I am excited to announce our newest science experience… Science at Sea 2009.  An immersive science training opportunity has been in the works for a long time at our offices, so when we were able to put all the pieces together for a seven-day Alaskan cruise… complete with our own private naturalist and in-depth shore excursions… I couldn’t have been happier.  I’ve loved reading everyone’s emails requesting an experience like this because we shared the same passion for the trip, so I am pleased to let you all know that registration is now open.  As a fan of this blog, you get the first peek at our Science at Sea Registration Page and you’re the first to know that we’re ready to set sail.  We’ll be heading to Anchorage June 17th to board the ship, so I hope to see you all in Alaska.

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Just look at these pictures from Science in the Rockies last year and you’ll see why we don’t consider this your typical summer science workshop for teachers. Do not plan to attend Science in the Rockies 2008 if you are motivated by PowerPoint presentation, like quiet reading time from an outdated science text, hate to get your hands dirty, or have a fear of flying potatoes. One teacher described Science in the Rockies as the science methods class she never had but really needed!

Science in the Rockies 2008 is scheduled for July 9-11 in Denver at the Sheraton Denver West conference center. Registration is still open, but as of this morning there are fewer than two dozen spots available. Years ago, teachers who took this workshop called it a “science boot camp” - an intensive experience designed to inspire, motivate and move you into action… and the concept stuck. This boot camp is for K-5 teachers who need creative science integration strategies… who are tired of trying to “squeeze” science into their already packed teaching schedule… and who want to make science even more fun and meaningful in their classroom.

Join us in Denver in July for a truly one of a kind experience.

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Imagine a room filled with 183 energetic early childhood teachers and you’ll know how fortunate I was to present our Hands-on Science Secrets workshop in El Centro, California. Heather Vessey-Garcia worked for almost a year to plan every detail of the event… down to lightning fast on-site registration and a killer lunch (always important when teachers are showing up on a Saturday). Speaking of Saturday, I can’t begin to thank all of the participant for taking their personal time on the weekend to attend the workshop, but this shouldn’t surprise anyone who works with early childhood educators. The El Centro teachers were eager to learn about new activities for their children and to share some of the things that are working best for them right now.

As always, if you attended the workshop, I’d invite to share a comment on ways you’re using the materials and information with your students… but don’t blame me for making a mess with the Mentos and Diet Coke eruption.

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Thousands of science teachers found their way to St. Louis for the 2007 National Science Teachers Association convention, and we wanted to make sure they had something to take back to their students. So, we loaded our trucks with experiments and products from the website along with 5,000 rolls of MENTOS stuffed into plastic test tubes and headed for the Gateway City. We were fortunate to have 14 teacher ambassadors from the Hands-on Science Institute join us in the booth to each share their favorite science activities. Aside from 500 bottles of Diet Coke and a mountain of MENTOS, all eyes were on the 18 foot tall soda eruption chamber. We were demonstrating the new Geyser Tube by triggering a MENTOS geyser as fast as we could set-up a launch (about every 2-3 minutes for 3 full days). At the end of the convention, the soda was gone, the rolls of MENTOS were in the hands of 5,000 teachers, the truck was cleaned out… and we all had a blast. It’s back to the classroom for the 14 ambassadors to start working on cool stuff for next year’s NSTA in Boston.

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One of the benefits of home schooling is you can take time to wonder, discover and explore. Science instruction can be a really difficult area, however, because you may have limited resources such as chemicals and equipment.

So why not go to the local school and talk to the administrators about the possibility of working with some teachers as they create these science experiences. Tell them you would like to talk about combining some of these experiences and participate in things other kids can do.

For parents who don’t feel comfortable teaching science, go into the community. Science museums are open to home schooling groups. Scientists in the field in your local area are more than happy to help out. All you have to do is ask. As someone who gets a lot of these requests, the best groups are organized clusters and where students have some background — because we can create experiences that are as meaningful as possible.

Be organized and understand you have information and resources available out there to ensure science is an important part of your child’s daily learning experience.

Listen to my podcast on making science come alive in home schooling

(File size is 1.8 MB) (Show length 3 minutes 49 seconds)

 

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