.com/community/little-einsteins-at-the-rupert-elementary-science-fair/

Grand Prize winners learned about circuitry doing Squishy Circuits!

EPSCoR Conference in Sun Valley

What a busy and informative day I had in Sun Valley yesterday.  I attended meetings and poster presentations for the EPSCoR Tri-State Consortium annual conference.  This is a collection of research scientists and institution professors that work to create a stronger environment for research in Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico.

What is EPSCoR and why is it so great for Idaho?  First, it stands for Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.  The theme of the Tri-State Consortium is Water and Climate Education, and it is based on science issues that are critical to our local economies.  So the researchers receiving funding from this program are all tackling some piece of the theme.

http://www.idahoepscor.org/

I am just scratching the surface, but the program is responsible for funding and providing materials, cyber-infrastructure, and training for all levels of students in Idaho and beyond.  EPSCoR is a NSF program, and the money and services provided by EPSCoR have helped state institutions as well as informal centers like MOSS. 

I had good discussions with several scientists that want to help CSI students get involved in research across the state.  Since community college students don't get exposed to faculty who are focused on research, some partnerships would really benefit my students.  I look forward to continuing the conversartion that leads to my summer school students getting some field experience.  Exciting day!!

Climate Change Lesson plans for Teachers

This looks like a great resource for educators, and I like the fact that the materials have been prepared by multiple agencies.  Climate science needs to be understood by everyone, so that we can make informed policy decisions based on science and not opinion.

http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators

Last week, a study was released that showed how much different groups of Americans "trust" science content.  There was a direct connection between a person's opinion about climate change and their trust in ALL science.  It was a sobering look at how powerful one issue can polarize an entire population.  Let's stick with science on this one.
http://desne.ws/H9tlRv

Here is an older article (2010) from Scientific American with some great graphics!
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-science-we-trust-poll