STEMvisions Blog

As an educator, I make it a goal to lead by example. Whether it is showing up for my students on a day where I am not feeling 100%, showing up when I have a bad day, or owning up to my mistakes, I make it my goal to show my students how to navigate a world that can be cruel at times. As somebody who cannot hide their disability – a 75lb Labrador is pretty hard to conceal – I must face my situation each day, head on. I receive questions, I see the stares, and I see the doubt in people who think I cannot.

Together4STEM Goes Green

Who should decide what students learn and how they learn it? My experience as an intern with the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) Science for Smithsonian Science for Global Goals team opened my eyes to new possibilities. 

Heidi Gibson works to develop engaging and future-forward curriculum for the Smithsonian Science Education Center. Recently, she helped develop the Sustainable Communities guide as part of the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals project for use in the #SmithsonianInFrance program. Learn more about this guide and how a sustainable-centered curriculum supports global students on their paths toward creating an equitable, sustainable, and connected future. 

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Operationalizing Sustainable Development: Local Strategies

On April 18^th 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.

NSF INCLUDES

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.

Advancing SDGs: The Role of Science

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.”

Qatar Foundation UN General Assembly 2021 Forum

July & August 2021

Girls Who Code

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 4^th 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 Weather Channel

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.

Qatar Ministry of Education 2021 Virtual Forum

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 17^th 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.