I just attended the 2025 National Science Teachers Association NSTA Conference in Philadelphia. Kudos to the NSTA and the conference organizers for a wonderful event. I want to tell you what I provided, in terms of what I provided in my own presentations, and what I learned from others. But, first, I want to reiterate what I learned this week and in at the NSTA conference in Denver in 2024.

We are all needed

I started Science is Elemental in 2022. The Denver NSTA conference was my first. I remember feeling terrified that I would learn there that SIE was redundant. What if many organizations were already doing what I wanted SIE to do, and SIE was not needed?

Instead, I found something far more important. I learned that everyone there, all types of organizations, are needed for science education. If you are a teacher–at any school–, in an industry, a non-profit, government, or any other type of organization devoted to science education, you are needed.

I came away with the same conclusion from the Philadelphia meeting. My gratitude extends to all those working to teach science to our kids.

My presentations at the NSTA conference in Philadelphia

I had the good fortune to have two of my presentations selected.

The Science of Soccer

I gave a speed share entitled, “What the Science of Soccer Can Do for Students.” Speed Shares include three short, related presentations and a common question and answer period. The other two presentations in my group, from two amazing educators, included a discussion of success criteria and sensemaking in elementary school and and “Using Student Choice to Share Ideas and Build Collaboration”. These talks provided innovative ideas for elementary school teachers for their science teaching.

In education parlance, the integrated science workshops SIE provides are considered informal science education. By informal, they mean, essentially, learning that does not occur within structures such as those used in most public and private schools, and can take place in any location, not necessarily or even usually in schools. In my talk, I used the details of the Science of Soccer workshop to explain how the workshops support learning while letting kids enjoy the activities they love.

I was heartened by the head nods I saw, and by some in the audience taking pictures of some of my slides. They definitely took pictures of this list showing the science in a small subset of kids’ activities.

Teacher Asking Scientists Questions

Due to some cancellations, NSTA offered a slot for my wait-listed talk on the SIE Teachers Asking Scientists Questions (TASQ) 30 minute session. I cannot thank them enough for the opportunity. TASQ (pronounced like “task”) provides a free service for teachers to ask our team any questions they may have about their science curriculum, or how to teach a particular science concept. Our team of scientists, retired scientists and retired science teachers answer those questions quickly, and some are also available to speak to classes. We welcome questions from all teachers. However, the focus is on elementary school teachers, as they must teach all subjects.

In addition to providing this talk, I also handed out flyers to any teachers that seemed interested in the program, pictured here. I sincerely hope that at least one teacher uses this information to ask us a question!

What I learned at the NSTA conference in Philadelphia

Last year, I volunteered my time to help at the conference to help defray the costs. With Philadelphia being so close to home, I did not feel the need to do so this year. Consequently, I was able to attend many more sessions. For all these, interacting with the other attendees was a huge part of making the most of the sessions. While I learned too much to include, here are some highlights.

Presentations

• The Library of Congress makes an effort to support science educators with their collections. If you are a teacher, check them out. I plan on it.
• Several of the presentations highlighted incorporating books into their science curriculum. What a wonderful idea. This will work well for my camps and all-day school’s out camps. I anticipate some time at the library in the near future.
• One presenter talked about the science of music–one of my workshops. She mentioned Chrome Music Lab. I will definitely be checking this out.
• I have encountered children with learning disabilities in my SIE informal teaching. Recognizing my lack of experience with these amazing learners, I went to a couple of sessions to learn more. I learned about the concept of Universal Design for Learning, and about the website Understood.org. Universal Design for Learning is an educational framework so that all people can learn regardless of their abilities.

Expo floor

I also had time to visit the Expo floor. If you have been to a conference with such a floor, you know that there are some really cool companies with some whiz bang demonstrations and hands-on activities. These are fun to interact with and it’s definitely worth a look. Here’s a plug for the smaller, quieter companies and organizations on the expo floor as well. I enjoyed some wonderful conversations. I suspect at least one of these will result in a collaboration. Just such a conversation last year in Denver resulted in my work with Because Science in DC.

I hope this post provides you with some useful information. If you are associated with science education in any way, consider going to the next NSTA conference in Minneapolis in November. https://www.nsta.org/conferences-and-events