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NISE Network Blog

DIY Nano app image square

Another Award for the DIY Nano App!

December 28, 2017
Darrell Porcello, University of California, Berkeley
The DIY Nano app has recently been named one of the top 60 education apps available by the UK tutoring site Tutora, which scored high marks in the category for children ages 6-10 years. DIY Nano provides free, easy to use, hands-on activities at your fingertips. Each activity includes material lists, step-by-step instructions, and detailed explanations. DIY Nano is available for iPhones and iPads.
American Chemical Society

Partner Highlight: Outcomes from the American Chemical Society’s 2017 National Chemistry Week

December 28, 2017
Lily Raines, American Chemical Society
In 2017, the American Chemical Society (ACS) celebrated the 30th anniversary of one of our most successful outreach campaigns, National Chemistry Week. With a new theme each year, the overall goal of the program is to show the general public how chemistry is involved in every aspect of our daily lives, and so topics have ranged from chemistry in art, in food, in the movies, and in sports.
Explore Science Let's Do Chemistry logo - 3 hexagons, gold with test tube symbol, blue with goggles, red with molecule symbol

​​​​​​​Developing Hands-on Chemistry Activities through Design-Based Research

December 7, 2017
David Sittenfeld, Emily Hostetler, Susan Heilman, Angela Damery, and Becky Smick from Museum of Science; and Thor Carlson, Science Museum of Minnesota
Our ChemAttitudes activity developers have been working closely with their partners from the project research team through a process called design-based research. Read their reflections about their experiences in testing, refining, and revising their creations as part of this national project to improve informal learning about chemistry.
Children’s Science Center

Partner Highlight: Children’s Science Center Explores Topography with Elementary Schools in Fairfax, VA

December 6, 2017
Laahiri Chalasani, Education and Program Manager
The Children’s Science Center, located in Fairfax, Virginia, provides Family Science Nights of interactive exhibits and hands-on activities to its Northern Virginia elementary schools. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Center’s van rolls out filled with 12 activities designed to coincide with the curriculum taught in the communities’ schools. The activities, all manned by volunteers, were created to cater to all ages and minds in the school. Each school year, activities are updated and replaced to continue to broaden the scope of multiple STEM related subjects offered.
St. Charles Parish Library Planetarium

Partner Highlight: A Small Planetarium has a Big Reopening in Luling, Louisiana

December 6, 2017
Jason Talley, Planetarium Supervisor
After a year of renovations, the St. Charles Parish Library Planetarium reopened to record crowds with help from NISE Net's Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit in time for the 2017 solar eclipse. Since reopening, staff have integrated the kit's activities into the curriculum and improved upon them in some cases. In addition to some local media attention leading up to their eclipse event, planetarium faculty were also invited to speak at a local elementary school about observing the sky, which included a portable star project and several hands-on activities.
Arizona State University solar eclipse event

Partner Highlight: Celebrating the 2017 solar eclipse in the Valley of Sun

November 7, 2017
Rae Ostman, Arizona State University
NISE Net partners in the Valley of the Sun celebrated the 2017 solar eclipse in a big way! In a pre-eclipse party, almost 900 people visited the Arizona Museum of Natural History, co-hosted by Arizona State University, to help build excitement and awareness of the event in the Phoenix metro area. On August 21, the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU hosted a Solar Eclipse 2017 viewing event at the Tempe campus where thousands of participants turned up to view the partial eclipse through solar telescopes and solar-safe glasses, watch live NASA coverage, engage with interactive displays, and talk with ASU researchers about the science behind the eclipse.
Explore Science Earth & Space logo

Explore Science: Earth & Space 2017 Toolkit Partner Reports Summary

November 7, 2017
Ali Jackson, Sciencenter
In January 2017, the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) awarded 250 free Explore Science: Earth & Space 2017 toolkits to new and existing eligible partners in the United States. In collaboration with NASA, NISE Net assembled and shared...
Children's Museum of Houston

Partner Highlight: The Children's Museum of Houston provides educational and emotional support to local communities during and after Hurricane Harvey

November 6, 2017
Jason Hammond, Children's Museum of Houston
Hurricane Harvey took aim at Houston dumping over 1 trillion gallons of water on the city - this is how much water is dumped over Niagara Falls in 17 days. The George R. Brown Convention Center was quickly set up as a relief shelter housing thousands of citizens, many of them children. Just before the storm had hit members of the Outreach Department at the Children’s Museum of Houston had created science kits that could be distributed to the shelters in case people were displaced. As Houston continues to rebuild after the hurricane, the Children’s Museum of Houston continues to provide educational and emotional support to families and students throughout the great city.
Filming Earth and Space training video

Training Videos filmed for 2018 Explore Science: Earth & Space toolkit

October 12, 2017
Brad Herring
Quiet on the set! And, action! Over the past month NISE Network project staff from the Museum of Life and Science, the Sciencenter and the University of California, Berkeley have been filming a total of 21 training videos to accompany...