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Newsletter: December 2023

NISE Network logo in full color - horizontal landscape

DECEMBER 2023     


Staff and Participants Pose for a Group Shot Inside in Front of an Inflatable Glove with the NASA Logo

NETWORK NEWS

NASA Langley Research Center Open House: The Museum of Life and Science, El Futuro, and El Centro Hispano Open Opportunities for Hispanic Families 
On October 21, 2023, after seven years since the last open house, NASA Langley Research Center welcomed the public to an open house for a unique opportunity to experience STEM, meet scientists, hear from an astronaut, and build community within an institution that seems exclusive to most. Over 40,000 guests participated, including 15 Hispanic families brought together by the Museum of Life and Science Education and Engagement team, and their co-collaborators El Futuro and El Centro Hispano, two community-based nonprofit organizations in North Carolina providing support to and promoting advocacy for Latino families. 
Learn more

 

Society for Neuroscience 2023 conference Neuro Futures card game displayed on table

Changing Brains activities and poster at Society for Neuroscience conference 
A poster about the Changing Brains project entitled “New Tools for Neuroethics Engagement: Mutual Learning through Card Games & More,” was presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual conference Neuroscience 2023 held in Washington DC. Claire Weichselbaum and Jayatri Das also facilitated the Changing Brains activities, including the Neuro Futures card game, with conference attendees at the Dana Foundation reception.
Learn more

 

Explore Science Voyage through the solar system logo within icon of planets reflected in astronaut helmet

Online Report for the Explore Science: Voyage through the Solar System Kit - Submit ASAP!
There is still time to submit your online report for the Voyage through the Solar System kit. Reports were due on December 1st, but if you have not yet submitted, please do so before the end of 2023. All partners receiving physical kits are required to submit an online report, even if you did not use your kit in 2023. The report asks about public engagement efforts in 2023, as well as plans for 2024. 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

NISE Net 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

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

 

NASA solar eclipse diagram showing positions of Earth Moon and the Sun

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

Slideshow presentation

Online workshop recording (recorded 9/12)

• Online workshop registration (1/9/24)

• DIY Sun Science app
 


PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS

A Number of Students Stand Holding up HulaHoops as a Drone Flies through

NanoInventum in Spain and Grupo Quark in Mexico – Nano Co-creation Projects Provide Students with Creative and Meaningful Engaging with STEM

There have been a number of international groups who have taken digital resources from the NISE Network’s NanoDays kits and done their own remarkably big things with the science of the super small. For example, NanoDays at the 2015 International Beijing Science Festival and NanoPiccola - a junior academy established in Italy to educate and inspire youth in nanoscience. Among these exemplary programs showing what is possible with great passion and partnership is Nanoinventum in Spain and Grupo Quark (Quark Group) in Mexico.
Learn more

 


Father Daughter reading a picture book together (Free Stock Image Credit -Family First via StockSnap)

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

Asteroid Bennu mosaic image taken by OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2018 Image Credit to NASA, Goddard, and University of Arizona

 

Meteorites and Asteroids
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx successfully returned to Earth in September 2023 with material from asteroid Bennu. The Psyche mission that launched in October 2023 will visit a metal asteroid. Meanwhile the Lucy spacecraft encountered its first asteroid Dinkinesh in November; over the course of its mission, Lucy will explore the belt of asteroids known as the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. 
nisenet.org/asteroids

 

Solar eclipse hero without text overlay

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

 


Europa mission Message in a Bottle invitation.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Send Your Name to Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa
Join the mission and have your name engraved on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft as it travels 1.8 billion miles to explore Jupiter’s Moon Europa, an ocean world that may support life. NASA’s Message in a Bottle campaign invites people around the world to add their names.
Learn more

 

Science Near Me logo

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

 

Visitor Studies Association VSA logo

Visitor Studies Association Conference proposals 
The session proposal deadline is January 12th, 2024 for the Visitor Studies Association (VSA) Conference taking place July 16-19, 2024, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Learn more



SCIENCE IN THE NEWS


MICRO & NANO NEWS

Nikon’s 2023 Small World annual photomicrography competition winners have been announced for still images as well as movies or digital time-lapse photography taken through the microscope. These images and movies showcase the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope.

Learn more (images)

Learn more (videos)

NISE Network resources: 

• Microscopes and Tools for the Small

• Size & scale resources

• NanoDays resources


GENETICS NEWS

In a landmark decision, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene-editing treatment to alleviate human illness. The FDA approved gene therapies for sickle cell disease, a life-threatening blood disorder. Doctors can remove cells from each patient's bone marrow, edit a gene with CRISPR, and then infuse billions of the modified cells back into patients.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Should We Edit the Genome forum

• Rewriting the Human Genome forum

• Genetics resources

• Building with Biology kit

• Health resources


SPACE NEWS

A rare light spectacle has caused a bit of buzz this year as the Sun is entering its most active period. The phenomena dubbed “Steve” appears closer to the equator than auroras and is characterized by a purple-pink arch accompanied by green, vertical stripes. Steve is visually different from auroras, which are caused by electrically charged particles that glow when they interact with the atmosphere and appear as dancing ribbons of green, blue or red. 

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Astronomy resources


NEUROSCIENCE NEWS

According to a neuroscience study by Drexel University, art-making activities such as drawing, coloring, or doodling can activate the reward pathways in the brain, which is known to boost mental health and creativity.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Brain and Neuroscience resources


ENGINEERING NEWS

Cyborg cockroaches could be the future of earthquake search and rescue. From drivable bionic animals to machines made from muscle, biohybrid robots are on their way to a variety of uses.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Engineering and robot resources

• Size & scale resources


RADIO WAVES NEWS

The IEEE professional association has recently adopted a new standard called Li-Fi for light fidelity which has opened the door for an era of wireless communication for advanced Wi-Fi technologies. Li-Fi enables Wi-Fi to use light waves instead of radio waves to transmit and receive data. 

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Making Waves with Radio kit

• Electromagnetic spectrum resources


CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS

The United States Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses. It is a congressionally mandated interagency effort that provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States. The report includes regional chapters that assess climate risks and an atlas to help Americans anticipate change. 

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Climate change resources


CHEMISTRY & SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

Scientists have developed a way of using polyethylene waste (PE) as a feedstock and converted it into valuable chemicals, via light-driven photocatalysis. Polyethylene is the most widely used plastic in the world including for daily food packaging, shopping bags and reagent bottles.

Learn more

NISE Network resources: 

• Chemistry resources

• Sustainability 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

 

December

 

January


NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES​​​

  • International Symposium on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST), April 10-12, 2024, Zacateca, Mexico

    Learn more

  • Association of Children's Museums InterActivity, May 15-17, 2024, Madison, WI
    Learn more

  • Visitor Studies Association Conference 2024, July 16-19, 2024, Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Learn more

  • ASTC Conference, November 11- November 15, 2024, Chicago, Illinois
    Learn more

  • REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar

    Learn more

  • National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences

    Learn more