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The Honey Hollow Watershed Conservation Area was created in 1939 in eastern Pennsylvania. It was formed by five families who owned farmland along the Honey Creek. They were concerned because their fields were washing away. The erosion of their fields was caused by farming methods, especially cultivation by machinery. With support from the regional Soil Conservation Service, the Honey Hollow Project became a model of cooperative efforts to conserve soil, water, wildlife, and, ultimately, farmland. Honey Hollow Watershed was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1969.

Crooks farmhouse. Image: Crook’s House- NPS, National Register collection

You have big news that you want to share with family in Mexico, India, or the UK. Maybe you will send an email or an instant message. Perhaps you are so excited that you will call them on the phone or make a video call through the computer. The only delay to the person receiving the news is how quickly they read the message or accept the call. However, this wasn’t always the case. At one point, the electric telegraph was the very latest thing in sending a message. The electric telegraph revolutionized how quickly messages could be received.

April 23, 2018

An article written by Ashley Deese, Manager of Digital Media at the Smithsonian Science Education Center, was cited by STEMgobble, a blog digest of education news which discussed the difference between Gamification and Game-based Learning. According to Deese's blog post, “Using gamification to aid in cognitive development will allow an increase in the activity of the regions of the brain to allow for adequate development,” and, “exercising with an interactive game is just as effective as normal exercise.” So, gamification and game-based learning have the potential to enhance cognitive and physical development. To read the article, go here: https://www.stemgobble.com/single-post/2018/04/11/Gamification-vs-Game-Based-Learning

April 24, 2018

Johnson & Johnson has joined up with nonprofit organizations like FHI 360, the Smithsonian Science Education Center and Junior Achievement to find ways to make science programs in schools both educational and fun through resources like games, videos and more creative lesson plans—all with the ultimate hope of reaching 1 million young girls by 2020. At the same time, the company has inked 11 partnerships with universities around the world—from MIT in Cambridge to the University of Limerick in Ireland—to help boost the percentage of women declaring STEM2D majors through scholarships, mentoring and research opportunities. And the gambit's beginning to pay off: In 2017 alone, the WiSTEM2D program impacted over 10,000 girls between the ages of 5 and 18 through its Youth Pillar, as well as provided $1 million in funding to 177 undergraduate students through its University Pillar.

April 30, 2018 

In an article for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dr. Carol O'Donnell discussed her time growing up in Pittsburgh as a young girl with an interest in STEM. According to Dr. O'Donnell, “At the time, the opportunities for young girls to think about STEM as a career ... we were just on the verge of that. I remember my parents wanting me to become an engineer because I was already messing around and building things, using my local environment as my laboratory.” With the support of her parents, Dr. O'Donnell took two buses to school every morning to take trigonometry classes. The article goes on to discuss how mentoring women to pursue STEM careers is vital. “We need to help students understand what science can do,” she said. It’s not enough to teach women science and technology if there is no structure to hold them in place.

Thanks to a grant from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, the Smithsonian Science Education Center will hold its first ever Smithsonian Science Summer School from June 25th through August 1st, 2018 in Washington, DC.  Also called S4, the initiative is a science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) education program that connects the Center’s K-8 primary and middle school curriculum with the history, art, culture and science of the Smithsonian Institution for the benefit of local Washington, DC students.

May 7, 2018

May 14, 2018

The SSEC was selected to host a video in the STEMforAll NSF Showcase, which describes the results from SSEC's LASER i3 Validation study. LASER was developed under an NSF grant and studied using US Department of Education funds.

Results from LASER i3 validation study from videohall.com on Vimeo.

May 14, 2018

Dr. Greg Kelly is a Distinguished Professor and the Senior Associate Dean for Research, Outreach and Technology in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University and a member of the SSEC National Advisory Board and a faculty member in science education. Dr. Kelly is the recipient of the 2018 University Faculty Way Paver Award for his work with diversity and inclusion initiatives at Penn State and throughout the community. He has also received the 2018 Dr. John J. Gumperz Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Scholarship which recognizes and honors the lifelong distinguished scholarship of a senior scholar whose program of research in language and social processes and professional service have made significant contributions to the field. We would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Kelly for his outstanding service to science education.

Why Are Amphibians So Important?

Amphibians are the oldest tetrapods, or four-legged animals, on Earth. They appeared on land for the first time over 350 million years ago. There are around 6,000 species of amphibian, most of which are frogs.

US News and STEM Solutions Conference on K-12 Panel

While U.S. students are graduating high school at the highest rate ever, questions remain about how well prepared new diploma-holders are for what comes next. For instance, researchers estimate that some 6 million jobs remain unfilled, many of which require individuals with STEM skills that employers say they just cannot find enough of in the talent pool. In response, K-12 administrators, advocates, and policymakers are working to shore up education programs in K-12 to give students the skills they need to compete in the workforce or the college classroom. The change is happening by improving teacher training, integrating more experiential and hands-on learning into the classroom, and teaming up K-12 schools with corporate and higher education partners to advance women in STEM. Several education leaders presented on this standing-room only panel, including Dr. Carol O'Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), who discussed SSEC's role in the Johnson & Johnson Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing, and Design (WISTEM²D) initiative.

May 18, 2018

Literacy Worldwide highlighted two apps recognized as "Best Apps for Teaching & Learning" by the AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner: Heuristic Shakespeare, a digital book app which pairs text with performance, and Disaster Detector, a game-based app from the Smithsonian Science Education Center that lets players make predictions and analyze and interpret data. 

May 28, 2018

The 44th G7 Summit will be held on 8–9 June 2018 in Charlevoix, Canada. The summit will gather leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, along with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, to discuss global policy issues of high relevance on diplomatic agendas. Themes include investing in growth that works for everyone; preparing for jobs of the future; advancing gender equality and women's empowerment; working together on climate change, oceans and clean energy; and building a more peaceful and secure world.  O'Donnell's article (pg 108) focuses on the role that the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) will play in empowering youth to engage in local and global actions to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) through its new freely disseminated Smithsonian Science for Global Goals curriculum. You can download a full copy of the G7 Global Briefing Report at:  https://issuu.com/g20magazine/docs/g7_2018_full_set_digital__2_

May 30, 2018

Dr. Carol O'Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center, has published the article, "Empowering Women in STEM through the WiSTEM2D Initiative: A Public-Private Partnership." Through its "Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing, and Design (WiSTEM2D) Initiative, Johnson & Johnson, together with three NGOs--Junior Achievement Worldwide, FHI360, and the Smithsonian Science Education Center--are working to spark girls' interest in STEM at a young age and help girls of all ages across the globe to stay on the STEM track. (Note: This article was originally published in the print edition of the 2018 G7 Summit magazine, distributed at the 44th G7 Summit held 8–9 June 2018 in Charlevoix, Canada.)

The Smithsonian Science Education Center will host a two-day professional development workshop for grades 5-8 science teachers and their administrators funded by Shell Oil Company at the Houston Food Bank to:

• Build awareness about the importance of culturally proficient teaching for all populations.
• Introduce, develop, and practice strategies for culutrally proficient science teaching at grades 5-8.
• Develop a community of learners to provide ongoing support and share resources.

June 2, 2018

Carol O'Donnell, member of IAP SEP-Global Council, has had an article published in the G7 Summit Canada Global Briefing Report on empowering youth through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Inspired by the SDGs, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), of which O'Donnell is the director, with support from IAP and the private sector, is developing a set of free curriculum modules for students ages 8-17 to bring the SDGs into the classroom. These 'Community Research Guides' will engage students in inquiry-based experiences in their local community; present the SDG problem through multiple perspectives (social, ethical, economic, environmental); will be empowering; and will, above all, be fun.

The first of these modules, 'Mosquito!' - which aims to teach children how to avoid mosquito-borne diseases and how their community deals with controlling such diseases - was launched June 6th at a meeting organized by the SSEC and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama.

June 6, 2018

In her blog "Global issues are real: What is Keysight doing to help train tomorrow’s problem solvers?" Marie Hattar, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Keysight Technologies Inc. cites the Smithsonian Science Education Center as she discusses why closing the STEM skills gap is critical to solving the problems facing our society and planet. According to Hattar, we need to increase students’ interest in STEM subjects and build their skills in these areas. Keysight is the world's leading electronic measurement company who is recognized for its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices.

June 13, 2018

Inspired and motivated by the universal call to action within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Smithsonian Institution, through the Smithsonian Science Education Center and with the technical support of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the private sector, has made a collaborative commitment to work towards ensuring inclusive and equitable education programs and lifelong learning opportunities for all.  This online article discusses how the SSEC is developing a set of free curriculum modules for students ages 8-17 called Smithsonian Science for Global Goals, which blends together previous practices in Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Global Citizenship Education (GCE), and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). We are trying to teach students across the globe the science behind the UN SDGs and then help them use that science to do social good.

June 13, 2018

The Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project provides new freely available community research guides for youth ages 8-17 developed by the Smithsonian Science Education Center in collaboration with the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). These research guides use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to focus on sustainable actions that are student-defined and implemented. In this article published by the Diplomatic Courier, Dr. Carol O’Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center, outlines how the Smithsonian—in partnership with public and private partners, including IAP, US Federal Agencies within CoSTEM, US National Academies, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, and multiple content developers—is empowering youth through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

June 14, 2018 

SSEC served on an invited panel at the National Institute of Health's SciEd Conference 2018, called "Scaffolding STEM to Engage Young Learners, Parents, and Caregivers." STEM learning experiences in early childhood create a primary foundation for lifelong learning. In this session, the panelists explored research, resources and experiences that focus on scaffolding STEM for diverse learners. Guest presenters from the Smithsonian Science Education Center joined NIH principal investigators from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, as well as physicians from the Children's National Health System and Purdue University, to present an overview of their pertinent STEM programs and experiences. 

June 14, 2018

The Smithsonian Science Education Center, in collaboration with the Public Consulting Group (PCG), has published its first in a series of online professional learning courses for science teachers, which focus on the "Science of Teaching Science." The first two online courses (SCIS401 and SCIS402) address conceptual change and the nature of science. To register for the courses, go to: https://www.pepperpd.com/

June 14, 2018

New science standards adopted by the Colorado State Board of Education calls on students to learn by puzzling through problems in the natural world rather than by listening to facts from a teacher. The new standards, largely based on Next Generation Science Standards already in use in whole or in part in 38 states, represent the most significant change to what Colorado students will be expected to know in this round of revisions to state standards. The article highlights schools already using many of these science and engineering practices, including schools using the Smithsonian's STC curriculum.

Students at Chamberlin Academy, an elementary school in the Harrison district, use STC's "Land and Water" unit to learn about erosion and deposition of soil.

June 28, 2018

Common Sense Education, which provides high-quality digital literacy and citizenship programs to educators and school communities, selected SSEC's website as its "Site of the Week"--selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.