The City of Eureka Stormwater Division, North Coast CREEC Network; Humboldt County 4-H, and Sequoia Park Zoo invite you to a Project WET workshop focused on the issue of stormwater. Participants will walk away with a great overview of local stormwater issues, a better understanding of local examples of stormwater best management practices and a Project WET guide. CEU credit is available. To register, please contact Amber Neilson at: education@sequoiaparkzoo.net–or- (707) 441-4217.

American Nuclear Society will be presenting a free workshop for high school science teachers. Participants will receive a cloud chamber kit, Geiger counter, workbooks and classroom curriculum. It will include a tour of the Advanced Light Source or Cyclotron. Space is limited, so don’t delay. Click for more information.

The California Environmental Education Foundation, in partnership with Yolo County Office of Education (YCOE), invites Northern California educators (Regions 1-6), who teach students of grades K-12, with preference given to grades 4-8, to participate in a unique Three-Saturday Teacher Institute [January 15; March 12; May 7] utilizing an Action Research model to maximize collaborative learning in environmental education and place-based stewardship. Primary fund support for the Institute comes from the Saxton Family Foundation and the state Department of Water Resources. The Institute will be held at YCOE Conference Center, 1280 Santa Anita Court, Suite 120, Woodland, CA 95776. Click for more information. An application is available at:http://www.creec.org/stories/storyReader$39
Application Deadline: December 15, 2010.

The annual Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair showcases students in the greater Sacramento region who will become our future scientists, technology experts, engineers, and mathematicians. This regional competition celebrates achievement by middle and high school students, supported by devoted parents, teachers, and other mentors.

For more information visit: http://www.srsefair.org/

Science in the River City is an outstanding standards-based professional development program for 3rd to 12th grade science teachers. SIRC is held approximately once a month at Sacramento State during the academic year. The program is designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of science (through hands-on, inquiry-based labs and activities) and provide innovative ideas, lessons and strategies for teachers to use in their classrooms. The workshops are taught by university faculty or teacher leaders from the Sacramento Area Science Project.

For more information or to register on-line visit:http://www.csus.edu/mase/sem_inst/sirc.htm

March 24, 2011 —
Focus on Grades 6-12

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Far Northern California counties via video-conference

Learn to make use of Strategic Science Teaching, Grades K-12: A Sampler of Science Lessons Connecting Literature with the California Standards. During this workshop you will: • Enhance your science program with literature selections* aligned with grade level science standards. • Utilize fiction and non-fiction literature selections to launch a science investigation and feature literacy strategies. • Collaborate with teachers at your grade span on identifying student outcomes for science learning. Each workshop participant will receive a grade-specific literature selection, grade level science lesson masters, and practice with the literacy strategies that are emphasized for each literature selection. All workshops are provided via videoconference to a county office near you. Register at: K-5 Science (March 23)— or — Grades 6-12 Science (March 24). TheStrategic Science Teaching book is now available FREE online in PDF format at http://www.ccsesa.org/index/committees.cfm?cid=7. After February 4, contact Marian Murphy-Shaw at mshaw@siskiyoucoe.net.

The Forest Foundation is sponsoring a field trip opportunity for teachers and students. The one day event will be held at Shasta College in Redding and will be focused around introducing teachers and students to Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Send your RSVP ASAP to ensure a space for your school. For more information please e-mail mdunaetz@shastacollege.edu or call 530-410-4836.

Thousands of people are expected to attend this year’s festival to learn how they can live a healthier lifestyle, save money and energy, protect natural resources and discover how the work of many local groups help make our region’s communities better places to live. We are excited about the variety of “green” ways to get to the Festival this year! It’s a great day to dust off your bike, get on a RABA bus, carpool, walk, or run to the 2011 Whole Earth and Watershed Festival and join in the celebration of Earth Day (April 22nd) and Watershed Awareness Month (May). It’s sure to be an experience you and your family will not want to miss! More information is available at: http://wholeearthandwatershedfestival.org/homemain.html.

The California Project WET program in partnership with the Tahoe Center for Environmental Research, Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships, Nevada and Hawaii Project WET programs, and the Association for Experiential Education invite you to register for this action-packed, pre-conference water education workshop at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Research. The workshop will be focused on the use of Project WET activities to integrate knowledge of local water resources and issues, as well as methods to bring experiential education into the classroom. All participants will receive lunch and walk away with their own Project WET guide. Registration details will be available after February 1, 2011 at: http://west.aee.org/conferences.

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District, Tahoe Center for Environmental Science, and Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships (SWEP) and invite you to the Tahoe Center for Environmental Science in Incline Village, Nevada to gain greater knowledge of your local watershed through the hands-on activities of Project WET. All participants will walk away with their own Project WET guide and the opportunity to register for CEU credit. Please contact Christine McMorrow (chrisitine@4swep.org) or Sarah Ford at: (530) 543-1501 x 114 -or- sford@tahoercd.org to register.

Public viewing of projects will be on February 7 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Contact Mike Roa at mroa@scoe.org.

TOPIC: Back to the Future: Or, What Can We Learn from Louisiana’s 2008 Science Education Act? The Louisiana Science Education Act that was passed in 2008 is the product of an alliance between the Discovery Institute, a creationist think tank in Seattle, and the Louisiana Family Forum, the Louisiana arm of Focus on the Family. Governor Bobby Jindal, a close ally of the Louisiana Family Forum, served as the lynchpin of the LFF’s plan to promote a version of the Discovery Institute’s model legislative statute on “academic freedom.” This model bill is really a creationist Trojan horse, and it is now the law in Louisiana.

Tickets are $7.50 in advance, or $10 at the door. For more information, visit sacdarwinday.info.

The Central Section of the California Mathematics Council is holding its Inaugural STEMposium, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Sessions focus on the value of STEM learning environments as a way to engage students and increase motivation in grades 6 to 12 classrooms. Exposure to real world contexts provides relevance as students grapple with and develop a deep understanding of the STEM disciplines that will be the basis for their careers in the 21st Century. Registration is $99 per person with a special rate of $250 for a school site team of three that includes an administrator/teacher combination. Each additional team member will be at the $99 fee. A private VIP dinner is provided for the first 100 people registered and includes a dynamic presentation on the TI Nspire with door prizes provided by Texas Instruments. For more information and to register click: cmc-math.org/organization/central/central.html.

The City of Eureka Stormwater Division, North Coast CREEC Network; Humboldt County 4-H, and Sequoia Park Zoo invite you to a Project WET workshop focused on the issue of stormwater. Participants will walk away with a great overview of local stormwater issues, a better understanding of local examples of stormwater best management practices and a Project WET guide. CEU credit is available. To register, please contact Amber Neilson at: education@sequoiaparkzoo.net–or- (707) 441-4217.

The annual Sacramento Regional Science & Engineering Fair showcases students in the greater Sacramento region who will become our future scientists, technology experts, engineers, and mathematicians. This regional competition celebrates achievement by middle and high school students, supported by devoted parents, teachers, and other mentors.

For more information visit: http://www.srsefair.org/

March 24, 2011 —
Focus on Grades 6-12

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Far Northern California counties via video-conference

Learn to make use of Strategic Science Teaching, Grades K-12: A Sampler of Science Lessons Connecting Literature with the California Standards. During this workshop you will: • Enhance your science program with literature selections* aligned with grade level science standards. • Utilize fiction and non-fiction literature selections to launch a science investigation and feature literacy strategies. • Collaborate with teachers at your grade span on identifying student outcomes for science learning. Each workshop participant will receive a grade-specific literature selection, grade level science lesson masters, and practice with the literacy strategies that are emphasized for each literature selection. All workshops are provided via videoconference to a county office near you. Register at: K-5 Science (March 23)— or — Grades 6-12 Science (March 24). The Strategic Science Teaching book is now available FREE online in PDF format at http://www.ccsesa.org/index/committees.cfm?cid=7. After February 4, contact Marian Murphy-Shaw at mshaw@siskiyoucoe.net.

San Francisco Nature Education Announces 2011 tours of Heron’s Head Park. Come by and experience the thrill of observing and learning about the waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading birds that call the park home during the winter. Recent sightings include Harlequin Duck and White-tailed kite. Tours will be led by interns from Lowell and Lincoln High Schools equipped with spotting scopes. Free event; donations accepted. Free parking is available near entrance. Meet at 10:00 am at Heron’s Head Park for tours that leave every 30 minutes with the last tour at 11:30 am. Heron’s Head Park is located at Jennings Street & Cargo Way, two blocks south of Pier 96. For more information visit our website at www.sfnature.org, call us at 415-387-9160, or email us at info@sfnature.org. Co-Sponsored by Port of San Francisco and Golden Gate Audubon Society.

Offered by the Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry. For a detailed workshop brochure, visit http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/workshops. For questions, call 415-561-0397.

This FREE workshop is provided by the Solano County Water Agency, Solano Irrigation District School Water Education Program (SWEP), with support from the City of Vallejo- Water Division. This informative, fun, hands-on workshop will demonstrate the use of Project WET activities to engage student learning of local water issues. Concurrent-training sessions will be provided for K-6th grade educators and 7-12th grade educators. Educational materials, breakfast and lunch will be provided free to all Solano County participants. CEU credit is available. Limited to the first 25 educators that register. Contact Ursula Heffernon at: (530) 661-7149 –or– uheffernon@pacbell.net.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District is offering a unique experience that will not only engage you in Project WET activities, but will also provide a wealth of information on local water issues and additional materials that can be incorporated into the activities. Each participant will walk away with their own Project WET guide, a new appreciation for the magic of water, and the opportunity to receive CEU credit. Contact Kathy Machado at: (408) 265-2607-2331 –or — kmachado@valleywater.org.

STEMposium is the collaboration of leaders in STEM education who are sharing their innovations in how to teach, learn and engage STEM in the classroom through 60 second videos. Students, teachers and other educational innovators are invited to upload their videos through this site. The most compelling videos will be selected through several rounds of reviews, starting in February and ending in March. Selected presenters will be invited to speak at the STEMposium Event on April 1, 2011 in San Francisco. These videos will be identified within one of five tracks: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Integrated STEM.

For more information visit: http://www.stemposium.org/home