Teachers Share Unexpected Insights at the Oklahoma Science Boot Camp

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One of the benefits of traveling around the country with our Science Boot Camp Tour is getting to talk with teachers and learn from their insights. The Science Museum Oklahoma hosted a one-day workshop for area teachers and the response was great. I’ve invited participants to share some of their take-home ideas and ways they’re using the content from the workshop in their classroom (although it’s only been a few weeks).

I also heard two comments that I thought were interesting. One of the content areas we talk about in the workshop is the importance of recycling as it applies to soda bottles. A teacher commented that she hosted a group of foreign exchange students over the summer and was surprised to hear them comment about the size of our trashcans. Out of all of their experiences in the U.S. over the summer, they were amazed by the volume of trash Americans produce on a weekly basis. Enough said.

The second comment came from a pre-service teacher who shared this… “I was taught to use science as something the kids got to do at the end of the week… if …

Junior League of Greater Princeton Hosts Teachers for Science Training

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I just returned from New Jersey where I got a chance to once again work with a great organization that really supports teachers and science education. I first met the leaders from the Junior League of Greater Princeton (JLGP) in 2007 when I presented a full-day science training for teachers in their ROCKET program. ROCKETS (Raising Our Children’s Knowledge by Educating Through Science) is a program that brings hands-on science activities to at-risk children through innovative teacher training and field trips for the children and their families. Eighty teachers gathered at Rider University in New Jersey for last week’s hands-on science training sponsored by the Junior League. The teachers ranged from early childhood through middle school, but their primary goal was the same… to get kids excited about doing more hands-on science. If you’re a teacher who might benefit from the efforts of the ROCKET program, I highly encourage you to contact the Junior League of Greater Princeton.

As always, I invited the teachers from the workshop to test out a few of the hands-on science activities and share a comment on the blog. 

Oklahoma Hands-on Science Boot Camp for Teachers

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If you’re an elementary teacher or early childhood educator who’s looking for new ways to make science exciting for your students, join us at the Oklahoma Science Center on Friday, January 23, 2009 for a full-day of hands-on science training - the Hands-on Science Boot Camp presented by Steve Spangler Science. You’ll also enjoy a special presentation from the Science Live! demonstration team at the museum. The workshop offers best practices and teaching strategies for integrating more science into your everyday curriculum, and you’ll take home some great classroom materials to practice what you learned right away.

This is your last week to register. Learn more… 

Registration Now Open - Hands-on Science Boot Camp Dates and Cities Set for 2009

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Hats off to our workshop team for finalizing all of the cities and dates for our 2009 Hands-on Science Boot Camp tour. During this year’s tour, teachers asked how we decided on the cities and the answer is simple… we just loaded a blow gun with pins and shot them at the wall map. It was decided for us that we needed a more strategic approach. The upcoming tour dates and cities are all based on teacher requests for workshops. The one-day science workshop was designed for teachers ranging from Pre-K through 5th grade, but past registrations tell us that the content is appropriate for upper grades as well as home school parents, informal science teachers, museum science demonstrators, before and after school care providers and the occasional, highly-motivated parent who is trying to make a difference on their own. It’s a full day of cool hands-on science activities integrated with proven teaching strategies and best practices to help teachers get students engaged in their own learning. That’s our secret… engagement with a purpose leads to life-long learning.

Hands-on Science Boot Camp Tour Wraps Up in Houston

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Houston teachers and science trainers came out in force as we wrapped up our 2008 Hands-on Science Boot Camp tour. It’s not the first time that weather preempted a teacher training, but the severity of hurricane Ike impressed upon us the impact this storm had on the Houston area. It was amazing to see how quickly the businesses and people of Houston rebounded. Just two months earlier, the Sheraton North Houston had a foot of water running through the front lobby and today you’d never know that anything happened. Workshop participants arrived early and were ready to roll up their sleeves and do some science. The audience consisted of primarily K-5 teachers, but we also had a strong showing of early childhood professionals, some middle school teachers and a handful of informal science educators (presenters at museums and science outreach professionals). When asked what brought them to the workshop, many participants told us that they were looking for ways to spice-up their curriculum with more hands-on activities. Getting the students engaged in their own learning was at the top of the list for almost everyone.