Operationalizing Sustainable Development: Local Strategies
On April 18th Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) Director, Dr. Carol O’Donnell, served on a panel for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s virtual workshop, Operationalizing Sustainable Development: Local Strategies. The panel was chaired by Dr. William Colglazier and focused on Education and Capacity Building. Dr. O’Donnell’s remarks:
David Dussort and his Seconde 6 students at Sainte Marie Bastide High School in Bordeaux, France, participated in the U.S. Embassy in Paris and Smithsonian’s cross-cultural program #SmithsonianInFrance. Learn more about their experience and how the lessons have shaped their way of thinking globally and acting locally.
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Can you describe your participation in the #SmithsonianInFrance program and tell us about a few highlights?
Info STEM "La Educación STEM"
Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) Direcor, Carol O’Donnell, is featured in an informational video on STEM Education.
American University in Beirut & Smithsonian Science Education Center
U.S. Ambassador to the French Republic and to the Principality of Monaco, Denise Campbell Bauer.
Can you tell us how this partnership between the Smithsonian and U.S. Embassy Paris came about?
The Embassy of the United States of America in France and the Smithsonian Institution (Office of International Relations, Smithsonian Science Education Center, and Earth Optimism) have developed a unique program that allows students, educators, and professionals to reach across the globe to explore and discuss new approaches for living, learning, and working more inclusively and sustainably.
Smithsonian Science Education Center volunteer Pam Divack sat down with Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos from Johns Hopkins Medical Center and Dr. Melvenia Martin from Ochsner Health to discuss their experiences leading COVID-19 vaccine education in their communities.
Below are their biggest pieces of advice and suggestions for how healthcare leaders can collaborate with their communities to advance youth-focused vaccine education, and how they use the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Vaccines! guide in their communities.
Adult male mayflies have greatly enlarged eyes, which they use to locate females in the mating swarms. Photo: Dave Funk, Stroud Water Research Center
Mating Dance
In 2021, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) released the “Vaccines!: How can we use science to help our community make decisions about vaccines?” community response guide. The guide is designed to help young people learn about vaccines, share their knowledge with their community, create tangible ways to help their community make informed decisions in this challenging time, and understand the best places to find additional information on the topic.
Vaccines for kids are here.
On Friday, October 29, FDA authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for young people ages 5-11, and on November 2, CDC issued recommendations that all eligible children should get vaccinated. As a result, young people are now able to receive their COVID-19 vaccines.
However, many parents are still hesitant to vaccinate their kids. New data from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 27% of parents in the U.S. say they will get their children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated “right away,” and 30% say they “definitely won’t.”
Holly Baldwin is a professional development provider who specializes in elementary science education for OCM BOCES—an organization that supports more than 20 school districts in New York through their science program. Baldwin works directly with teachers to provide professional development on the Smithsonian Science for the Classroom program (SSftC).
LA USD
On June 4th SSEC Director, Carol O’Donnell, provided the keynote address at the Leading Young Minds Follow-Up Meeting hosted by the Los Angeles United School District (LAUSD). LAUSD attended SSEC’s Strategic Planning Institute (SPI) in person in 2018 and then held their own SPI in LA in 2019. O’Donnell’s keynote sought to help school district attendees consider equity in their Action Plans. Over 39 teachers representing 20 schools in LAUSD attended this virtual event.
NASEM BOSE
This World Youth Skills Day, Johnson & Johnson’s Women in STEM2D youth program is excited to spotlight Sharon Edelman, a Phoenixville, PA native. She currently studies at Millersville University where she is a Junior majoring in biology with a concentration in pre-optometry.
Sharon is an active participant in Johnson & Johnson’s Pathway to Success program, the college-level follow-on program to J&J’s Bridge to Employment program.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center has started a new blog series to understand how Smithsonian Science for the Classroom is impacting students and teachers in schools across the country.
If you have missed socializing during the pandemic, spare a thought for the periodical cicada. After 17 years underground, cicadas all along the East Coast are finally surfacing — and they are looking for action! However, it isn’t as easy as you might think for a cicada to find love. Sometimes a pair of new, shimmering wings is not enough.
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is now a well-known acronym in the education field, and its importance continues to grow. Engaging students in STEM is crucial for many reasons—it creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators, to name a few.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center has started a new blog series to understand how Smithsonian Science for the Classroom is impacting students and teachers in schools across the country.
In April and May of 2020 the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) in collaboration with the World Health Organization and InterAcadamy Partnership developed the community research guide COVID-19! How Can I Protect Myself and Others? as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for high-quality STEM education for young people.
COVID-19! How Can I Protect Myself and Others? is translated into 25 languages including Spanish. Smithsonian Science Education Center
STEM MENA
On March 17th SSEC Director, Carol O’Donnell, gave a talk at the STEM MENA conference. 80 attendees attended her presentation, which can be viewed here: Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals to Teach Inquiry-based STEM Education in a Post-Pandemic World
World Education Summit
When you consider a busy city like Washington, DC, you might not think about exotic wildlife encounters. But the DC-area is home to a fascinating animal: the Southern Flying Squirrel. Many people don’t realize that they may be living with flying squirrels right in their backyards. In fact, flying squirrels are the most common squirrel in North America [1].
American and Asian Cousins
North America is home to two major species of flying squirrel. The two primary flying squirrel species found in the United States are the Southern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys volans, and the Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus. As you can see from the maps below, the two species of North American squirrel have vast ranges in which they live.
Left: Range Map of Glaucomys volans, the Southern Flying Squirrel [2]. Right: Range Map of Glaucomys sabrinus, the Northern Flying Squirrel [3]. Cassola, F.
As we celebrate women who have made history and break down barriers, we want to showcase women who are changing the face of STEM during Women’s History Month.
We spoke with three women featured in the Stories of Women in STEM at the Smithsonian ebook about their career path, and how they would encourage the next generation of scientists.
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As this year’s Black History Month theme explores representation, identity and diversity, we spoke with several educators and former STEM Education Summit participants on how these subjects impact the classroom experience of marginalized students, and in turn, conceptualize their world view.
We asked five science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals why representation and diversity is necessary for STEM education and can create an equitable future for the industry.
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Veronica Mitchell notes three things that need to change about the STEM industry to make it more inclusive: awareness, access to education, and role models.
“Youths of all backgrounds, particularly those from underrepresented groups, need to understand the types of opportunities that are in that space.”
Mitchell believes students should be given opportunities to explore passions and identify natural aptitudes for a variety of interests or careers.
VeRonica R. Mitchell: Global Lead Engineering Manager, General Motors
Gen Z: The Conscious Generation
On December 1st, SSEC Director Carol O’Donnell was an invited panelist for the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Briefing “Gen Z: The Conscious Generation.” Led by a Bloomberg journalist discussing how to educate, inform, and support the workforce of the future, the panel examined how companies and Gen Z can connect to build a more sustainable working world of the future.
