FEBRUARY 2023
NETWORK NEWS
Talking with children about tragic events
There is a lot going on in our world right now. Parents, caregivers, and educators can all play an important role in helping children recover from exposure to tragic events in the news as well as traumatic experiences. Navigating these conversations isn't easy, but these resources can be helpful for both children and adults.
Learn more
UPCOMING EVENTS
Online Workshops
The NISE Network hosts free online workshops as professional development opportunities for our partners to share with and learn from each other. Online workshops take place on select Tuesdays at 2pm-3pm Eastern. View upcoming online workshops at nisenet.org/events
• Tuesday, February 14, 2023
2-3pm Eastern
Asteroids, Meteorites, NASA Missions & more!
Join us as we learn about asteroids, meteorites, NASA missions to asteroids (i.e. Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), OSIRIS-REx), and more! NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) experts will share background and resources, including Astromaterials 3D, that you can use to engage public audiences.
Learn more and register
• Tuesday, March 14, 2023
2-3pm Eastern
Changing Brains - New Tools for Brain Awareness Week & Beyond
Join us during international Brain Awareness Week to learn about the new public engagement resources available through the "Changing Brains" NISE Network project. Explore ways to engage with the societal and ethical issues inherent in neuroscience research and hear from colleagues who have led successful brain-related programs for Brain Awareness Week and beyond.
Learn more and register
• Tuesday, April 4, 2023
2-3pm Eastern
Making Waves with Radio - New Ways to Engage Audiences with the Basics of Modern Communication & Navigation
“Making Waves with Radio” is a current NSF project that is bringing together STEM professionals from academia, industry, and informal education to create museum activities, apps, and camp curriculum, to engage public audiences about radio technologies. In this workshop, we will showcase 5 new museum activities—developed by NISE Network partner museums and BSCS Science Learning—along with training videos and apps to help educators add this content to their public programming.
Learn more and register
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area in Missoula, MT is all about sharing
The University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area in Missoula, MT is all about sharing. Situated on the 2nd floor of the Missoula Public Library, spectrUM has longtime, embedded partnerships with libraries, schools and other institutions around the Western Montana region. "Because Montana is a very rural state, we’ve found that the best way to reach our audience is to bring exhibits, activities, and educational experiences to where they live, work, learn and play."
Read more
Interested in one of our exhibitions?
There’s a waiting list for that!
If you are interested in hosting the Nano exhibition, or the Sun, Earth, Universe exhibition, please reach out to Christina Leavell, NISE Network Community Manager, to be added to a waiting list.
NISE Network partners featured in ASTC Community Science Framework video
Several NISE Network partners have local efforts featured in the ASTC Community Science Framework video including:
• Museum of Life and Science, Durham, NC
• Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, VA
• Nurture Nature Center, Easton, PA
The video focuses on attributes and outcomes for successful equitable community science. Kudos to these partners for their collaborative efforts in their local communities!
Watch the 7:41 minute video
FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE
- Asteroid, Comet and Meteor resources - Were you one of the lucky people able to see Comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF)?
- Mars resources - NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is celebrating two years on the red planet
- Webb Space Telescope resources for engaging public audiences
- Solar eclipse resources - because it is never too early to start planning your 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipse Events!
Recorded NISE Network online workshops
View the recordings and resources from past NISE Net online workshops:
- STEM Identity, STEM Career Interest, and Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities
(recorded 1/17/23) - Kick-Start Your Planning for 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipse Events
(recorded 10/25/22)
Looking for an easy way to discover resources on the nisenet.org website?
Check out our “Browse by Themes and Topics,” featuring curated collections of hands-on activities and resources by themes and STEM topics: nisenet.org/browse-topic
COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Changes to informalscience.org and the new Reimagining Equity and Values in Informal STEM Education (REVISE) Center
Learn about changes to informalscience.org and the new Reimagining Equity and Values in Informal STEM Education (REVISE) Center in a February 28th webinar 3pm-4:30pm Eastern In a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, this new equity resource center will serve as a critical voice and champion for advancing equity in the Informal STEM Education (ISE) field. REVISE seeks to cultivate lasting change among the ISE community and the broader STEM education ecosystem.
Register for the webinar
COVID Science Communication - Bridging Messages
With the federal government planning to phase out the national emergency declarations on May 11, 2023, Learn more about bridging statements as an effective communications tool to stay grounded in core messages and build trust with fact-based messaging.
COVID-19 museum resources
Vaccine museum resources
Looking for more STEM activities?
Visit Howtosmile.org
Search over 4,000 of the very best STEM activities on the web—along with a new collection focused on at-home learners. Howtosmile has also recently upgraded its backend systems towards improved sustainability and resource link stability. Find handpicked activities from your favorite science museums, public television stations, universities, and other educational organizations. All activities are available to anyone, free of charge. Start searching now and filter by age, material costs, and learning time to find exactly what you need for your educational program, class, or family.
https://www.howtosmile.org/
NNOCCI free introductory webinar on the science of communicating climate change
The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI), is offering a one-hour free webinar Tuesday, February 21, 1:00pm-2:00pm Eastern. As important as knowing climate science, social science provides evidence-based practices that allow us to communicate climate science more effectively.
Learn more
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY NEWS
Over the course of the past year, it’s easy to lose track of all the amazing stories in science and technology that took place in 2022. Check out this visualization of some of the big stories in 2022 from Visual Capitalist.
Read more
NISE Network resources:
• James Webb Space Telescope resources
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY NEWS
A biotechnology company has announced they want to de-extinct the dodo as well as its plans focused on the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. Colossal Biosciences plans to de-extinct the dodo, but some scientists question whether it’s ethical or even plausible?
Read more
NISE Network resources:
• Building with Biology activities
• Introduction to Synthetic Biology and Society Video
SPACE NEWS
South Korea's first Moon mission has delivered a stunning first image from a camera designed to peer into permanently shadowed areas near the lunar poles. The NASA-funded ShadowCam is designed to reveal regions where the sun never shines on the Moon to assist future exploration efforts and has now demonstrated an unprecedented insight into Shackleton crater at the moon's south pole.
Read more
NISE Network resources:
NANOTECHNOLOGY NEWS
A new National Academies report focuses on the implications of sunscreens for aquatic environments. Regular use of sunscreens has been shown to reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer, and slow photoaging of skin. Sunscreens can rinse off into water where people are swimming or wading, and can also enter wastewater from bathing or showering.
Read more
NISE Network resources:
• Exploring Products - Sunblock activity
• Nano & Society Sunscreen Poster
• Size, Scale, and Measurement resources
STEM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
Discover activity ideas for incorporating current science, engineering, and technology content into events, special programming, holidays, and seasonal activities by visiting: nisenet.org/seasons
WINTER
- Snow and Snowflakes
FEBRUARY
- What’s Up Skywatching Tips from NASA
- Black History Month / African-American History Month (February)
- NASA Modern Figures Toolkit
- African Americans in Science and Technology internet resources from the Library of Congress
- NASA Museum & Informal Education Alliance resources (log-in required
- Black Lives in Astronomy: A Resource Guide compiled by Andrew Fraknoi
- Celebrating Black Inventors poster from SPIE the international society for optics and photonics
- HistoryMakers ScienceMakers biographies and oral histories of African American scientists and a set of toolkits of hands-on activities connecting to scientists
- NISE Network Racial Justice Resources
- Groundhog Day (February 2)
- Use Exploring Earth: Bear's Shadow activity to make and experiment with shadows
- STEM topics to explore include: signs of spring (animals emerging from hibernation), signs of winter (clear, cold days), and seasons (February 2 lies midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox)
- NASA Space Place Seasons resource
- International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11)
- National Inventors Day (February 11)
- Inspire and encourage young inventors; February 11 is the birthday of of the inventor Thomas Alva Edison
- National Inventors Hall of Fame list of inductees
- World Radio Day (February 13)
- Valentine's Day (February 14)
- Engineers Week (February 19-25)
- Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (February 23)
- National Battery Day (February 18)
- Great Backyard Bird Count (February 17-20)
- some bird feathers (such as peacock feathers) are iridescent due to nano-sized structures within the feathers; for more about iridescence check out:
- NISE Network butterfly resources
- NISE Network biomimicry resources
MARCH
- Women's History Month (March) / International Women's Day (March 8)
- National Women's History Project
- womenshistorymonth.gov
- NISE Network compilation of resources for collaborating with Girl Scouts and engaging girls and young women in STEM
- Free posters for download from A Mighty Girl
- Free posters for download from NASA and the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
- NASA Museum & Informal Education Alliance resources (log-in required)
- National Girls Collaborative Project
- IF/THEN® Collection of images, videos, and posters
- SciGirls Strategies: How to Engage Girls in STEM
- text
- Severe Weather Awareness Week (March in many states):
- Severe weather may include flood, fire, lightning, hurricane, tornados, tsunami, earthquake, heat, and cold
- Calendar by state
- Awareness Weeks
- NISE Network forums and citizen science projects around heat waves, sea level rise, extreme precipitation, and drought
- NISE Network climate change resources
- World Wildlife Day (March 3)
- World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (March 4)
- Dr. Seuss Day (March 2)
- Groundwater Awareness Week (March 5-11, 2023)
- Brain Awareness Week (March 13-19, 2023)
- Pi Day / International Day of Mathematics (March 14)
- National Learn about Butterflies Day (March 14)
- Digital Learning Day (March 15, 2023)
- National Ag Day (March 21, 2023)
- Earth Hour (March 25, 2023, 8:30pm local time)
- Spring Equinox (March 20, 2023 in the Northern Hemisphere)
- Solstices and equinoxes provide opportunities for planning quarterly programs related to the Earth, Sun, and Moon (astronomical seasons) or your local environment (meteorological seasons)
- Moon resources
- NASA Space Place seasons resources
- World Water Day (March 22)
- NanoDays (March 25-April 2, 2023)
NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
-
Association of Children's Museums InterActivity, April 26-28, 2023, New Orleans, LA
Learn more -
STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice, May 1-3 2023, Jacksonville, FL
Learn more -
Visitor Studies Association Conference, July 11-13 2023, Virtual
Learn more -
ASTC Conference, October 7-10 2023, Charlotte, NC
Learn more -
REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar
Learn more -
National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences