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Newsletter: May 2024

NISE Network logo in full color - horizontal landscape

May 2024     


NETWORK NEWS


 

ACM Interactivity 2024 conference logo

Association of Children's Museums InterActivity Conference 2024
We are looking forward to seeing many NISE Network partners at this year’s conference May 15-17, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. If you are attending, please stop by our booth in the exhibit hall and check out some of the NISE Network related sessions. 
nisenet.org/acm2024

 

Bags of eclipse glasses that will be recycled and used by other eclipse viewers around the world.
Glasses collection at the Montshire Museum of Science in Vermont

What should I do with my used solar eclipse safety viewing glasses?
You can store your solar eclipse safety viewing glasses and use them for safely looking at the Sun anytime. Even without a telescope, it is possible to observe sunspots on the surface of the Sun through eclipse glasses. According to the American Astronomical Society, if the filters aren't scratched, punctured, torn, or otherwise damaged, you may reuse them indefinitely. You can also donate glasses in good condition to several organizations who are collecting used eclipse glasses so that they can be used for future solar eclipses in other parts of the world.
Learn more


UPCOMING EVENTS

NISE Network Online Workshop logo

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

• Find Your Place in Space - Engaging the Artemis Generation with Activities, Apps and More
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Join us for a discussion about all things Artemis and the Moon! Get the latest news regarding the Artemis II mission from Dr. Caitlin Ahrens, Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She will walk us through some of the exciting challenges that the Artemis II mission will face. Learn about educational materials available from NASA to help audiences identify with the Artemis generation and find their place in space. In addition, we will also talk about the NISE Network’s Voyage through the Solar System kit as well as the apps DIY Sun Science and DIY Solar System.
Learn more and register

• Futures Thinking - Exploring Ideas and Developing Skills to Shape Our World
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Join us as we share an introduction to the key ideas of futures thinking and resources for integrating this approach into your STEM engagement efforts. By exploring a diversity of values and orientations to the future, community members can work together to envision and shape the future we want to live in. 
Learn more and register


PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS

Two staff stand at The Bell Museum entrance and reenact the eclipse, one dressed as the Moon jumps in front to of the other dressed as the Sun to block it out.
Solar eclipse fun at the Bell Museum in Minnesota

Partners Celebrate the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse!
On Monday, April 8, 2024, people all across the nation celebrated the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. NISE Network partner organizations came together in big, big ways, collaborating with a wide variety of institutions in their communities to engage learners of all ages and backgrounds in the science of solar eclipse. Whether or not these events were on the path of totality, and whether or not the weather cooperated, partners delivered some of the most astounding programming we've ever seen! Here is a very small sample of the types of events hosted by partners, with links to more info, images and videos that capture the excitement generated by these extraordinary outreach efforts.
Learn more

 

Allen Institute BrainFest at Pacific Science Center 2024 with an adult showing children a brain - credit Allen Institute

BrainFest: A Cerebral Celebration with Pacific Science Center & the Allen Institute in Seattle, WA
Over a thousand visitors celebrated Brain Awareness Week with BrainFest: A Cerebral Celebration at Pacific Science Center on March 16, 2024. Scientists from the Allen Institute, a local research nonprofit, joined with collaborators and students from the University of Washington to host a dozen activity stations throughout the science center – including a chance to explore future and emerging brain-related technologies with the Neuro Futures Card Game developed by the NISE Network.
Learn more


Mission Future article in the journal Exhibition cover page

FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE


 

New publication: AAM Exhibition journal publication
In this new peer-reviewed article about the Mission Future: Arizona 2045 exhibition, the authors discuss three approaches used in the exhibition to engage visitors in learning about climate change, space exploration, and equitable futures: theory from the field of futures studies; methods of experiential futures combined with those of science center exhibitions; and practices for culturally sustaining learning about STEM. 
Learn more

 

 

Guides from the NISE Network projects printed and arranged in a pile

Publications on nisenet.org
We have re-organized our publications on our website to make it easier to find what you are looking for. Publications categories include: 1) Externally published journal articles, books, and other professional publications 2) Guides for professional learning, and 3) Evaluation reports and research studies.
Learn more

 

Blue logo for online workshop recordings

Online Workshop Recording:
Practices, Principles, and Programming for Engaging Blind and Low Vision Audiences
(recorded on 3-12-24)
Learn more

Online Workshop Recording:
Wildfires & Air Quality - Providing a Relevant Portal to Get Audiences Invested in the Conversation
(recorded on 4-30-24) Recording coming soon!
Learn more 

 

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

Synthesis Project Fellowships from Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
This Fellowship program is a chance to join a national project to learn about how informal STEM organizations are engaging with anti-racism, anti-ableism, and equity work. Open to staff from informal STEM education organizations who identify as Black, Brown, and/or a person with a disability; stipends of $2,000.
Learn more
 

Science Events Summit
June 2-4, 2024, Los Angeles
For anyone interested in large live public events that connect people and science.
Learn more
 

Rural STEM Learning Summit 
June 4-7, 2024, Tucson
Designed to bring together rural educators, administrators, and community leaders who are passionate about STEM.
Learn 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.
Contact us



SCIENCE IN THE NEWS


NEUROSCIENCE NEWS

How do champion skaters accomplish their extraordinary jumps and spins? Brain science is uncovering clues. For top skaters, the brain accepts slipping feelings and rewires connections in the cerebellum, an area linked to balance.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Brain and neuroscience resources


GENETICS NEWS

Could a vaccine treat cancer? Testing has begun for an mRNA Moderna vaccine for melanoma skin cancer.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Genetics resources

• Building with Biology kit

• Health resources


CHEMISTRY NEWS

Kombucha is a fermented tea known for its health benefits and tangy kick. But brewers can find it challenging to keep kombucha’s alcohol levels low because the bacteria and yeast used in the fermentation process vary from batch to batch. Chemists are investigating ways to reliably minimize alcohol, tailor taste profiles, and speed up the kombucha fermentation process.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Chemistry resources

• Building with Biology kit

• Health resources


SPACE NEWS

In March, a piece of space junk about the size of a can of soda crashed through a home in Naples, Florida. NASA recently confirmed the object was part of a cargo pallet containing aging nickel hydride batteries from the International Space Station that was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth’s atmosphere. 

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Astronomy resources


SPACE & RADIO NEWS

In mid-November, Voyager 1 spacecraft suffered a glitch, and its messages stopped making sense. But the NASA probe is once again sending messages to Earth that make sense. The historic NASA probe launched in 1977 to explore Jupiter and Saturn is now out beyond the edge of the solar system.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Astronomy resources

• Making Waves with Radio kit

• Electromagnetic spectrum 


NEUROSCIENCE NEWS

Early experiments with neural implants have a handful of companies racing to develop this futuristic Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) health technology that allows people to communicate by translating neural signals into text and speech.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Brain and Neuroscience resources


CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS

Author Elizabeth Kolbert wants us to rethink the stories we tell about climate change
In "H Is for Hope," Kolbert explores the contradictions of a global problem: Why does it feel like the world has made so much progress on addressing global warming, but also none at all?

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Climate change resources


TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY NEWS

A new PBS show promotes a more promising vision of the future focusing on “prototopias” rather than dystopias. “A Brief History of the Future,” the host travels the world to meet people finding solutions to environmental problems.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Futures thinking 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 
 

May

June


NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES​​​

  • Association of Children's Museums (ACM) InterActivity, May 15-17, 2024, Madison, Wisconsin
    Learn more
  • Visitor Studies Association (VSA) Conference 2024, July 16-19, 2024, Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Learn more
  • ASTC Conference, September 27 - October 1, 2024, Chicago, Illinois
    Learn more
  • REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar

    Learn more

  • National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences

    Learn more