September 2024
NETWORK NEWS
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 a pre-conference intensive session, concurrent sessions, an exhibit hall booth, and a networking happy hour. The happy hour will take place at the Marriott Showroom Food Hall on Saturday night September 28th.
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
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
• 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
Roger That! Annual Program at Grand Rapids Public Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Earlier this year space enthusiasts of all ages gathered at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Grand Rapids Michigan for the Eighth Annual Roger That! symposium. In addition to honoring the life of local hero Roger B. Chaffee, a former American naval officer, aviator aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut in the Apollo program, guests were able to interact with a variety of hands-on space related activities.
Learn more
White House Climate and Health Forum Presentation
Max Cawley, Director of Climate Research and Engagement at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina presented at the White House Climate and Health Forum on August 14th 2024. The presentation focused on the importance of community engagement and focused on the museum’s local community collaborations mapping of urban heat islands.
Climate Change resources
Citizen and Community Science resources
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
• Supersized STEM - All About Planning for Science Festivals and Big STEM Events (recorded on 7-23-24)
Learn more
• Futures Thinking - Exploring Ideas and Developing Skills to Shape Our World
(recorded on 6-11-24)
Learn more
Building with Biology
"Tech Tokens" activity
Whether or not you are familiar with or received our past Building with Biology kit, you can easily download, print, and start using new resources for the “Tech Tokens” activity. A set of updated cards engages public audiences in conversations about the field of synthetic biology by considering the potential advantages and disadvantages of various new and future technologies.
Learn more
Whispers in the Wind app
In this digital game set in near-future Puerto Rico, players learn about radio and wireless technology as they help siblings Gabby and Raúl restore their town's communication systems after a hurricane. The app is available in both English and Spanish for iPhones/iPads and Android devices.
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 TEAM II Funding Opportunity
NASA is seeking proposals for the 2024 NASA Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions TEAM II STEM Innovator Awards. Eligible proposers include U.S. nonprofit science museums, planetariums, youth-serving organizations, and libraries. Proposals are due September 26, 2024 for the TEAM II STEM Innovator.
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 & CHEMISTRY NEWS
Carbon nanotubes are known for their remarkable properties, which make them essential in many advanced technologies. Yet, creating nanotubes efficiently and on a large scale has been a persistent challenge.
NISE Network resources:
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS
A recent issue in Nature focussed on several studies devoted to human neuroscience, and reminded researchers that with new technologies including artificial intelligence, there is a need to improve public involvement, as well as improved ethical standards and consent procedures.
NISE Network resources:
• Brain and neuroscience resources
GENETICS NEWS
A store in Singapore recently started selling lab-grown meat directly to the general public. Singapore, which is smaller than New York City, has spent tens of millions of dollars to study novel ways of producing food because it has very little land to farm and imports 90 percent of its food.
NISE Network resources:
HEALTH NEWS
In a recent outbreak of the deadly eastern equine encephalitis disease spread to people through the bite of an infected mosquito, a Massachusetts town has responded with neighborhood spraying and the closure of public parks in affected areas. Approximately 30% of people who develop severe eastern equine encephalitis die, and many survivors have ongoing neurologic problems.
NISE Network resources:
• Should We Engineer the Mosquito? Forum
SPACE NEWS
NASA’s Perseverance rover has gathered rock samples from Mars that were transported and deposited by water; these samples could alter our understanding of water’s history on the planet and potentially reveal past life.
NISE Network resources:
RADIO NEWS
One hundred years ago an experiment took place attempting to listen for signs of life emanating from Mars. The US Navy requested short periods of radio silence on several days in August 2024 to listen for possible Martian radio signals.
NISE Network resources:
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY NEWS
Pennsylvania State Senator plans to introduce legislation to allow for flying cards to be allowed to travel both on roadways as a motor vehicle and flown in the airspace as an aircraft
NISE Network resources:
• Science and Society resources
• Exploring Nano & Society - Flying Cars activity
CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
Stoked by Canada’s warmest and driest conditions in decades, extreme forest fires in 2023 released about 640 million metric tons of carbon, comparable in magnitude to the annual fossil fuel emissions of a large industrialized nation. Extreme wildfires like these will continue to have a large impact on global climate.
Learn more
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 and graphite
- Read a New Book Month (September)
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
- International Observe the Moon Night
- International Microorganism Day (September 17)
- National Pollution Prevention Week (P2 Week) (September 16-22, 2024)
- International Coastal Cleanup Day (third Saturday in September) World Cleanup Day (mid-September)
- Fall Equinox (September 22 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 / Día Internacional de la Cultura Científica (September 28)
- Worldwide Day of Play (September 28, 2024)
October
- National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
- Campus Sustainability Month (October)
- Walk Bike & Roll to School (October)
- World Space Week (October 4-10)
- Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) (first Friday in October)
- National Nano Day (October 9)
- National Nanotechnology Day (#NationalNanoDay) is an annual celebration and pays homage to the nanometer scale, 10–9 meters
- NanoDays hands-on activities and resources
- Metric Day (October 10)
- Indigenous Peoples' Day (October 14)
- International Day of the Girl Child (October 11)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) - World AI Week (2nd week in 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)
NATIONAL MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
- ASTC Conference, September 27 - October 1, 2024, Chicago, Illinois
Learn more - 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 REVISE InformalScience.org conference calendar
National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Conferences