Smokejumper Experience at West Yellowstone

On our next visit to Island Park, West Yellowstone, and YNP (hopefully this weekend!) we are going to check out this activity.  It is a free 2 hour program for kids to learn about smokejumpers, fire ecology, and Yellowstone.  I have attached a link to their website.  Our youngest 2 kids will also finish their Junior Ranger activities by going to a Ranger talk in the Park.  So I have my fingers crossed that we can get there soon!

http://www.smokejumpercenter.org/id4.html

Get outside this weekend!   Don and his scout troop just hiked up Cache Peak last Saturday and the views were amazing!  I will post a picture soon.

Girl's Night Out at the Herrett Center...FUN!

Girls Night Out!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Starting time: 7:00 PM
Finishing at 8:00 A.M. Saturday 9/24/2011
This overnight adventure for girls grades 3 through 6 features three one-hour, hands-on sessions in art, the archaeology of food, and astronomy. Girls and
leaders alike will enjoy each of these entertaining and educational activities. Any female is welcome. Workshop applicable toward Girl Scout badge requirements.
Later in the evening, view a planetarium show also featuring a live tour of the stars and constellations of the nighttime sky. Then settle in for a night of "camping" among the Herrett Center’s museum exhibits.
Each girl must be accompanied by a female
adult leader, with no more than 8 girls/group.
Cost: $25/ girl
$12/adult
Advance Registration Required! First come,
First Served!...No walk-in registrations accepted!
Deadline: 9/16/2011
The Herrett Center reserves the right to cancel the event (with full refund)
if below minimum numbers of registrants.
Send check with registration to: CSI Herrett Center
Attn: Darcy
P.O. Box 1238
Twin Falls, ID, 83303

Science Buddies Blog

Science Buddies Blog

A little shout-out to Philo T Farnsworth, since his birthday was a couple of weeks ago. He was born in Utah, but it was an IDAHO TEACHER from Rigby HS that mentored him when he moved there with his family at the age of 12.  He took correspondence courses from the U of U, and was a total genius.  He hoped his invention of the television would be a teaching tool for the world. 

I appreciate what Amy says at the end of her blog..."what will your students invent, test, question, or discover this year?"

Amazing picture of NYC sunset after the storm

This is worth linking to...sometimes we get a rainbow and sometimes we get this kind of show!!!

<a href="http://twitpic.com/6cuigj" title="Tonight&amp;#039;s remarkable post-hurricane sunset in #NYC. #Irene on Twitpic"><img src="http://twitpic.com/show/thumb/6cuigj.jpg" width="150" height="150" alt="Tonight&amp;#039;s remarkable post-hurricane sunset in #NYC. #Irene on Twitpic"></a>

An important field continues to be meteorology, so if this kind of crazy weather excites you, then check out those programs!!

New Semester of Science!

I have just returned from a Black Box delivery run to Eastern Idaho.  Teachers from the 2011 iSTEM Conference at CSI now have a great tool to teach the Scientific Method.  Another teacher from the 2010 iSTEM meetings is using the student build models for the second year.  Her students loved the acitivity and she is excited to bring it back.  Of course I started my semester this week with the Black Box Experiment, and one of my students has emailed me a picture of the box he built at home to test his ideas.  This reinforces the idea to me that students of all ages are curious about how things work, and they appreciate the opportunity to figure things out without looking up the answers that may exist online!  To all the teachers I worked with this summer, HAVE A GREAT YEAR!  You are so valuable to our communities!  I will continue to share resources and activities with you.  I am gonna love my CSI classes, and I can't wait to get into my kids' classrooms.  So here we GO!

Travel scholarships for Science Teachers~NSTA Regional Conferences

WOW!  I am warning you...I am turning in my own amazing application for this opportunity.  But I had to share this with local science teachers.  The deadline for this scholarship application is Friday, September 2!  The Seattle Regional Conference is December 8-10, so make plans to attend!  Good luck!

Back-to-School Special

Need a ride to the Hartford, New Orleans, or Seattle NSTA Area Conference on Science Education?
Teachers can apply for a Travel Scholarship, made possible by Southwest Airlines, to any one of the 2011 NSTA Area Conferences on Science Education:

Hartford, October 27-29
New Orleans, November 10-12
Seattle, December 8-10

A total of 27 round-trip airline tickets will be awarded to science educators attending the 2011 NSTA area conferences (nine to each conference).
To register to win, write a 150-word essay on what science content, teaching strategy, technique, or topic you are most interested in learning about at the conference and why. Along with your essay, include your name, which 2011 NSTA Area Conference you wish to attend, NSTA member status (member/nonmember), school, address, e-mail, and phone number.
E-mail your entry to swtravelscholarship@nsta.org.
The deadline is 5 pm on Friday, September 2, 2011. Travel Scholarship recipients will be notified on Friday, September 16, 2011.
This opportunity is available thanks to the generosity of Southwest Airlines!

Last Chance for the BODIES exhibit in Idaho Falls

There are 2 weeks left before this really cool exhibit leaves the Museum of Idaho.  Get there with your kids, especially your high school kids!  Have a great last week of summer!  CSI starts today, so enjoy it for me!

http://www.museumofidaho.org/about.php