SEPTEMBER 2023
NETWORK NEWS
Preparing for Solar Eclipses - New Slideshow and Workshop Recording Now Available!
Two major solar eclipses are coming to North America on Saturday, October 14, 2023 and Monday, April 8, 2024. Even if you are not located on the path of totality, people throughout North America will be able to see a partial eclipse.
A new editable slideshow presentation with detailed presenter notes is now available for you to use for training volunteers and staff, as well as with public audiences for both the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses.
• Slideshow: nisenet.org/solareclipseslides
• Online workshop recording (recorded 9/12)
• More resources: nisenet.org/solareclipse
Moon Adventure Game Summative Evaluation Report Reveals Public and Professional Impacts
A summative evaluation study of the Moon Adventure Game was recently completed focusing on impacts of the game on participating public and professional audiences. The study found after playing the game people are more interested in Moon and space science and have a stronger sense of science identity.
Learn more
Twenty Years of Nanotechnology! Opportunity to engage your community with NanoDays activities
This year the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) community will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which authorized the creation and funding of the NNI. This is a great opportunity to engage your local community with NanoDays activities!
Learn more
UPCOMING EVENTS
ASTC Conference
If you are attending the ASTC Conference October 7-10th, we hope to connect with you in person in Charlotte! Please join us for:
• Networking Happy Hour, Friday, October 6th, 7:30pm
• Booth (#801) Saturday & Sunday October 7th & 8th
• Many NISE Network project-related sessions
See all the details at nisenet.org/astc2023
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
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Mural at the Emerald Coast Science Center, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Harley Peters of the Emerald Coast Science Center, took the time to share more about an exciting project that started with the NISE Network’s Earth & Space Project-Based Professional Learning Community. They worked with local artist and museum community partner, Andrew Wargo, to create a piece for guests to learn about the importance of the waterways in this area and how we can protect these waterways as well as the plants and animals found around them.
Learn more
Special Guests Drop by the Museum of Life and Science to Learn more about Initiatives to Engage Hispanic Communities in Durham, NC
On August 30, 2023, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy paid a special visit to the Museum of Life and Science (MLS). The goal of the visit was to draw attention to the pivotal role that museums and science centers play in fostering learning, innovation, and collaboration within local communities. Congresswoman Foushee and Deputy Administrator Melroy discussed the vital work MLS is currently participating in to strengthen STEM education and informal science learning, especially within Spanish-speaking communities.
Learn more
FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE
Meteorites and Asteroids
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx will return to Earth on September 24, 2023 with material from asteroid Bennu; the Psyche mission to a metal asteroid launch window opens in October 2023, and the Lucy spacecraft will encounter its first target November 1, 2023.
nisenet.org/asteroids
Solar eclipse resources
Two major solar eclipses are coming to North America on Saturday, October 14, 2023 and Monday, April 8, 2024. Even if you are not located on the path of totality, people throughout North America will be able to see a partial eclipse.
nisenet.org/solareclipse
Voyage through the Solar System activities
Hands-on activities and DIY apps
Digital resources available for download
DIY Solar System app
Recorded NISE Network online workshops
View the recordings and resources from past NISE Net online workshops:
- Solar Eclipse Event Planning for October 14, 2023 - A Review of the Newest Resources for Engaging the Public (recorded September 12, 2023)
- One Year of Science and Discovery with the Webb Space Telescope (recorded 8-8-23)
- Murals and Museums - the Intersection of Art, Science, and Cultural Relevance (recorded 7-18-23)
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
International Day of Scientific Culture (IDSC)
This annual event on September 28th aims to highlight the importance of scientific culture in today's world; and celebrate activities and institutions that provide spaces for people to make science a relevant part of their lives.
Learn more
Are you ready for Cambio?
Cambio–meaning "change"–aims to advance equity in museums through a yearlong, NSF-funded professional development program. Apply for this funded year-long professional development program by November 1.
Learn more
International Observe the Moon Night
On October 21, 2023 everyone on Earth is invited to learn about lunar science and exploration, take part in celestial observations, and honor cultural and personal connections to the Moon.
Learn more
NISE Network Moon resources
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
SCIENCE FUN NEWS
The Ig Nobels are a good-natured parody of the Nobel Prizes; they honor "achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think." This year’s award winners include projects explaining why many scientists like to lick rocks, reanimating dead spiders to use as mechanical gripping tools, and experiments to determine how electrified chopsticks and drinking straws can change the taste of food.
CHEMISTRY NEWS
The invention of Kevlar has saved countless lives over the past 50 years. Kevlar is a fiber five times stronger than steel that is now used in numerous products ranging from boots for firefighters to spacecraft — and most famously, in bulletproof vests. Learn more about chemist and inventor Stephanie Kwolek.
NISE Network resources:
• Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry Kit
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY NEWS
Three decades ago, Michael Crichton’s book Jurassic Park presented readers with the tantalizing question of whether a dinosaur could be brought back to life. Today, the prospect of revival is no longer fiction: scientists are hard at work attempting to “de-extinct” woolly mammoths.
NISE Network resources:
• Building with Biology activities
SPACE NEWS
The South Pole of the Moon is the coolest place to be. And nearly every country with a space program is vying for a spot there - for a chance to explore the shadowy, polar craters in hopes of finding usable quantities of water ice.
NISE Network resources:
• Voyage through the Solar System: Build a Moon Base Camp
NEUROSCIENCE & NANOTECHNOLOGY NEWS
The controversial biotechnology startup Neuralink opened up recruitment for its first human clinical trial. The study focuses on brain implants to paralysis patients who will have a chip surgically placed in the part of the brain that controls the intention to move.
NISE Network resources:
• Brain and Neuroscience resources
RADIO WAVES &
SPACE NEWS
After observing stars called pulsars throughout our galaxy, the NANOGrav collaboration has “heard” gravitational waves rippling through our universe. Much of this gravitational wave background is probably caused by pairs of supermassive black holes as they spiral toward collision.
Learn more in these interviews with scientists
NISE Network resources:
• Electromagnetic spectrum resources
CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
Yale Climate Change Communication has released its new report Climate Change in the American Mind. Majorities of Americans think global warming is affecting many environmental problems in the United States including extreme heat (75%), rising sea levels (72%), wildfires (71%), droughts (71%), flooding (69%), water shortages (69%), hurricanes (68%), air pollution (67%), tornados (66%), reduced snow pack (62%), agricultural pests and diseases (61%), water pollution (60%), and electricity power outages (58%). The full report also looks at how Americans perceive the risks and how often they talk about global warming with family and friends.
NISE Network resources:
SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Scientists at Purdue have created the whitest of white paint that, when applied, can reduce the surface temperature on a roof and cool the building beneath it.
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
September
- What’s Up Skywatching Tips from NASA
- Back to School resources related to pencils, graphite (Fall)
- Read a New Book Month (September)
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - Oct 15) Celebrate people in STEM!
- Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino resources
- SACNAS – Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science
- National Park Service resources
- NASA resources
- The Astronomy of Many Cultures: A Resource Guide
- NISE Network Spanish Language Translations and Bilingual resources
- Learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing and making local connections in the NISE Network Working with STEM Experts guide
- International Microorganism Day (September 17)
- World Cleanup Day & International Coastal Cleanup Day (September 16)
- National Pollution Prevention Week (P2 Week) (third week in September)
- Fall Equinox (September 23 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
- International Day of Scientific Culture (September 28)
- Worldwide Day of Play (September 30)
October
- Campus Sustainability Month (October)
- Walk Bike & Roll to School (October 4)
- World Space Week (October 4-10)
- Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) (October 6)
- National Nano Day (October 9)
- Metric Day (October 10)
- Indigenous Peoples' Day (Second Monday in October) - celebrate people in STEM
- Native American Heritage Month / American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November)
- NASA Native American Heritage Month
- 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
- SACNAS – Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
- International Day of the Girl Child (October 11)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) - World AI Week (October 9-13)
- Earth Science Week (October 8-14)
- Solar Eclipse (October 14)
- Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills (October 19)
- National Chemistry Week (October 15-21) and Mole Day (October 23)
- Imagine a Day Without Water (October 19)
- Nuclear Science Week (October 16-20)
- World Origami Days (October 24 - November 11)
- Dark Matter Day (on or around October 31)
- Halloween (October 31)
NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
-
ASTC Conference, October 7-10 2023, Charlotte, NC
-
Association of Children's Museums InterActivity, May 15-17, 2024, Madison, WI
-
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