Teachers’ Workshop – July 9-20

Teachers:  Join us July 9-20 for a unique professional development opportunity!  Explore! Investigate! Invent! How Science Inspires Engineering!

When:  Monday, July 9 through Friday, July 20, 9 am – 4 pm

Where:  Mass Audubon Stony Brook, Mass Audubon Oak Knoll, Buttonwood Zoo, Lloyd Center, & National Marine Life Center

What:  Nature has inspired engineering design for millennia. From airplane wings to high tech fabrics to Velcro, the technologies that make our lives easier and more efficient often have their roots in natural systems. Dive into marine mammal research, exploring how the anatomical and physiological characteristics of marine animals have inspired naval architecture and the design of underwater vehicles. How many examples of nature’s superior design skills can you find among the surf and sand? Discover how processes used by mussels and other shellfish inspire the design of products you use in daily life, such as cement. Look to the sky at the avian world for more inspiration. From the structure and function of eggs to a peregrine falcon’s unique adaptations to high speed flight, humans have looked to the avian world for models to solve flight and other technology designs. What have we learned about sustainability from the natural world? Explore how structures built by animals have influence human architecture and products, from the mound building skills of termites to the flow-control mechanisms of beavers. Learn how to make engineering come alive with hands-on, minds-on activities to inspire your students to connect science and technology, and perhaps become the next generation of engineers.

• Participate in a balance of indoor, classroom and outdoor experiences.
• Learn to use inquiry-based, hands-on methods in your classroom.
• Visit each site for 1-2 days and participate in both content and skill development sessions.
• Learn about educational resources in your community.
• Experience inquiry-based investigations linked to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
• Earn PDPs or PDPs and 4 graduate credits (for an additional cost).
• Take home a resource kit containing investigations and materials for your classroom.

Partners:
~ Museum Institutes for Teaching Science
~ Mass Audubon Oak Knoll and Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuaries
~ Buttonwood Park Zoo
~ Lloyd Center for the Environment
~ National Marine Life Center

Cost: $300/1 educator; $275 each/ team of 2 educators; $250 each/ team of 3 or more educators. Graduate Credit available for an additional fee.

Graduate Credit:  Graduate Credit will be offered from Framingham State University (4 credits/$300) and Cambridge College (4 credits/$200)

To Register:  Visit www.mits.org, e-mail mits@mits.org, or call 617-328-1515
Registration Deadline is June 6th. Call for availability after deadline.

The Museum Institutes for Teaching Science (MITS) offers Summer Institutes for teachers in six regions of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, in partnership with local non-profit organizations such as the National Marine Life Center.