It was a perfect early summer day with temperatures in the low 70s (F) and a gentle breeze that make it easy to be outdoors for hours. We had a combination of shade, sunscreen or hats to protect from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and a pitcher of water to drink when thirsty. And we had a play space that engaged the children in running after each other, digging and moving sand, climbing in the low trunks of a shrub-y tree, and swinging on the tire swing. It was a perfect day to reflect on what elements make a successful outdoor play space.
The preschool program is soon moving to a new location where a play space will be created in an area with some trees bordering a grassy space. What elements should be in place before school begins in September and which elements can be added later, if they seem appropriate once we see how the children and the teachers use the space? How can we choose elements from all the examples of beautiful and creative play spaces we’ve seen that will work best on this land with this preschool program?
Continued research can help, beginning with a book, The Great Outdoors: Advocating for Natural Spaces for Young Children, Revised Edition (2014 NAEYC) by Mary Rivkin. Dr. Rivkin is an associate professor of education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research focuses on children’s outdoor play.
Other resources included:

• “Creating and Enriching Quality and Safe Outdoor Environments” by Heather Olsen in Dimensions Extra 41(3) 7-11.
• “Safety First: Ensuring a Safer Outdoor Experience” by Ken Roy in the March 2014 Science and Children.
• “Science and the Outdoor Classroom” by Polly Neill in Extensions May/June 2008, Vol. 22, No. 5
•  “The Southern Early Childhood Association’s (SECA) 2013 Exemplary Outdoor Classroom State Winners“
• “Supporting Whole-Child Learning in Nature-Filled Outdoor Classrooms” by Susan Wirth and Nancy Rosenow in the January 2012 Young Children.
• Young Children, January 2008 issue, Teaching and Learning about the Natural World

Children need an outdoor play space all year round so rainy days and snowy days need to be considered when planning to meet children’s needs. Dr. Rivkin’s examples will inspire me as I advocate for elements to engage children in learning about the natural world—mud kitchens for fully experiencing this earth material, learning about solids and liquids while digging in melting ice and snow, finding one’s center of gravity while balancing on logs and walking among trees and noticing the diversity of leaf shapes.
You can ask Dr. Rivkin a question by posting it on the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) website on the “Q&A with the author of The Great Outdoors” page this week, June 16-20, 2014. I’m going to ask an impossible question:
If you could only afford one play space element, what would you choose?
Maybe you all have suggestions for me too!

Wisconsin-based duo Dale Basler and Brian Bartel have been podcasting together for almost 10 years, not only combining their love of science and technology, but also generating the free award-winning Lab Out Loud podcast, which is supported by NSTA and features the best in science education news and commentary.
With backgrounds as science teachers and curriculum specialists, Dale and Brian produce two 30-minute episodes per month and focus on science education by interviewing leading scientists, researchers, science writers, and other important figures in the field. Even they are surprised at where the discussion with guests can lead. Recently, they started talking about the future of robots with guest Illah Nourbakhsh (Episode 109), and ended up having insightful conversation about the process of science and educational philosophy.
“After seven seasons of Lab Out Loud, one thing that keeps us going is the support we receive from our target audience: science teachers,” said Brian. “We know that teachers listen to the show for ideas, inspiration, and some even use our episodes in class. Episode 5: Sir Alec Jeffries and DNA Fingerprinting and Episode 34: Gene Therapy for Colorblind Monkeys are classroom favorites.”
With more than a hundred episodes, podcasts themes have covered everything from Next Generation Science Standards for science teachers, engineering activities for students, and next generation technology upgrades for K-12 classrooms. By distilling diverse subjects of science, from physics to paleontology, into the 30-minute audio format, Dale and Brian aim to give fellow educators inspiration and confidence to continue exploring science outside the classroom.
Dale and Brian’s Top 12 Favorite Episodes:

1. Episode 109: Thinking About Our Future with Robots
2. Episode 74: There’s a Zombie in My Classroom
3. Episode 59 – The Courage to Teach
4. Episode 55: Science Comedian Brian Malow
5. Episode 49: Science We Can Listen To (They Might Be Giants)
6. Episode 46: Paleontologist Scott from Dinosaur Train
7. Episode 43: Mythbusters’ Adam Savage
8. Episode 37: Science Because We Can (Dr. Theo Gray)
9. Episode 34 – Gene Therapy for Color Blind Monkeys
10. Episode 32: Neil deGrasse Tyson on Science Literacy
11. Episode 14: Bill Nye Talks About Energy and More
12. Episode 5: Sir Alec Jeffries and DNA Fingerprinting

“Doing the show has expanded our own knowledge about science beyond our comfort areas,” said Dale. “It has been a way for me to learn about things I would not have normally pursued. And we also get to connect with some of our heroes in science. How many people have been able to call Bill Nye?”
In the time it takes to get to work in the morning, run to the grocery store, or eat lunch, one 30-minute Lab Out Loud podcast can keep you inspired, boost your science knowledge, and maybe even get you inspired to be part of the science education movement.
Subscribe to Lab Out Loud today!
More time?

• Read the Lab Out Loud blog, where the hosts provide insight on episode guests, discuss themes, and provide linked resources from each podcast.
• Dale and Brian actually started podcasting in 2006, for the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers in a show called Periodicity. You can still find all 52 episodes at http://laboutloud.com/2007/06/periodicity.

Not a member of NSTA? Learn more about how to join.
Laura Berry of Cogberry Creative is our guest blogger for this series. Laura is a communications professional for the education community.

It would take mere seconds for any one of us to explain how technology has improved our everyday lives. Yet there are some downsides to all these “life upgrades.” How many of us spend more time exploring our new smartphone app or game than we do the great outdoors? A more sedentary lifestyle is certainly associated with increased health concerns, especially for children, who, research clearly shows, do not play outside as much as they used to/as much as they need to.
Teachers have the power to help reverse many negative health trends occurring with their students by taking their lessons outside of their bricks and mortar buildings. But two obstacles usually prevent this from happening: dwindling funds and/or inadequate resources.
In Schoolyard Science: 101 Easy and Inexpensive Ideas, authors Thomas R. Lord and Holly J. Travis have created more than 100 activities for pre-K through grade 8 teachers to use the external environment immediately outside the walls of their school buildings for their science lessons.
Each inquiry-based, student-directed activity is noncompetitive and was piloted across classrooms, in youth camp activities, or as part of science education classes in teacher preparation programs. All are specifically intended for teachers who have limited backgrounds in scientific nomenclature. The book’s 11 chapters allow teachers to create teamwork-based outdoor scientific activities and experiences that help students develop their critical thinking and collaborative skills. Read a sample chapter: Schoolyard Gardens and Nature Walks.
According to Lord and Travis, “The intent of this book is for students to develop observation skills and an appreciation for the environment, and for teachers to feel comfortable using natural resources available in the schoolyard.” The authors add that all the activities in the book were developed around “easily obtained and inexpensive materials” and that their most important objective in writing this book was to “keep teachers and students actively learning and spending time outside in the natural world.”
Would you like to incorporate a nature walk into your lesson, plant a garden on school grounds, launch a composting program, or build your own watershed? Maybe you’d like your students to create arts with natural materials, monitor weather in the schoolyard, or make a solar oven. If so, this book is for you and your students.
Happy exploring all the wonders of the scientific world that are occurring right on your schoolyard!
This book is also available as an e-book. Additional resources from NSTA Press on outdoor science include Outdoor Science: A Practical Guide; Inside-Out: Environmental Science in the Classroom and the Field, Grades 3–5; Bringing Outdoor Science In: Thrifty Classroom Lessons; Buzz Into Action: The Insect Curriculum for Grades K–4; and Hop Into Action: The Amphibian Curriculum for Grades K–4.

Among the misconceptions that students may have is their perception of the “mad scientist” — a solitary person in a white coat who works in a laboratory with odd smells and beeping noises. So when teachers refer to students as scientists, they may be a little wary of the label. Students might not realize that science is a collaborative process, that science investigations can occur just about anywhere, and that they themselves can contribute to our knowledge of the world.
Students need opportunities to apply what they are learning to new situations and to experience what scientists actually do. But it’s a challenge for teachers to design and conduct authentic activities with real-life applications. Fortunately, many institutions and organizations have set up citizen-science or collaborative research projects in which students and teachers can participate. It’s a win-win scenario—the sponsor gets additional observers and data-collectors on the task, and the students get experiences that can extend into careers or lifelong learning.
If you’re looking for opportunities for your students to collaborate with scientists and other observers on cutting-edge research projects and informal science activities, take a look at SciStarter. This is a searchable collection of community-based and citizen-science projects–regional, national, and international. There are projects appropriate for all grade levels and on a variety of topics. Some are ongoing, others are seasonal, and some are once-and-done projects. The latest SciStarter newsletter describes some ocean-themed projects such as sharing photographs of seahorses or horseshoe crabs, analyzing video images of deep sea life, or collecting data on phytoplankton with a Secchi disk and a smartphone app. Follow SciStarter on Faceboook or Twitter for the latest projects.
I just learned of another online collaboration from the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) — The Global Experiment 2014: The Art of Crystallization. In this project, students are invited to grow their own crystals, analyze the results, and post their local data, including photographs. This is based on the theme of identifying the best conditions for growing the biggest crystals. The project runs through the 2014-15 school year. (Did you know that 2104 is the “International Year of Crystallography”?) The introductory page has a video describing the project, a link to download the instructions, and the interface to upload and view data
For more on citizen science projects see

• NSTA’s The Science Teacher (December 2012)
• The NSTA blog Engage Kids in Citizen Science with a link to the NSTA publication Citizen Science: 15 Lessons that Bring Biology to Life 6-12
• The Citizen Science thread in the NSTA Informal Science discussion forum
• The Citizen Science Alliance
• The Real World collection of resources on NSTA’s Learning Center, showcasing how students and teachers can engage in “real world” projects that go beyond the classroom walls.
  

And use the NSTA journal and SciLinks for supporting information and ideas on whatever topic you choose to investigate.
Photo: MLB

Incorporating science education in the classroom, especially at the elementary and middle levels, is challenging due to accreditation and assessment requirements, and an emphasis on meeting Common Core standards. NSTA member Carolyn Mohr, who teaches science methods to graduate education students, says that she is always searching for up-to-date, relevant resources to help her students weave science into curricula. Mohr says that her NSTA membership is a valuable resource for providing creative ways to infuse science into daily lessons.
Mohr: When I first became a member of NSTA, I subscribed to all of the journals. You couldn’t get them online then. I used the journal articles in my science methods courses and they were full of cross-curricular lesson plans.
Now I use the NSTA Learning Center as the e-textbook for my students. With the e-textbook, my students have access to all of the Learning Center Library resources including NSTA book chapters, SciPacks, and journal articles. As I became more familiar with the Learning Center, I started using the discussion forums and encouraged my students to do the same. They love being a part of such a large community of teachers and get so excited when teachers from all around the world respond to their questions and give them great ideas. I have my students hooked on what a wonderful resource the Learning Center is and will be as they continue their teaching careers. They can create their own connections, update their libraries, and all of that is accessible to them throughout their careers.
How have you used the Learning Center specifically to find interdisciplinary lesson ideas?
Mohr: There are a lot of math resources in the Learning Center. Because there is a strong connection between math and science, these lesson tips and ideas are really helpful. I still love having access to the journal articles. I’ve gotten a ton of ideas for my students in the journals. In addition, I point my students to the book chapters in the Learning Center. In particular, the Picture Perfect Science Lessons, which incorporate science and literacy, are amazing. The authors—Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan—provide lessons that combine trade books and inquiry. And, the lessons all follow the BSCS 5E Instructional Model.
“Name that Shell” is one of the Picture Perfect lessons I model in my classroom. Others include “How Big is a Foot?” and “That Magnetic Dog”. Each of the lessons emphasize literacy strategies such as listening, reading, and writing, and they are connected to the Common Core standards. I will model one of the 5E lessons for my preservice teachers so they can see what it looks like. They really enjoy being students and participating in the entire 5E process, and they get to see how I incorporate the different subjects into a lesson plan.
All of these resources have been incredibly helpful to both me and my students, especially now that the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have been published. NSTA has provided much of our professional development on NGSS.
Not a member of NSTA? Learn more about how to join.
Jennifer Henderson is our guest blogger for this series. Before launching her freelance career as a writer/editor, Jennifer was Managing Editor of The Science Teacher, NSTA’s peer-reviewed journal for high school science teachers.
 

Welcome back to the Science of Golf! U.S. Open play is underway at Pinehurst No.2 in central North Carolina! This year’s Science of Golf series reunites NBC Learn with the United States Golf Association (USGA) and Chevron to bring you the science, technology, engineering, and math behind the sport. And once again, NSTA has developed lesson plans to help you build on the videos as you carry out STEM initiatives in your middle- and high-school science courses.
Ten new videos have been added to those from 2013. They cover new areas as well as provide a new take on others. Check out Science of Golf: Torque and Moment of Inertia. In it, LPGA golfer Belen Mozo demonstrates what she does to “smash it.” Use the video as a springboard for student investigations into these concepts. The lesson plan provides you with ideas and guidance on how to get started. This particular one will probably work best in middle- and high-school classrooms. But you teach elementary? No worries! Several have concepts and possible investigations that will easily adapt to grades 4–6.
The videos are available cost-free on www.NBCLearn.com. NSTA will also highlight each video in the series in this blog over the next several days. Use them as your school year winds down to continue instruction after final grades are posted. When you do, please leave comments below each posting about how well the information worked in real-world classrooms. And if you had to make significant changes to a lesson, we’d love to see what you did differently, as well as why you made the changes. Leave a comment, and we’ll get in touch with you with submission information.
Video
SOG: Torque and Moment of Inertia discusses the major impact that both torque and moment of inertia can have on the motion of the golf ball and the game of golf.
STEM Lesson Plan—Adaptable for Grades 7–12
SOG: Torque and Moment of Inertia describes how students might design a solution to a problem about moment of inertia. It also provides ideas for STEM exploration plus strategies to support students in their own quest for answers and as well as a more focused approach that helps all students participate in hands-on inquiry.
Image of Pinehurst Course No.2, courtesy of Mike Renlund.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: [contact-form 2 “ChemNow]
 

In many textbooks you’ll find a page on the scientific method. But of course there’s no such thing—the method is a myth. There is no single path to scientific discovery. The perspectives and procedures of history’s great discoverers and inventors are amazingly diverse. But it’s safe to say that they all began with imagination.
That same sort of imagination is the hallmark of one of the most inspiring competitions for young people today—Toshiba’s ExploraVision Competition. Last weekend, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) was privileged to host and publicize the winners of its 22nd annual competition, through which more than 330,000 students have participated, making it the world’s largest K-12 science competition. Winning teams from primary through high school explained their proposed inventions to visitors, members of Congress, visiting executives from Toshiba, the Japanese Consulate, and the press with an aplomb that would amaze the most experienced newscaster.

There is no better showcase for the many methods of science and engineering than this event. In the words of one visitor, this program epitomized STEM long before the acronym for integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics was “cool.” Responding to a constant stream of visitors and reporters, team members as young as seven took turns explaining science and team engineering.
Giving the group just a little bit of the history of the Toshiba America Foundation, Director John Anderson reminded us that STEM was “in the DNA” of the corporation and its representatives. He also reminded the teachers and parents there that the process of engineering, which includes cooperation, design, testing, negotiation and redesign, changes not just our technology but the participants forever.

If you could have walked with me around the foyer of the House of Representatives you would have seen what I mean. Elementary students asked how the dangers of hot cars and rip currents could be avoided—and designed solutions. Middle school students considered the problems of iced airplane wings and fresh water supply. Taking their inspiration from nature, high school students suggested futuristic answers, too. There were prototypes of kidney prostheses and microgenerators that took their power from the heat of the human body. The Oregon team gave up their traditional graduation ceremonies to participate in the expo. (Of course, graduating in the Washington office of your state senator isn’t that bad, either!)
Senators James Inhofe of Oklahoma, John Isakson of Georgia, and Saxby Chamblis of Georgia joined the group at breakfast. Isakson told the students that their creativity was vital to solve the problems that the adult generation would encounter as they aged and both credited the sort of STEM education represented at Toshiba as the key to a bright future for our nations.
Toshiba executives including Chairman of the Board Atsutoshi Nishida, chairman of the Board of Toshiba, flew all the way to Washington, DC from Tokyo just to celebrate the program and the students.

Throughout the two-day event, there was a spirit of innovation. Many of the teams were already planning for future collaborations. And even though the students had most of the spotlight, at every station there were teachers and mentors who had that “magic touch.” They were able to nurture creativity without skipping a beat in curriculum. From one student group I heard the story: “The day we got back to school last September my teacher said: “I’ve been thinking about you all summer. You can do something amazing this year…” While they were less conspicuously honored, these teachers and mentors were true heroes in the nation’s educational community.
Thanks to Toshiba and NSTA, I began my presidential year inspired! These “real students” and “real teachers” epitomize the potential of today’s STEM education. (Very real! In between media interviews, the students did play a bit of elevator tag!)
What I couldn’t find at Exploravision were limits—limits to methods, limits to cost or effort, limits to the imagination. I really hope that every science teacher can be inspired by the limitless potential of the Toshiba winners and find the same inspiration in what they do every day.
Learn more about the Toshiba ExploraVision Competition and how young minds drive tomorrow’s innovation!