Washington Science Teachers Association

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The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research invites 7th and 8th-grade students to participate in the 2012 "Biomedical Breakthroughs and My Life" essay competition. This contest brings together writing and research skills while exploring the science behind real life medical topics of each student’s choice.  Date to indicate participation has been extended until Jan. 10th.

Hot Diggity Dam

By Dr. E. Kirsten Peters

As the long season of darkness sweeps over the country, it’s a natural time to think about lighting – and how dependent we are on electricity during this dim time of year. You can heat your home with several different energy sources, including natural gas, heating oil or wood. But unless you’re living off-the-grid, the lights throughout your abode burn brightly because of electricity from the grid.

Greetings!
I will be leading a workshop at NSTA Regional meeting in Seattle on December 9th from 5pm-6pm.

Session #195
Title: A Journey from Sea to Market: Exploring Sustainable U.S. Seafood
This workshop will introduce a 5 part series that teaches about the complex process of how U.S. seafood gets to market, why seafood is  important, seafood safety and how science is used to make management decisions.  The workshop will have activities that link to key scientific and management challenges within the series.

Description: The AMS is offering a 12 week meteorology course to K-12 educators (http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/dstreme/index.html).  Participants will receive free materials and 3 free semester credits (from the State University of New York-Brockport) upon successful completion of the course.  Participants will meet twice during the 12 weeks, and will communicate with a mentor on a weekly basis.  The two meetings will occur at the National Weather Service Office in Seattle, with the first being the second week of

The UW in the High School program is offering a new course, Biology 100: Addiction and the Brain. Last summer, 10 teachers were trained to offer this new Biology course in their high school, with 3 teachers piloting the course this year for UW credit. We are now recruiting up to 10 teachers for Cohort 2.

Attached are the teacher application and a flyer with more details about this grant-funded project.

Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis, starting December 16. Application deadline is March 2, 2012.

It’s Not Just the Lava

By Dr. E. Kirsten Peters

Mt. Rainier in my native Washington State is a stunning site. It’s a beautiful mountain, covered in snow and ice in both winter and summer. At over 14,000 feet, its summit is worthy of respect from even serious hikers. There’s no wonder it’s a National Park.