by Jessica Sawko

The early bird registration deadline for the 2011 California Science Education Conference is just one month away. Registering early has several advantages, not just saving money. By registering early, you get first pick on the most popular Field Courses and Short Courses. Many of these events sell out before the conference and registering early means you won’t be left out come conference time. You can also make your hotel reservations on-line and get your first choice of hotel.

Even if you don’t plan to attend a ticketed event, registering early will save you as much as $25. Your registration includes access to all 175+ workshops, the general sessions, focus speakers, evening events, and the exhibit hall. That is a lot of programming for just $98. Remember, you must be a current CSTA member and register before August 1 to take advantage of this fantastic rate. (more…)

The programming details of the 2011 California Science Education Conference, scheduled for October 21 – 23 in Pasadena, CA, are coming together quickly. Short Course proposals are being reviewed, workshop proposals are being accepted, keynote and focus speakers have been invited, and Field Courses are being coordinated. Here is a sneak peek at two of the Field Courses scheduled to take place at the conference…

Science in the Stratosphere: Field Trip to NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

NASA Photo / Tom Tschida

Take advantage of the unique opportunity to tour the SOFIA aircraft! NASA’s SOFIA is an airborne observatory built into a 747 that carries a 100″ telescope to the stratosphere to do infrared astronomy. It’s the world’s largest portable telescope! Field course participants will travel to the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DOAF) in Palmdale, CA. There, they will hear science and technology talks, tour the observatory and the hangar, participate in a hands-on infrared workshop, and take home a kit of standards-based, classroom materials. (more…)

Call for Workshop Proposals from K-8 Teachers

Each year we strive to make the CSTA Science Education Conference better than the year before.  The conference planning committee goes over comments and evaluation data from the previous conference as they plan the following year’s program.  One of the comments we heard from many attendees was a desire for grade-specific workshops as opposed to workshops which span multiple grade levels.

The thinking of these participants was that the broad range of grade levels meant that presenters tried to meet everyone’s needs as opposed to focusing on a single grade level.  This was most evident in the elementary workshops where there would be several activities presented during a workshop but only one or two ideas that would fit into a particular grade level.  If all the activities could be geared towards a single grade level then teachers would leave the session with better informed and ready to teach. (more…)