The National Association for the Education of Young Children  2011 national conference takes place next week in Orlando. This conference will be the site of the first meeting of the NAEYC Early Childhood Science Interest Forum and I hope to see you there!
With your participation, the Early Childhood Science Interest Forum will:

• Provide a forum for the exchange of effective strategies and
  quality materials for teaching science.
• Establish and maintain a collaborative relationship with other
  professional organizations with similar goals.
• Build understanding of the nature of quality science teaching and
  learning.
• Promote public understanding of the importance of inquiry-based
  science curriculum and appropriate content, and a picture of what young
  children are capable of doing and learning.
• Support efforts to expand professional development opportunities
  for teachers and administrators.

The forum is open to all—please add your voice. Join us at the first meeting at the NAEYC 2011 conference in Orlando, Florida, on November 4, 2011 from 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM in room W311A of the Orange County Convention Center. (Search the sessions using the phrase “Early Childhood Science IF” to add it to your itinerary.) We’ll show a brief video clip to stimulate discussion, and plan for the future. We will also have a table with literature at the Interest Forum Café at the conference and will be there at most lunch hours. The Early Childhood Science Interest Forum will have an online presence on the NAEYC forum page—right now you can find the forum page on Facebook.
NAEYC members can add  the Early Childhood Science Forum to their membership profile as soon as it becomes available by signing in at http://www.naeyc.org/community
Other notes about the NAEYC national conference:
Science and Children editor Linda Froschauer and I are presenting a session titled “Science inquiry for you and your students: Fun experiences with hands-on materials to awaken the scientist in your young students!” on Thursday, November 3 from 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM in Room W303 at the convention center. Come and participate!
There are over 30 sessions offering science content including sessions by contributors to Science and Children such as Marie Faust Evitt’s Urgent curriculum: Thinking BIG to meet teaching challenges, in Room W105 on Friday November 4, at 1pm.
If you’re presenting a session, let readers know by commenting below.
Peggy