October 2024
NETWORK NEWS
ASTC Conference 2024
It was wonderful to see so many familiar and new faces at the ASTC Conference in Chicago September 27-October 1st. NISE Network activities include a pre-conference intensive session, concurrent sessions, poster, an exhibit hall booth, and a networking happy hour. Slides are available here:
nisenet.org/astc2024
More Conferences and Presentations
Additional upcoming conferences featuring presentations about NISE Network projects include:
• American Evaluation Association - Evaluation 2024
October 21-26, 2024 in Portland, OR nisenet.org/AEA2024
• STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECoP) Convening
October 29-31, 2024 in Chicago, IL
nisenet.org/slecop2024
• American Geophysical Union (AGU)
December 9-13, 2024 in Washington, DC
nisenet.org/AGU2024
Hurricane Impacts
We are thinking of our partners in the Southeast who have been affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We can all do our part to support recovery efforts, share what is happening in these affected communities, and help build resilient communities. The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has compiled some helpful resources for museums and cultural organizations.
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
• Co-creation & You - Inspiring Partner Stories from Participants of the Co-Created Public Engagement with Science Project
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
2-3pm Eastern
Many informal science education institutions have used co-creation approaches when developing and implementing public engagement with science activities as a way to include community priorities and perspectives. This approach focuses on responding to community issues as viewed by the community themselves, and allows informal science education institutions to work with civic and community partners to meaningfully engage on these topics. Join us as we chat with NISE Network partners that participated in the NSF-funded “Building Capacity For Co-Created Public Engagement with Science” (CC-PES) Project. These partners will share insights into their unique adaptations of the co-creation model and how they worked within their own communities to create and host public engagement with science activities. We will also hear from project evaluators, who will provide context about the project and their findings from this work.
Learn more and register
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
Museum of Science, Boston Talks “Harnessing Hydrogen” to Increase Understanding & Awareness About Hydrogen Technology
Earlier this year, partners at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA created a safe and accessible environment for the community to engage in conversations about the implementation of hydrogen as an energy source. In collaboration with The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Justice and Equity and a team of Presidential Management Fellows, two forums were developed to address the use of hydrogen technology and its benefits to the community. Through an iterative process that involved environmental justice organizations, communities in the Gulf South, Boston-area residents, and expertise from the DOE offices, “Harnessing Hydrogen for a Just and Equitable Transition” was piloted and proved to have great success engaging the community in thoughtful discourse
Learn more
FEATURED ON THE WEBSITE
Online Workshop Recordings:
• Making Waves with Radio - Resource Roundup for Educators Working with Hispanic Audiences (recorded on 8-20-24)
Learn more
• Engaging Hispanic/Latinx Communities - Forming Community Partnerships & the Co-creation Process (Part 1) (recorded on 9-10-24)
Learn more
• Engaging Hispanic/Latinx Communities - Resources for Public Engagement (Part 2)
(recorded on 10-8-24)
Learn more
National Chemistry Week
National Chemistry Week is October 20-26 and this year’s theme is Picture Perfect Chemistry. It is a perfect opportunity to feature chemistry activities and connect with a local American Chemical Society section or student chapter.
Chemistry resources
National Chemistry Week resources
Halloween Spooky Science
October is a great time to incorporate STEM activities into your Halloween events.
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
Application for Collaborative Heat Monitoring Community Science Projects Opens November 1st
The Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring will provide communities with a $10,000 stipend for the co-development of a community-based heat data collection campaign. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please fill out an “Expression of Interest” form to opt in to further communications about the application process and the option to be paired with a “mentor” community that has completed a heat data collection campaign. For questions please contact: [email protected]
Learn more
Children’s Museums and AI
Association of Children's Museums special Hand to Hand publication on artificial intelligence explores how we can help design experiences and activities to engage families in exploring AI concepts playfully, as well as opportunities for professionals to apply the possibilities of AI to our work.
Learn more
NanoinFocus
Image Contest finalists
In celebration of National Nanotechnology Day and National Chemistry Week, a NanoinFocus image contest gives people the opportunity to explore and showcase the beauty of the nanoscale. Contest judges included long-time collaborator and former NISE Network regional hub leader Frank Kusiak.
Learn more
Interested in one of our exhibitions? Join the waiting list!
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
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 a project studying whether the hair on the heads of most people in the northern hemisphere swirls in the same direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise?) as hair on the heads of most people in the southern hemisphere. Another winner studied real plants that imitate the shapes of neighboring artificial plastic plants.
NANOTECHNOLOGY NEWS
Scientists have engineered a seafood-waste material to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. The new technology, made from crab and shrimp shells, is designed to form a microscopically thin nanocrystal layer on the treated produce, removing chemical residues.
NISE Network resources:
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS
The US Food and Drug Administration has given approval for the next step in Neuralink’s “Blindsight” device clinical trial. The device is a wireless Brain Computer Interface (BCI) designed to restore sight to people who have lost it, and even provide sight to people who were born blind.
NISE Network resources:
• Brain and neuroscience resources
GENETICS NEWS
A rancher from Montana was sentenced to six months in prison for using cloned endangered sheep embryos to breed a giant sheep hybrid species, aiming to sell the species to captive hunting facilities. He imported genetic material from the world’s largest sheep, the Marco Polo argali found in Kyrgyzstan, and then cloned embryos implanted into female sheep on his ranch.
NISE Network resources:
HEALTH NEWS
Scientists have found a new way to see inside the body using the yellow food dye. Scientists at Stanford made living mice skin temporarily transparent with a simple mix of water and synthetic yellow food dye FD&C Yellow No.5 (tartrazine). The light-absorbing dye molecules enhance the transmission of light through the skin by suppressing the tissue’s ability to scatter light
NISE Network resources:
SPACE NEWS
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft launched this month to Jupiter and will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life
NISE Network resources:
RADIO NEWS
Can cell phone signals help land a plane? Scientists are studying ways that a backup system could be used to keep an airplane on course when it cannot rely on global positioning system satellites.
NISE Network resources:
CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
Climate change made Hurricane Helene more powerful, rainier, and significantly more likely. And as temperatures continue to warm, the U.S. can expect more storms like Helene in the future.
Learn more
NISE Network resources:
ENGINEERING NEWS
New kirigami robots inspired by living organisms are tiny robots that can change their shape. The robots are less than 1 millimeter in size; they are printed in 2D hexagonal sheets and with a jolt of electricity can morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawls. Kirigami includes the process of both cutting and folding, while origami is enabled by folding.
NISE Network resources:
• Engineering and robot resources
• Size, Scale, and Measurement 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
October
- What’s Up Skywatching Tips from NASA
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
- Campus Sustainability Month (October)
- Walk Bike & Roll to School (October)
- Earth Science Week (second full week in October)
- Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills (October 17)
- Imagine a Day Without Water (October 17)
- National Chemistry Week (October 20-26)
& Mole Day (October 23) - International Archeology Day (October 19)
- Nuclear Science Week (NSW) (October 21-25)
- World Origami Days (October 24 - November 11)
- Dark Matter Day (on or around October 31)
- Halloween (October 31)
November
- Native American Heritage Month (November)
- NASA Native American Heritage Month
- NISE Network books and storytelling resources section on Night Sky Storytelling & Indigenous Ways of Knowing resources
- Learn more about Indigenous ways of knowing and making local connections in the NISE Network guide Working with STEM Experts
- Indigenous Education Institute (IEI)
- World Tsunami Awareness Day (November 5)
- National STEM - STEAM Day (November 8)
- International Day of Radiology & World Radiography Day (November 8)
- World Science Day for Peace and Development (November 10)
- International Science Center and Science Museum Day
- America Recycles Day (November 15)
- Pride in STEM Day (November 18)
- World Children's Day (November 20)
- Thanksgiving (last Thursday in November)
- Turkey breast feathers are iridescent due to nano-sized structures within the feathers; for more about iridescence see:
- NISE Network biomimicry resources including iridescence
- Exploring Materials - Thin Films program
- "Black Friday" Shopping Day - (Friday after Thanksgiving)
- Black Hole Friday (last Friday in November)
NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
- American Evaluation Associaiton Conference, October 21-25, Portland, Oregon
Learn more - The STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECoP) Convening on October 29-31, Chicago, Illinois
Learn more - Association of Children's Museums (ACM) InterActivity, May 14-16, 2025, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Learn more - ASTC Conference, September 6 - October 9, 2025, San Francisco, CA
Learn more REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar
National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences