NOVEMBER 2023
NETWORK NEWS
Partners Celebrate the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse
We are thrilled to hear so much positivity from partners about their events to celebrate the October 14, 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse! It’s wonderful to hear stories and see photos that capture the excitement you brought audiences. Even for those who experienced clouds and rain, it seems everyone was prepared and adapted in order to create safe, successful, and memorable events for participants. We are also incredibly grateful to the many who brought out their Explore Science: Voyage through the Solar System kit and other NISE Network Explore Science: Earth and Space resources for the occasion. We are honored to have had the chance to be a part of these unforgettable events with you and your audiences.
Read more about highlights from partner events and see what’s coming next with our
January 2024 online workshop to prepare for the April 2024 total solar eclipse!
ASTC Conference
It was wonderful to see so many of our partners in person at the ASTC Conference in Charlotte, NC. We always enjoy learning from each other.
If you weren’t able to attend, we have our booth materials available and slides from many of our concurrent session posted at nisenet.org/astc2023
Online Report for the Explore Science: Voyage through the Solar System Kit Now Available - Due December 1, 2023
The online report for the Voyage through the Solar System kit is now available. All partners receiving physical kits are required to submit an online report to the NISE Network about their experiences. The report asks about public engagement efforts in 2023, as well as plans for 2024. Some of the questions will also ask about other NISE Network Earth and Space content. You can learn more on our site, preview a PDF and Word Doc template, and find the link to submit completed reports online.
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
Online Workshop:
Totality or Bust! Partners Talk Planning for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Many of us have barely taken a breath after events celebrating the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse, but believe it or not it is time to start planning for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse! Join us for this online workshop to hear from partners on and off the path of totality about their plans for events in 2024.
Learn more and register
2024 Total Solar Eclipse - Monday, April 8, 2024
On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be seen in the US from Texas to Maine. States on the path of totality include: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. All of North America will have at least a partial solar eclipse (if skies are clear).
• Compilation of resources: nisenet.org/solareclipse
• Online workshop recording (recorded 9/12)
• Online workshop registration (1/9/24)
AGU Conference December 11-15, San Francisco
If you are planning to attend AGU this year, please see NISE Network presentations and sessions:
nisenet.org/AGU2023
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
Partner Highlight: Family Science Nights in Greensboro, NC
Greensboro Science Center recently conducted Family Science Nights at two local Title 1 schools: Jefferson Elementary School and Guilford Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Greensboro Science Center provided 12 hands-on activity stations set up both inside and outside the schools.
Learn more
Partner Highlight: Nanotechnology Day Activities in Arizona
To celebrate Nanotechnology Day and the 20th anniversary of the federal act authorizing the creation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, public engagement events were held at both the Arizona Science Center and Arizona State University (ASU) during the month of October.
Learn more
FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE
Talking with Children about Tragic Events in the News
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. Below is a compilation of resources for talking with children about tragic events in the news including war, violence, racism, and natural disasters. Navigating these conversations isn't easy, but these resources can be helpful for both children and adults.
nisenet.org/tragic-events
Meteorites and Asteroids
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx successfully returned to Earth on September 24, 2023 with material from asteroid Bennu, the Psyche mission to a metal asteroid successfully launched in October 2023, and the Lucy spacecraft will encounter its first target November 1, 2023.
nisenet.org/asteroids
Solar eclipse resources for planning your 2024 eclipse community engagement event
Many of us have barely taken a breath after events celebrating the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse, but now it’s time to start planning for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse! On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be seen in the US from Texas to Maine. States on the path of totality include: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. All of North America will have at least a partial solar eclipse (if skies are clear).
nisenet.org/solareclipse
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
Science Near Me
Science Near Me is a free resource to help the public engage with STEM opportunities. The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), in partnership with Science Near Me, is looking for new partners to share their events and programs through the database. New partners are eligible for a $1,000 stipend to join this initiative.
Learn more
ASTC Cultivating Community Science Stipends
Stipends to support established teams of science center/museum and community-based partners in using community science approaches to make demonstrable progress on community priorities. Applications due December 4, 2023.
Learn more
NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador
Do you know an astronomy enthusiast or undergraduate student with a passion for sharing space science? Learn how they can become an official NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador and help engage your community in the awe and wonder of the upcoming solar eclipse.
Learn more
A Million Miles Away Film Viewing Guide
The new film "A Million Miles Away" chronicles the inspiring story of José Hernandez from migrant farmworker to astronaut. The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) has developed a companion educational STEM viewing guide to support families and educators.
Learn more
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
CHEMISTRY AND NANOTECHNOLOGY NEWS
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded for the discovery and development of quantum dots.These tiny particles have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps. In the early 1980s, Louis Brus and Aleksey Yekimov succeeded in creating quantum dots, which are nanoparticles so tiny that quantum effects determine their characteristics
NISE Network resources:
GENETICS NEWS
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded for discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
NISE Network resources:
• Coronavirus COVID-19 resources
SPACE NEWS
OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023 bringing material from asteroid Bennu. Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu sample show evidence of high-carbon content and water, which together could indicate the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock.
NISE Network resources:
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS
A speech prosthetic developed by a collaborative team of neuroscientists, neurosurgeons and engineers can translate a person's brain signals into what they're trying to say. The new technology might one day help people unable to talk due to neurological disorders regain the ability to communicate through a brain-computer interface.
NISE Network resources:
• Brain and Neuroscience resources
PHYSICS NEWS
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 was awarded for experiments which have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules. These scientists demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure which electrons move or change energy.
NISE Network resources:
RADIO WAVES NEWS
On October 14, as most Californians were treated to a partial solar eclipse, researchers at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) took in a different view. The observatory measured radio wavelengths between 20 and 88 megahertz (MHz) to create an image of the "radio eclipse."
NISE Network resources:
• Engineering and robot resources
• Electromagnetic spectrum resources
CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP28 is taking place November 30-December 12 in Dubai. The ultimate goal of COP is to reach global agreements and commitments to combat climate change. To help Connecting to COP28, an online portal has been created for citizen engagement.
NISE Network 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
November
- What’s Up Skywatching Tips from NASA
- Native American Heritage Month / American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November)
- NASA Native American Heritage Month
- NASA's Universe of Learning Native American Sky resources
- Native Sky Watchers - Two Eyed Seeing
- Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Star Stories
- Indigenous Education Institute (IEI)
- NISE Network books, reading, and storytelling resources section on Night Sky Storytelling resources
- Learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing and making local connections in the NISE Network Working with STEM Experts guide
- America Recycles Day (November 15)
- Pride in STEM Day / International Day of LGBTQIA+ People in STEM
(November 18) - World Children's Day (November 20)
- Thanksgiving (November 23)
- Turkey breast feathers are iridescent due to nano-sized structures within the feathers; for more about iridescence check out:
- NISE Network biomimicry resources including iridescence
- Exploring Materials - Thin Films program
- Colors at the Nanoscale: Butterflies, Beetles and Opals program
- Butterfly Blues video
- Biomimicry: From Nature to Nanotech program
- Black Friday Shopping Day (November 24)
- Black Hole Friday (November 23)
December
- National Disability Day / International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3)
- Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) and Hour of Code (second week in December)
- CS Ed Week
- Hour of Code
- Black Girls Code
- The Clubhouse Network
- Code.org's educational resources
- Computer Science Is for Everyone toolkit
- NISE Network computer science resources
- NISE Network Zoom into a computer chip poster
- NISE Network Zoom into a microchip video
- NISE Network Exploring Products - Computer Hard Drives activity
- Games Day (December 20)
- Winter Solstice (December 21 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
NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
-
AGU Conference December 11-15, San Francisco
Learn more -
Association of Children's Museums InterActivity, May 15-17, 2024, Madison, WI
Learn more -
International Symposium on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST), April 10-12, 2024, Zacateca, Mexico
-
REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar
-
National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences