July 2024
NETWORK NEWS
Whispers in the Wind App Now Available on iPhone/iPad & Android, in English & Spanish!
We are thrilled to announce that the latest product from the Making Waves with Radio project is now available for download! Whispers in the Wind is an interactive story app for iPhones/iPads and Android devices that introduces radio and wireless technology through immersive and engaging gameplay. Both English and Spanish versions are included in the app. Set in near-future Puerto Rico, Whispers in the Wind follows siblings Gabby and Raúl as they work together to restore their town's communication systems after a hurricane has left the town without cell phone or Wi-Fi service. Along the way, they get help from family members and local experts, pilot a clunky drone, operate a fast-paced cognitive radio network, control a holographic guard dog, engage in a virtual dance-off, and get advice from their quirky AI assistant, all while learning how radio facilitates connection and community.
Learn more
ASTC Conference 2024
We are looking forward to seeing many NISE Network partners at the ASTC Conference in Chicago September 27-October 1st. NISE Network activities include in a pre-conference intensive session, concurrent sessions, an exhibit hall booth, and a networking happy hour.
nisenet.org/astc2024
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
• Supersized STEM - All About Planning for Science Festivals and Big STEM Events
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Learn more and register
• Making Waves with Radio - Resource Roundup
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Learn more and register
• Engaging Hispanic/Latinx Communities - Forming Community Partnerships & the Co-creation Process (Part 1)
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Learn more and register
• Engaging Hispanic/Latinx Communities - Resources for Public Engagement (Part 2)
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Learn more and register
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
Partner Highlight: BioBuilder Develops & Shares Back Additional Resources for Two Building with Biology Activities
Partners at BioBuilder have developed some exciting new cards for the Building with Biology activities "Bio Bistro" and "Tech Tokens." They have graciously shared these resources back to us for all partners to use. We couldn't be more appreciative and excited to let you know about this new content! Whether or not you are familiar with or received our past Building with Biology kit, you can easily download, print and start using all resources from these two card-based activities to help engage public audiences in conversations about the field of synthetic biology and the ways this emerging technology is interconnected with society.
Learn more
FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE
Online Workshop Recordings:
• Futures Thinking - Exploring Ideas and Developing Skills to Shape Our World
(recorded on 6-11-24)
Learn more
• Find Your Place in Space - Engaging the Artemis Generation with Activities, Apps and More
(recorded on 5-7-24)
Learn more
• Wildfires & Air Quality - Providing a Relevant Portal to Get Audiences Invested in the Conversation
(recorded on 4-30-24)
Learn more
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
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
NASA's Universe of Learning Funding Opportunity
Competitive funding from the Universe of Learning's Informal Learning Network, a partnership with the Association of Science & Technology Centers and Smithsonian Affiliates, aims to reduce barriers to participation and expand access to scientific knowledge about the universe. Due August 1st.
Learn more
NASA TEAM II Funding Opportunity
NASA is seeking proposals for the 2024 NASA Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions TEAM II Community Anchor and STEM Innovator Awards. Eligible proposers include U.S. nonprofit science museums, planetariums, youth-serving organizations, and libraries. Proposals due August 27 (TEAM II Community Anchor) and September 26, 2024 (TEAM II STEM Innovator). Pre-Proposal Webinars: July 25 and August 8, from 12:30-2:00pm ET. For questions, please contact: TEAMii@nasaprs.com.
Learn more
New Resources to Support Equitably Scaling Informal STEM Programs
The NGCP, Education Development Center, and a wide range of collaborators from across informal STEM education have developed a set of resources for those interested in equitably scaling informal STEM learning programs and curricula. These products are a result of the Advancing the Conversation on Scaling National Informal STEM Programs conference, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Learn more
On-the-Spot Feedback Guide -
Communication Strategies for Scientists
A group of science communication practitioners, trainers and researchers that recently completed an NSF-funded project titled On-the-Spot Feedback that provides strategies and resources for science communicators to develop and improve their skills during their public engagements. A webinar is being offered August 15, 2024, 3pm-4:15pm Eastern via Zoom.
Learn more
CCLI Actionable Insights Online Self-guided Tool
The Cultural Competence Learning Institute (CCLI) has introduced a self-guided, online coursework to help make institutions more inclusive and equitable. This tool is free for all to use and includes 11 streaming courses, including an introductory course and downloadable supporting resources.
Learn more
International Observe the Moon Night will take place Saturday, September 14
Find creative observing suggestions, browse a curated set of hands-on activities, download custom Moon Maps, and register your program.
Learn more
and check out NISE Network Moon resources
International Day of Scientific Culture
This annual event is celebrated on September 28th 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
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
NANOTECHNOLOGY NEWS
Doctors are worried by misinformation about sunscreen on social media; recent surveys reveal that many young Americans are doubting the safety of sunscreens.
NISE Network resources:
• Exploring Products - Sunblock activity
• Buy It, Or Better Not? activity
CHEMISTRY NEWS
Scientists have engineered an alloy with a combination of temperature tolerance, resistance to wear, and toughness. The alloy features kinks in its structure that results in stronger materials.
NISE Network resources:
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS
New technology is allowing scientists to map the human brain hemispheres at high resolution making more detailed analysis of brain structure possible, and offering insights into diseases like Alzheimer’s.
NISE Network resources:
• Brain and neuroscience resources
GENETICS NEWS
Florida recently became the first state in the U.S. to ban lab-grown meat. Good Meat, a cultivated meat company which says it is the first in the world to sell lab-grown meat, wrote on X it was "disappointed" by the new Florida law.
NISE Network resources:
SPACE NEWS
In the coming months we may be treated to what looks like a bright new star in the night sky; we should be able to see this nova explosion with the naked eye of T Coronae Borealis, dubbed the “Blaze Star” is a binary system nestled in the Northern Crown some 3,000 light-years from Earth.
NISE Network resources:
• Asteroids, Comets, Meteors resources
RADIO NEWS
A lunar lander on the Moon named Odysseus has been able to record radio waves from Earth
NISE Network resources:
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY NEWS
This year’s much-anticipated list of top ten emerging technologies has just been published by the World Economic Forum, and it is an intriguing mix of trends you might expect, and some you may not.
NISE Network resources:
• Science and Society resources
CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
How well does the public understand the links between climate change and heat waves using the “Climate Shift Index” – a tool used to communicate this relationship of how much more likely an extreme weather event has been made by climate change?
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
Summer
- Summer camp resources
- Outside Activities
- Summer Reading
- Sun and Sand
July
- What’s Up Skywatching Tips from NASA
- Plastic Free July (July)
- Moon Landing - anniversary of Apollo 11 first step on the Moon July 20, 1969 (July 20)
- National Ice Cream Day (July 18)
- World Brain Day (July 22)
August
- Perseid Meteor Shower (August)
- The Perseids are the most popular meteor shower as they peak on warm August nights as seen from the northern hemisphere
- NISE Network Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, and Meteorites resources
- National Immunization Awareness Month (August)
- National Sand Castle Day (first Saturday of August)
- National Aviation Day (August 19)
- World Mosquito Day (August 20)
- Frankenstein Day (August 30)
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797; she wrote the novel Frankenstein in 1816, and published it in 1818
- Frankenstein200 kit of activities
NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
- Visitor Studies Association (VSA) Conference 2024, July 16-18, 2024, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Learn more - ASTC Conference, September 27 - October 1, 2024, Chicago, Illinois
Learn more - Association of Children's Museums (ACM) InterActivity, May 14-16, 2025, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Learn more REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar
National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences
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