NOAA is excited to be back at NSTA Denver 24 offsite link! Find us at Booth #933 offsite link in the Expo Hall. Explore our presentations and resources below!
Educators visited the NOAA booth at the exhibit hall of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2023. (Image credit: Jenny Kopach)
Thursday, March 21
NOAA workshop 1: Engage Your Students with Scientific Modeling and Virtual Reality
Thursday, March 21 // 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Randy Russell (Dragonfly Games), Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service)
Dive into three NOAA modules (Observations vs. Models, Predators and Prey, and Ocean Food Webs) that explore scientific modeling as applied to Earth systems using a VR environment. Using these modules students will employ the NGSS practice of developing and using models in hands-on activities
💡 Exhibitor workshop
NOAA workshop 2: NOAA Planet Stewards - Affect change through education, collaboration, and action - and receive up to $5000 to do it!
Thursday, March 21 // 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Symone Barkley (NOAA National Ocean Service), Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service), Karen Metcalf (Cornerstone Learning Community), Kelley Hodges (Patronis Elementary School), Kyla Trahan (Beaumont Middle School)
As a NOAA Planet Stewards Educator you can become a STEM agent of change in your school and community. Learn how to access professional development opportunities, education resources, and funding, to increase students’ science literacy, and have them respond to real world environmental threats.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
NOAA workshop 3: How does my phone know where it is? The science behind GPS
Thursday, March 21 // 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Daniel Winester (NOAA-National Geodetic Survey), Derek Van Westrum (NOAA-National Geodetic Survey), Galen Scott (NOAA-National Geodetic Survey)
Come meet scientists from the NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey and learn how GPS uses time to pinpoint your location, enabling your phone to tell you where you are and how to get to the nearest pizza joint. Learn how to bring the lofty concepts of surveying and accurate positioning down to earth.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
Explore the Role Bivalves Play in Sustaining Watershed Ecosystems
Thursday, March 21 // 3:40 PM - 4:40 PM // Colorado Convention Center - Mile High Ballroom 1B
Elizabeth Edmondson (James Branch Cabell Libr), Al Byers (AB Advising)
We’ll share 5 free online modules that engage students in the importance oysters and mussels play in watersheds via field studies, role plays scenarios, and a dynamic simulation. This NOAA-funded MWEE effort has students investigate, collaborate, and debate solutions to authentic problems.
🤝 Partner session 🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 4: SOS Explorer: Real-time Data Visualization Tool for your Classroom
Thursday, March 21 // 3:40 PM - 4:40 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Hilary Peddicord (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory), Beth Russell (NOAA Office of Education), Eric Hackathorn (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory), Juan Pablo Hurtado (NOAA)
SOS Explorer® is used to explain global environmental data. A mobile app version has always been free, but for the first time, the desktop version is also free and ready to install on your computer. Come learn how to download a free copy for yourself and see how we use it in a classroom setting.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
Friday, March 22
Climate Literacy for All: Resources from the US Global Change Research Program
Friday, March 22 // 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM // Colorado Convention Center - 210/212
Carol O'Donnell (Smithsonian Science Education Center), Jenna Hartley (US Environmental Protection Agency), Haley Crim (Climate Engagement and Capacity-building Coordinator), Frank Niepold (NOAA Climate Program Office), Aaron Grade (National Climate Assessment Staff Scientist)
There’s an ever-growing need for accessible resources to inform teaching climate change concepts in a variety of disciplines. Participants will tour the new Fifth National Climate Assessment and Climate Literacy Guide, share feedback with developers, and explore applications for the classroom.
🏛 Inter-agency session 🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 5: Use Games and Role Playing to Engage Your Students in One of the Most Dangerous Climate Impacts of Our Time: Sea Level Rise
Friday, March 22 // 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Symone Barkley (NOAA National Ocean Service), Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service)
Why are sea levels rising? Why is it so dangerous for everyone - no matter where in the US they live? How can we address it? Using hands-on role-playing activities from NOAA, engage your students on one of the most dangerous climate impacts of our time.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
FREE Federal STEM Education Resources –Where can I find them?
Friday, March 22 // 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM // Colorado Convention Center - 601
Jessica Nickelsen (Forest Service/ Natural Inquirer), Rachel Crowley (NIGMS, National Institutes of Health), Eleanour Snow (U.S. Geological Survey), Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education), Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Miranda Fike (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center), Jorge Valdes (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), Patti Curtis (U.S. Department of Education), Melissa Anley-Mills (U.S. EPA)
Ever wondered where to find FREE Federal STEM education resources that can provide authentic learning experiences for your K-12+ students? Join Federal agencies, including but not limited to the Dept of Education, NASA, NOAA, EPA, NIH, USGS, USPTO and NSF to learn more & to receive a resource guide!
🏛 Inter-agency session 🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 6: Explore the Ocean, Weather, Climate Connections with Teek & Tom, NOAA’s New Animated Series and Lesson Plans
Friday, March 22 // 9:20 AM - 10:20 AM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Peggy Steffen (Curriculum Writer), Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service)
Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth, investigates the relationship between the ocean, weather and climate on global to local scales. This workshop introduces ten hands-on activities for upper ES and MS students to reinforce Earth science concepts related to oceanography, meteorology and climate.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
Climate in your Classroom, Climate in your World: Use Free NOAA Resources and Data to Teach this Integrated Topic
Friday, March 22 // 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM // Colorado Convention Center - Bluebird Ballroom 2D
Frank Niepold (NOAA Climate Program Office)
Want to teach climate literacy but don’t know where to start? NOAA offers lesson plans, videos, data, webinars, and more, to inform and inspire students. This session is appropriate for 3rd grade through college educators and informal educators.
🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 7: Easier Than You Think: Bringing Equity and Environmental Justice Into Your Classroom
Friday, March 22 // 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Symone Barkley (NOAA National Ocean Service), Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service)
Explore a new resource that you educators and students can use to assess environmental injustices in their neighborhoods and school communities. This tool features a community inventory, indicators of environmental justice, and stewardship-based solutions.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
NOAA workshop 8: Sea to Sky: Get to know NOAA’s online educational resources — and let us know what you think!
Friday, March 22 // 2:40 PM - 3:40 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Join us for a demo of our database of 1,300+ educational resources from NOAA. We host ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, and climate resources. Tour our lesson plans and activities and ask us your questions. Learn more at noaa.gov/education/resources. This session is appropriate for K-16 educators.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
Coral Reef Ecosystems and Us: Explore Free NOAA Resources About These Fragile Wonders
Friday, March 22 // 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM // Colorado Convention Center - Bluebird Ballroom 2E
Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education)
Incorporate coral reefs into your existing curriculum – biology, chemistry, climate studies, art, and more – using lesson plans, demos, activities, and multimedia from NOAA. This session is appropriate for 3rd grade through college educators and informal educators.
🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 9: How to Teach Climate Change In Almost Any Classroom or Grade
Friday, March 22 // 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Kathryn Boyd (CIRES Education & Outreach), Patrick Chandler (CIRES Education & Outreach), Alicia Christensen (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences)
This workshop will introduce teachers of all grade levels to the CLEAN portal which was designed to help teachers be effective when teaching climate and energy topics, climate system, and how humans can take action to reduce climate change and its impacts. CLEAN is funded by NOAA, NSF, NASA and DOE.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
Saturday, March 23
Resources from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Saturday, March 23 // 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM // Colorado Convention Center - Mile High Ballroom 2A
Carolyn Szoke (Science Communicator)
Outreach specialists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, CO, will discuss what NOAA does and what resources are available for teachers. We will walk through our in-person opportunities, online information, videos, and student activities.
🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 10: Exploring the Hazardscape - A Teacher's Guide to Connecting Students to Their “Backyard” and Beyond
Saturday, March 23 // 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Natalie Macke (Pascack Hills High School: Montvale, NJ), Peggy Steffen (Curriculum Writer: West Liberty, IA), Missy Holzer (Chatham High School: Chatham, LA), Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service: Silver Spring, MD)
From land to sea, join the National Earth Science Teachers Association and discover inventive ways to leverage NOAA assets in your teaching. Explore locally-focused education strategies, fostering hands-on lessons that enable students to make personal connections to natural and unnatural hazards.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
VCU: Dive into lessons that highlight the role Bivalves Play in Sustaining Watershed Ecosystems
Saturday, March 23 // 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM // Colorado Convention Center - Bluebird Ballroom 2C
Elizabeth Edmondson (James Branch Cabell Libr), Al Byers (AB Advising)
We’ll share 11 free online lessons that engage students in the importance oysters and mussels play in watersheds via virtual tours and field studies. This NOAA funded Meaningful Watershed Education Experience effort has students investigate, collaborate and debate solutions to authentic problems.
🤝 Partner session // 🍎 Educator session
Evidence-Based, Anxiety-Reducing Strategies for Teaching Students About Climate Change
Saturday, March 23 // 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM // Colorado Convention Center - Mile High Ballroom 3C
Ava Guiney (Student), Rachel Otis (Student), Dr. Donna Pincus (Director, Child and Adolescent Fear and Anxiety Treatment Program at the Center for Anxiety and Rela), John Guiney (NOAA/NWS Eastern Region)
When learning about climate change, students may experience significant anxiety regarding potential impacts in their community. This session will highlight emotion-management techniques and evidence-based strategies that can help reduce anxiety while learning about climate change and it’s impacts.
🤝 Partner session // 🍎 Educator session
How To Use NOAA Data: A Guide For Educators
Saturday, March 23 // 11:40 AM - 12:40 PM // Colorado Convention Center - Bluebird Ballroom 2E
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Learn how to access and explore NOAA’s data-rich resources, lesson plans, and visualization tools to build data literacy and proficiency in scientific data analysis. This session is appropriate for 6th grade through college educators and informal educators.
🍎 Educator session
NOAA workshop 11: NOAA in Your Classroom: Mapping the Ocean with Sound
Saturday, March 23 // 11:40 AM - 12:40 PM // Colorado Convention Center - 505
Tami Lunsford (Newark Charter School)
How are scientists able to discover new ecosystems in the ocean? Come explore the use of sound to create 2D/3D map models of seafloor features and learn how scientists use these maps to help them identify ocean features. We’ll also share resources to make it easier to connect to ocean exploration.
💡 Exhibitor workshop
Help NOAA help you!
NOAA is collecting information from educators on multimedia distance learning.
Please consider completing our short survey (≤ 5 min.) offsite link to help NOAA identify the types of multimedia content that interests you for use with your students/audiences as well as your own professional development. Participation is voluntary and answers are completely anonymous.
Missed out on our NSTA resources or ran out of suitcase space? Find digital versions of nearly all of the items we had at NSTA, plus some cool digital-only options!
Dive into our searchable database of over 1,300 free educational resources. Search by keywords, audience, topic, resource type, subject, NGSS alignment, and more! We'll even have a session on this resource on Friday!
Education resources are distributed across many websites and program offices at NOAA and partner websites. This portal is designed to help you access these resources from one location. Materials are organized by themes aligned with common teaching topics. Find even more resources beyond what is listed here!