“It’s my third NSTA conference in the states. It’s worth every cent or any penny or any dollar I spent flying 24 hours to the NSTA conference…I meet all my supplies in the Exhibition Hall, and then apart from that, I get a once-a-year boost in my professional development…my sort-of new inspiration for the year here…One of the best guys out here—the most practical, hands-on guy—is Al Guenther, and that’s the biggest secret of the NSTA. Everybody should go to his lectures. He’s just so amazing [and a] magical presenter. I love to go to the evenings, the flashy science evenings, the chemistry, the physics shows…Each year, I think, ‘Maybe I’m not coming next year,’ [but] since I’ve discovered these conferences, there’s no way someone can hold me back.” Carl Ahlers, Melbourne, Australia

“The conference was great all around, and I’m learning a lot. I specifically went to [news correspondent and journalist] Garland Thompson’s [Shell Science] seminar because I’m reading his book, he’s inspirational in the book, and I wanted to get a firsthand experience on his inspiration, from his stories, from his books, and this is why I came to this conference…I picked up some freebies, concerning some free examples of books…so I can see what’s available out there for my K–8 school. I picked up some of those; they were very, very good.” Tony Oyola, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“I was really excited to sign up [for the conference] because I wanted more tools and techniques to teach science in the classroom. I’m getting certified in chemistry, and so I’ve been going to various chemistry workshops, but on top of that, I wanted to go to more general sessions as well to improve my teaching skills because I have very, very, very little experience in that, so I wanted to absorb different pieces from different sessions.” Vivian Ng, Preservice Teacher in Master’s of Science Education Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania