May in Review
NextGen Teacher Leader Celebration
On May 10th Director, Carol O’Donnell, attended the NextGen Teacher Leader Celebration & Open House hosted by the Delaware Department of Education in Dover, DE. O’Donnell was a featured speaker at the event and presented to the crowd Smithsonian Science Education Center’s results from LASER, specifically highlighting Delaware’s statewide success with LASER (https://ssec.si.edu/delaware-state-wide-success-laser). Delaware Governor John C. Carney Jr and Delaware Secretary for Education Dr. Susan Bunting were also in attendance.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
On May 17th – 18th O'Donnell traveled to Raleigh, NC to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS). At the signing was North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Director, Emlyn Koster, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Chief of School and Lifelong Education, Liz Baird, and Smithsonian Research Biologist, Pierre Comizzoli. Through its community support, Smithsonian Science Education Center works closely with regional partners, and in North Carolina, the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center (SMT) offers their insights and expertise as a regional partner to the Smithsonian. Under the direction of Smithsonian Science Education Center Board Member Dr. Sam Houston, the SMT Center created a foundation for implementation of LASER in North Carolina, and now thanks to this new MOU with North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and its strong community outreach, Smithsonian Science Education Center will have a new community partnership that will help to extend support to North Carolina schools.
US News STEM Solutions National Leadership Conference
O’Donnell moderated a panel on experiential project-based STEM learning at the US News STEM Solutions National Leadership Conference held in San Diego, CA May 24th – 26th. Smithsonian Science Education Center was highlighted by the Keynote speaker from CH2M—a funder of Smithsonian Science Education Center --during the US News STEM Leadership Hall of Game Awards Luncheon. Smithsonian Science Education Center was used as an example of how industry leaders in academia, government and the non-profit sector work together to advance STEM education.
All images by C. O'Donnell