2015 MESTA Conference
Date: Friday, February 6, 2015
Time: 7:45am-3:00pm
Location: District 287 Conference Center--1820 N. Xenium Ln, Plymouth, MN 55441
Keynote Speaker, Break-out Sessions, Activity Share, Free Resources, Breakfast and Lunch included
Optional Thursday night activity: Thursday, February 5, 2015
Dinner: 5:00-6:30pm at Great Waters Brewery, 426 St. Peter Street, St. Paul, MN
Climate Discussion and Exhibit/Tour 7:00-9:00pm at Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102
"A great conference with breakfast, lunch and incredible door prizes"
Time: 7:45am-3:00pm
Location: District 287 Conference Center--1820 N. Xenium Ln, Plymouth, MN 55441
Keynote Speaker, Break-out Sessions, Activity Share, Free Resources, Breakfast and Lunch included
Optional Thursday night activity: Thursday, February 5, 2015
Dinner: 5:00-6:30pm at Great Waters Brewery, 426 St. Peter Street, St. Paul, MN
Climate Discussion and Exhibit/Tour 7:00-9:00pm at Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102
"A great conference with breakfast, lunch and incredible door prizes"
THURSDAY EVENING EVENT
Patrick Hamilton, Science Museum of Minnesota
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Climate Discussion and Museum Tour
Hear from Patrick Hamilton, the Director of Global Change Initiatives at the Science Museum of Minnesota, a Fellow of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, and a Board Director of District Energy St. Paul. Mr. Hamilton has been producing environmental projects for the Museum for 30 years. In recent years, these have included WATER, an international traveling exhibition developed in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History; the BIG BACK YARD, the museum’s outdoor environmental science park, and SCIENCE HOUSE, the museum’s solar-powered, zero- emissions building. Mr. Hamilton’s current project is the FUTURE EARTH INITIATIVE, which explores the implications of humans as the dominant agents of change on Earth. Mr. Hamilton will be speaking about climate change and its impact on local and global issues. After the talk, we may be touring the Collections Vault at the Science Museum for a unique, behind-the-scenes look into the treasures the Museum holds, or we may be visiting the exhibit Journey Into Space, a traveling exhibit that explores themes surrounding humans visiting, working and living in space. |
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kent Kirkby, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, Department of Earth Sciences
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Volcanoes & Our Past
While a carbonate stratigrapher and sedimentologist in a previous life, Dr. Kirkby’s present activities at the University of Minnesota fall in the realm of educational research – exploring new and better ways to convey our knowledge of our Earth. In particular, Dr. Kirkby studies the intersection of earth processes and human society, how earth processes have affected human history and how human activities continue to dramatically affect our world. As earth scientists, we have a responsibility to more effectively convey our understanding of the Earth, especially in a world where many of the most pressing issues affecting future generations are related to earth processes. Volcanic eruptions are among some of the most spectacular events in our shared human experience. Too often though, they are treated as historical oddities with limited importance beyond any associated death tolls. Such a myopic perspective greatly underestimates volcanism’s many societal impacts. Consequently, this talk will celebrate the myriad roles volcanism played in shaping our history. If you would like a copy of Dr. Kirkby's presentation, please email Erik Tvedten. |
Concurrent Session Presenter information:
Carrie Jennings,
Science Reports Lead, Groundwater Section, MN Dept. of Natural Resources Eric Koser, Physics Teacher, Mankato West High School and Adjunct Faculty Member, Gustavus Adolphus College TIMES Project Participants: Jess Giesen, Orono MS; Suzanne Kobilka, Folwell Performing Arts Magnet, Minneapolis; Jodie Prohaska, Humboldt HS, St. Paul; Matt Rohweder, Wayzata East MS; Lee Schmitt, Hamline University, St. Paul; Margaret Schmitz, Willmar HS; Dana Smith, Nicollet Public School; Melissa Smith, Truman Public School; Eric Telander, Rush City HS. Allen Lipke, Outreach Education Coordinator,Soudan Underground Physics Lab |
Our rivers are in flux. We cannot deny that they are adjusting to an increase in water that comes to them through intense rainfall events and artificial drainage. But at other times of year they seem
unnaturally low. What are the external forces affecting our hydrology, and how are our rivers responding? This talk will focus on some typical river origins—their geologic inheritance—and how this affects the way that rivers respond to modern changes in base level, sediment load and water volume. It will call on examples from the real world that can frame experiments that you can conduct with stream tables in the classroom or observations that your students can make on streams in the field. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) may be coming to Minnesota in the future. In this session, you will learn about how these standards are different from our current standards. Mr. Koser will explain how to read, interpret and implement the standards in your classrooms. We will have a mini-lesson featuring implementation of NGSS standards. At the end of this session, you will be able to inform your administration and colleagues about the implications of NGSS. NGSS Presentation Join a share-a-thon of hands-on lessons in Earth science. The TIMES Project (Teaching Inquiry-based Minnesota Earth Science) has a record of success in helping teachers experience the “science” in Earth science and bringing this experience to their teaching. TIMES teachers experience Minnesota geology first-hand, work with a variety of scientists who are experts in Minnesota geology and field research, and develop new student-centered inquiry-based activities. Join TIMES Project teachers to experience a potpourri of inquiry-based student activities sure to enrich your Earth science curriculum. Come prepared to share your ideas and approaches to teaching the concepts on display in this round-robin, hands-on session. (Handouts from some of these lessons are linked on the Teacher Resources page. Did you know that an estimated 40 trillion of the universe’s smallest particles travel through you every second of the day? These amazing particles are the topic of this presentation. A Gustavus graduate, Mr. Lipke is a former junior high science teacher and current college instructor. Mr. Lipke’s presentation will focus on the data collected from the two neutrino detectors found in Minnesota, the MINOS and the NOvA detectors. In addition, Mr. Lipke will discuss the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) detector and work done to detect dark matter particles. There is a lot of evidence that our galaxy is embedded in a sphere of dark matter. Find out more about this exciting field of study in this session. CDMS presentation MINOS presentation |