Teachers’ Lounge

Our friends over at NatureBridge Golden Gate are offering teacher professional development programs! They can help you bring the natural world into your classroom to help teach science, math, and language arts standards.

Bring the Outside In
Saturday, February 23, 2013
9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Learn simple strategies for building community, using nature in lessons, and getting your students outdoors. Open to any educator, traditional and nontraditional.

Lessons from the Ocean
Saturday, March 23, 2013
9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Use the ocean to teach math, science, and language arts skills. Learn a marine food web activity, explore human impacts on ocean resources, and learn about cultural connections to the bay and the ocean. Content is focused on grades four to eight.

Our Changing Climate
Saturday, April 13, 2013
9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Learn to teach basic climate science and empower your students to take action. Practice teaching the carbon cycle, investigate “garbology,” and develop simple student action projects. Content is focused on grades five to eight.

Workshops will be held in San Francisco. They are FREE and include lunch and take-away teaching toolkits. Stipends are available for teacher teams from the same school who attend two or more workshops and for teachers who can evidence implementation of any climate change materials ($100 per person!).

For more information visit their website.

Interested in helping to shape a science-based game?

Fire and Flora is a “serious” game about nature, ecology, and connections. In terms of gameplay, Fire and Flora is a close cousin of popular card games like Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! However, unlike those games, this one is based on real life. More specifically, F&F is based on the ecology of Southern and Central California. Game cards represent real plants, places and events (e.g. Sagebrush, Henry Coe State Park, El Niño), and nature-related curiosities (e.g. Evil Squirrel, Pack Rat).

The game is designed by Tim Handley, an ecologist-turned-educator. Tim recently contacted us, looking for opportunities to share his work and to make connections with families, gamers, and educators.

He’s seeking playtesters (ages 12+) to provide feedback and help polish the game design, and he’s seeking word-of-mouth to help in an upcoming Kickstarter funding campaign.

Anyone interested in playtesting may contact Tim directly by emailing unnumberedT@gmail.com. Anyone interested in helping with his word-of-mouth campaign may “like” the game on Facebook, and pass the word to their friends.

For more information, either visit the Fire and Flora homepage, or contact Tim directly at unnumberedT@gmail.com. And beware the Evil Squirrel!

Interested in learning about genome science and its importance for many fields of science?

The Unraveling the Genome short course, for middle school, high school, and college teachers is presented by the University of California, Museum of Paleontology and cosponsored by the Berkeley Natural History Museums and Science@Cal.

The genome sequence of an organism includes the collective DNA sequences of each chromosome in the organism, whether it be a bacterium, a honey bee, or a chimpanzee. Unraveling and comparing genomes informs our understanding of evolution, biodiversity, conservation, and the very essence of life. From the basics of genome sequencing to horizontal gene transfer and jumping genes, this short course will focus on what we have learned and why it matters.

Saturday, February 23, 2013
9:00 am to 3:30 pm

Questions? Contact Judy Scotchmoor or Lisa White.

Read about past UCMP short courses.

**NOTE: This is not an Academy sponsored course. Please direct all questions and requests for more information directly to Judy Scotchmoor or Lisa White.**

Did you know that scientists have now discovered over 7,000 different kinds of amphibians?

You should definitely check out this fun music video! Consider showing it to the class. Be warned, it’s adorable and the tune will stick in your head!

The song was written and performed by Conor Loughridge and the Wiggly Tendrils, and features some of the discoveries of our own herpetologists.

Some high schoolers have already produced a spin-off of the song and video.

It’s hilarious, so we had to share!

Be sure to watch the student spin-off, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment for the student producers!

Looking for a way to connect your student’s families to an afternoon of experiments and exhibits on Earth and Space Science?

 
 
Exploration Station is a program of activities organized by the various American Geophysical Union (AGU) groups who will be gathered in San Francisco for their annual conference.

On December 2, 2012, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm in Moscone South, families can make their way through dozens of exhibits offering a variety of easy, family friendly, hands-on activities and an opportunity to interact one-on-one with scientists, engineers, and education specialists. This event is FREE and open to the public.

 
Check out the list of some of the many groups represented at this event by clicking here.

 
Scientists working with Mars Curiosity Rover will also deliver a Public Lecture immediately before (and next door to) Exploration Station. Click here to read more about the lecture.
 
 
**NOTE: This is not an Academy event. If you have any questions about the event, please direct your questions directly to Bethany Adamec, Education and Public Outreach Coordinator or Pranoti Asher, Education and Public Outreach Manager.**