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2011 NATS FALL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
September 29- October 1, 2011Science is Elemental
NATS celebrated its 51st year with a great Fall Conference. Over 370 people attended included registrants, presenters, vendors, and guests. We were excited to welcome Jeff Goldstein, Director for the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. For more information about Jeff, or to check out some of the resources he mentioned in his lecture check out his website: blogontheuniverse.org.
Fall Conference is also the time of year we give public recognition to our award winners. Congratulations to the Nebraska National 2010 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching –Elementary winner, Laura Callahan, Bancroft Elementary School, Omaha, NE.
State PAWS award winners for 2010 are Karen Humphrey, Adams Elementary, Omaha, NE; and Sheryl Uehling, Logan View Public School, Hooper, NE. Joan Christen is the Nebraska Secondary PAWS finalist for 2011.
The Catalyst Award is the highest honor NATS presents. Generally two awards are given, one for a formal educator and another for informal education. Dan Sitzman is one of our honorees this year. Dan has been very involved with NATS for over 18 years serving in numerous capacities as board member, president, and presenter. Dan is currently the curriculum specialist for Business, Family & Consumer Science, Music, and Science at Omaha North High School, Omaha, NE.
Steve Waller, representing the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources also accepted a Catalyst award. CASNR has been very supportive of informal science education activities and a special supporter of the Nebraska Science Olympiad. CASNR will be hosting the 2015 National Science Olympiad.
The NSTA past president, Dr. Alan McCormack and the NSTA Assistant Executive Director, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, Jodi Peterson also attended. Jodi gave a very informative presentation on current national legislation affecting education. Alan was one of our many presenters.
Gary Brown, one of our long time vendors initiated a new award several years ago called the Pinnacle award. This year the third Pinnacle award was presented to Joan Christen, a plaque and a microscope from Gary’s personal collection.
There were numerous opportunities for learning this year, both outside and inside. Mother Nature provided us with excellent weather and Camp Calvin Crest was a great host as always.
An Annual Conference is held by the NATS organization during September or October. The conference consists of a series of workshops, field trips, multi-media presentations, computer simulations, and numerous motivational activities, with concurrent sessions specifically designed for teachers of physical (physics and chemistry), earth, biological, and elementary sciences.
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