2018-2019 – Archives of Sem 1 Meetings – Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec 2018

*** Aug 25, 2018 – Denver Chatfield Farms & Butterfly Pavillion ***

Please click the link to view, download and print the flyer for this hub meeting:  Flyer August 2018 Denver 

Please share this information with other science teachers !

Saturday,  August 26, 2018, 7:30 am – 5:30 pm

Trip to Denver to Visit the Botanical Gardens at Chatfield and the Butterfly Pavilion

Kirsten Bell, Curriculum and Teacher Development Specialist, Denver Botanic Gardens

Calais Thomas, Educator/Interpreter Butterfly Pavilion

Chatfield: Explore the grounds of a historical working farm and see how agricultural practices have changed as technology has advanced. Learn about the role riparian wetlands play in Colorado and how research is used in the reconstruction of Deer Creek- a local wetland area. Lesson activities for use in the classroom will be provided.

Beautiful Butterflies: Discover a rainbow of color as you meet face-to-face with tropical butterfly specimens from around the world, and learn about the intriguing behaviors and complex life cycles of our fascinating fluttery friends. Then go beyond the beauty as you delve into the magic and the mystery of the monarch butterfly’s incredible migration, uncover the dangers they face along the way, and find out what you can do – yourself or with your classroom – to help.

Meet Rosie – A Virtual Invertebrate Encounter Demo: Meet Rosie, the Chilean Rosehair Tarantula! Through guided observation and inquiry, find out more about how she lives and learn to appreciate her as more than just a big, hairy spider. This session will include a real-time presentation of the program and its actual content, as well as a demonstration of using videoconferencing technology to bring these programs into your classroom.

Agenda

7:30 Bus leaves Colorado Springs. 30 minute activity – Experiential Learning Opportunities

9:00- 11:00 Presentation and tour of Riparian wetlands at Deer Creek

11:00-12:00 Participants  explore Chatfield Gardens through self-guided tour

12:00- 1:00 Bus travels to Butterfly Pavilion. Participants eat lunch on the bus

1:00-3:00 Beautiful Butterflies and Meet Rosie the Chilian Rosehair Tarantula

3:00-4:00 Participants visit exhibits at Butterfly Pavilion

4:00-5:30 Bus ride to Colorado Springs. 60 minute activities – Science Fair for YOUR Science Students and Classroom Connections

*** Sept 22, 2018 – Pueblo – Bees, Raptors and Ecology ***

Please click the link to view, download and print the flyer for this hub meeting:  PALS Flyer Sept 22 2018 FINAL

Saturday,  September 22, 2018 7:15 am – 4:45 pm

Exploring Bees, Raptors and Ecology of the Arkansas River

Vic Boley, Beekeeper, Boley’s Bee Haven

Staff, The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center, Pueblo  – click here to access web-site at https://natureandraptor.org/

NOTE: DEPARTURE POINT is NOW Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School !

Explore the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center, located in beautiful Rock Canyon on the banks of the Arkansas River, west of Pueblo.  Investigate the science of bees and skills of beekeeping. Visit the raptor wildlife rehabilitation facility. Learn about hawks, owls, eagles, falcons and vultures through a live bird of prey program.  Increase your awareness and appreciation for our natural resources and biodiversity through a hands-on ecology program.  Take a guided hike on a section of the paved Pueblo River Trails System.

Agenda

7:15 Bus leaves Colorado Springs.  Participants will discuss 50 Ways to Save the Honeybees (And Change the World) during the trip to Pueblo.

8:30 – 10:00 Bee talk by Vic Boley in NWDC Yurt

10:00 – 10:15 Break (possibly drive up to Raptor Center for presentation?)

10:15 – 11:15 Birds of Prey presentation in Raptor Center or Yurt/Pavilion

11:15 – 12:00 Explore Raptor Center visitor area

12:00-12:30 Working lunch.  Eat sack lunches in the Pavilion during presentation on educational resources of the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center.  Restroom break.

12:30 – 1:30  NWDC staff will do a hands-on presentation on the local ecosystem in the Pavilion

1:30 – 1:45 Break

1:45 – 2:45 Nature discovery hike led by two rangers. Group split in two. See active bee hive.

2:45 – 3:30  Wrap-up, evaluations, door prizes, etc. Pavilion

3:40 Board the bus to return home, arrive in Colo Spgs at 4:45.

*** Oct 10, 2018 – Physics is Fun and Easy ***

Wednesday,  October 10, 2018 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Physics is Easy and Fun –  Click HERE for the PALS Oct 10 Flyer

Anatoliy Glushchenko, Professor of Physics @ UCCS & the Founder of Physical Science Research Associates

This workshop will cover some recent trends in Physics and what it brings to everyday life. It will also outline modern trends in teaching Physics in the K-12 system. The workshop will be a combined lecture and demonstrations and intended for science educators.

Pikes Peak Regional Science Fair 

Nancy Hampson and Laura Weilert, PPRSF board members, shared a short presentation about the benefits of student participation in the Pikes Peak Regional Science Fair.

Here are the links for the video trailers that they shared during their presentation.

Nancy Hampson is the Director of the PPRSF and can be contacted at [email protected].

Laura Weilert is a PPRSF board member and is also “That Science Fairy” and can be reached at http://www.thatsciencefairy.com/.

*** Nov 14, 2018 – Practical Astronomy ***

Enjoy these photos from our meeting.

Wednesday,  November 14, 2018 4 pm – 8 pm

Practical Astronomy for Secondary Science Teachers

Bruce Bookout, Professional Astronomer

Click HERE for November 14, 2018 PALS HUB Flyer

The program will include the study of…

  • Patterns in the Sky,
  • Planets and the Zodiac,
  • Observing the Sun & Moon,
  • Timekeeping,
  • Telescopes

And

  • Observing the night’s sky with the assistance of members of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society

*** Oct 21, 2018 – LaJunta – Picket Wire Canyonlands ***

Enjoy these photos from our trip !

Sunday,  October 21, 2018 6 am – 6 pm

Picket Wire Canyonlands – A Trip through Time ! – Click HERE for the flyer !

Guided Auto Tour provided by National Forest Service Staff & Volunteers

For a unique and unforgettable experience, we will be touring Picket Wire Canyonlands. Located on the Comanche National Grassland south of La Junta, Colorado, these primitive canyons are home to the largest dinosaur tracksite in North America! We will be taking a guided auto tour –  the easiest way to experience Picket Wire Canyonlands and learn about its rich, colorful past. During the tour, knowledgeable guides will show us difficult to find dinosaur tracks, and the interesting prehistoric, historic, and natural features of the canyons. This auto tour is the only motorized access into the canyons. We will be carpooling to the site in high clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicles. (A special THANK YOU to our volunteer drivers!)

Each participant will receive paid entry to the guided auto tour (~ $18 value) and each teacher will receive a copy of the book -Dinosaur Lake: The Story of the Purgatoire Valley Dinosaur Tracksite Area (~$12 value). There will also be a number of door prizes awarded.

More INFO:

Picket Wire Canyonlands Guided Auto Tour, Comanche National Grassland, CO

This information found at the NFS website – Picket Wire Tour Details

Check out this GREAT information packet : Set in Stone – Learning from Layers of Geology on the Comanche National Grasslands

          Participants can pick up a copy of this brochure at the USFS office in La Junta where we will meet before our tour departs.

Dinosaur Tracks

Located on the banks of the Purgatoire River in southeast Colorado, this dinosaur tracksite is the largest documented assemblage of trackways in North America. Over 1900 prints in 130 separate trackways extend across a quarter mile expanse of bedrock. Apatosaurus and Allosaurus are two types of dinosaurs that left prints in the mud over 150 million years ago.

This tracksite has given scientists interesting insights into the social behavior of dinosaurs. Tour guides will tell you what scientists have learned and show you difficult to find small tracks made by a carnivorous dinosaur or theropod. Without a guide you will miss the whole story of the tracksite!

Rock Art

Those huge dinosaurs weren’t the only prehistoric visitors to the canyons. Rock art images, together with the remains of dwellings, stone tools, and pottery, shed light on the lives of prehistoric people. Rock Art is the term used to describe images pecked or painted on rock surfaces by prehistoric people. Rock art can be difficult to find but guides will take you to some of the best sites in the canyons.

Spanish Expedition

According to legend, a group of Spanish treasure seeking soldiers died in the canyons without benefit of clergy. Thus, in the sixteenth century the river was named El Rio de Las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio (the River of Souls Lost in Purgatory). Later, French trappers shortened the name to “the Purgatoire.” Early Anglo travelers on the Santa Fe Trail could not pronounce “Purgatoire” and hence further corrupted the name into “Picket Wire.”

Early Settlers

In the 19th century, Hispanic and European settlers homesteaded in Picket Wire Canyonlands. Guides will take you to an early Catholic Church and cemetery, which was built on land donated by Damacio Lopez. You will also visit Rourke Ranch, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and learn how pioneer Eugene Rourke’s ranch grew from a 160-acre homestead in the late 1800s to an over 50,000-acre cattle empire still owned by the Rourke family into the 1970s.

Join us!

*** Dec 1, 2018  – More Brain-Based Instruction ***

Click Here for the Dec 2018 PALS HUB Flyer FINAL !

Saturday, December 1, 2018 8 am – 4:15 pm

More Brain-Based Instruction:  Long Term Memory, Motivation & The Adolescent Brain – Click HERE for the flyer !

Tim Blesse, Teachers Program Coordinator, Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Robert Payo, Educational Technology Coordinator, Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Understanding some of the exciting new advances in Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology research provide an opportunity for teachers to unlock more of how the brain actually learns. Join the teacher professional development staff from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for an all-day workshop where we will learn practical applications of this research and translate it for the classroom. The DMNS staff will model many of these research-based best practices to empower you and your students through meaningful and fun hands-on experiences.  We’ll focus on the power of manageable strategies, small shifts that can improve cognitive mastery and classroom culture. Topics include: Long Term Memory, Motivation & The Adolescent Brain [This workshop complements the December Intro to Brain-Based workshop from last year. You do NOT have to have attended last year’s workshop to attend this workshop.]

Agenda

Time Activity
8-8:15 Welcome, Introductions
8:15-9:00 Introduction to Brain-Based Learning and Neuroplasticity
9:00-9:15 Introduction to Memory Systems
9:15-12:00 Strategies to Promote Long Term Memory ( Retention & Recall)
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00- 2:15 Motivation and the Brain
2:15-2:30 Integration Walk
2:30-3:30 The Adolescent Brain
3:30-4:15 Wrap Up/ Reflection Activity / Museum Resources