Region 4

Resources

San Diego Science Educators Association
Go to http://www.sdsea.org for more information

San Diego Science Alliance
Your one-stop shop for science events and resources in San Diego County. Searchable databases and catalogs make this site a must for science educators in the entire tri-counties area. www.sdsa.org.

San Diego County Educator's Resource Directory
Looking for a quick way to find resources for enrichment programs? Check out the San Diego County Educator's Resource Directory, a new, free publication for elementary and middle schools in San Diego County. On- and off-site programs, assemblies and in-class activities offering enrichment to your science (and other) curriculum. San Diego County educators: check with your PTA/PTO president or principal to see if your school received its free copy. Can't find it? Call ERD at 760-479-1700 for a replacement copy.

MySDscience
is an online community resource where San Diego scientists and science enthusiasts can: *meet local scientists, researchers, and innovators *join interest groups and discussion forums *compete for awards and prizes *find and post job opportunities *learn about the latest developments in San Diego science and technology *ask questions and provide answers *and more...all for FREE. MySDscience was started by local researchers and educators in hopes of uniting the scientific community, accelerating discovery, inspiring the next generations of scientists and innovators, and generating interest and support for the San Diego Science Festival.

Discovery Science Center
A nonprofit organization dedicated to educating young minds, assisting teachers and increasing public understanding of science, math, and technology through interactive exhibits and programs. 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92705; 714-542-2823. Visit their website at http://www.discoverycube.org/.

Inland Empire Waterkeeper
A non-profit, grassroots organization with a mission developed around protecting and improving water quality in all the waterways of the Santa Ana River Watershed. In addition to developing projects around advocacy, enforcement, and restoration, they are very concerned with what they feel is an insufficient number of environmental education programs in the Inland Empire. To address this their education program, "River KATS: Kid Activism Together with Science", is aimed a bringing high school science classes out of the classroom and introducing students to water testing, restoration, water treatment, and water conservation. Visit www.iewaterkeeper.org for more information.

California Science Projects

The California Science Project (CSP) is a university-based professional development network for pre-K-16 teachers of science that utilizes highly skilled teams of educators and scientists drawn from universities and school districts across the state. This statewide network works toward the common goal of improving science education for all California students. The CSP has convenient sites across the state at campuses of the University of California, California State University, and independent colleges/universities. There are four science projects in Region 4:

California Science Project at Irvine—UC Irvine
Inland Area Science Project—UC Riverside
Imperial Valley Science Project—San Diego State University, Imperial Valley Campus
SEASAND-UCSD Science Project—UC San Diego

Events

September - December, 2008

Irvine, CA

National Academy of Sciences Presents: Distinctive Voices@The Beckman Center.

The series of presentations will highlight innovations, discoveries, and emerging issues in an exciting and engaging public forum. Do you wonder how things work? What the future holds? If you are curious about the science and technology behind today’s hot topics, Distinctive Voices is for you!

Spend an evening gaining insights on significant advances in medicine, biotechnology, energy, the environment, space exploration, and more. Learn from some of the best minds in the world -- including members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine -- in presentations geared to the general public.

Admission and parking are FREE, and you are invited to continue the dialogue at a dessert reception after each presentation. Admission to the auditorium is on a "first come, first served" basis (first arrivals admitted at 6:30pm), and we provide overflow seating where guests can watch a real-time big-screen video feed and enjoy the program over a cup of coffee.

A complete listing of presentations is provided below. For more information visit: http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Beckman_Upcoming_Events

November 19, 2008
Irvine, CA

December 3, 2008
Irvine, CA

December 11, 2008
Irvine, CA

Take a Nap! Change Your Life
It’s free, nontoxic, and has no dangerous side effects. So why do people have to be convinced to nap? Employers want to keep their workers occupied with the business of business. Parents want their children to do homework when they come home from school or play outdoors instead of “sleeping the day away.” But as the facts pile up, the case for napping becomes too compelling to dismiss. Science will give you twenty good reasons to nap!

Sara Mednick, Ph.D., is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Her research uses of cutting-edge technologies to pinpoint the areas of the brain which demonstrate how napping improves human erformance. Articles about her work have been published in Nature, Neuroscience, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and she is the author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life.

Genetics in the Wild
Many scientific truths about nature are far stranger than fiction. Focused on some of the most remarkable findings from a career of genetic research, our speaker will take us into the secret lives of animals—from male-pregnant seahorses to globally-migrating marine turtles and clonal armadillos. Understand how genetic markers are being used to study natural populations, and see some of the most intriguing iscoveries and fascinating oddities about wild creatures brought to life.

John Avise, Ph.D., (NAS) is widely known as the founding father of phylogeography, the scientific study of the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species. He is a distinguished evolutionary geneticist and natural historian, and a pioneer in the use of molecular genetic techniques for studying the evolutionary relationships among animal populations and species. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

How Much Can You Say in Three and a Half Minutes?
Explore the nature of broadcast science journalism with Joe Palca. Since joining ational Public Radio in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics—everything from biomedical research to astronomy. Learn how NPR manages to sound “authoritative” about such complex topics, despite the fact that the stories are extremely short in absolute terms. Using examples from recent pieces, we will deconstruct the way the stories were put together and examine how effective science journalists can be in educating an audience.

Joe Palca, Ph.D., is a science correspondent for NPR. He has won numerous awards, including the National Academies Communications Award, the Science-in-Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Prize. Palca was president f the National Association of Science Writers from 1999-2000.

Back to Life: How Monterey Bay Was Restored to Health
Finally—a good news environmental story! Removing natural resources faster than they are created decays the health of ecosystems. In this way, the Monterey Bay was nearly destroyed. But over the past sixty years it has been transformed from a dumping ground for canneries to a marine life refuge where sea otters and kelp forests flourish. Learn about the elements of sustainable ecosystems through a description of how and why Monterey Bay came back to life.

Stephen R. Palumbi, Ph.D., is an expert in marine ecology at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, where his research group engages in the study of the genetics, evolution, conservation, population biology and systematics of a diverse array of marine organisms. Dr. Palumbi is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation and founding member of the band Flagella.

December 8-10, 2008
Anaheim, CA

The Green California Schools Summit, held at the Anaheim Convention Center, covers every aspect of creating healthy, sustainable schools–from green building and facilities management to developing green curriculum. As part of the summit, the Teacher Training Institute on December 8 will include a keynote address by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell. The Teacher Training Institute is intended for those involved in career technical education and those who are interested in other ways of making green technology principles part of the classroom curriculum of their schools. To register for the Green California Schools Summit, call Eric Rennie at (626) 577-5700 or register online at: http://www.green-technology.org/gcschools/attendee.htm.

October 29, 2008 - March 12, 2009
La Jolla, CA

The Birch Aquarium is pleased to offer an exciting series of MARE Habitat Workshops for Southern California teachers.

Join us this fall for one or more exciting workshops featuring the award-winning MARE curriculum. Each workshop will offer new and experienced K-8 teachers and informal educators opportunities to explore ocean science content and hands-on teaching strategies.

Teachers new to MARE will learn about the whole-school Ocean Week or Month-long Immersion program. Each workshop will include hands-on work with inquiry-based science curriculum, instruction in current science teaching strategies, and a field trip segment utilizing the Birch Aquarium or other local marine habitats. Several workshops will feature guest researchers or graduate students from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who will share their cutting-edge work on ocean-science topics.

Registration fees for all workshops are $75. This includes lunch, snacks, and coffee, and instructional materials. MARE curriculum guides can be purchased separately for $60. A limited number of scholarships will be made available to qualified schools.

Workshop Topics and Dates, 9am-4pm
October 29: Kelp Forest; 4-6th grades
November 6: Open Ocean; 5-8th grades
November 12: Rocky Shore; K-2nd grades
November 20: Ponds; Pre-K-Kindergarten
December 9: Sandy Beach; 2-4th grades
December 11: Wetlands; 3-4th grades
March 12, 2009: Coral Reefs; 6-8th grades

For more information check out the Birch Aquarium website. To register for one or more workshops, please call our registration line at (858) 534-7336. If you have questions about the specific workshops please call (858) 822-1812.

March, 2009
April 14, 2009
La Jolla, CA

SAN DIEGO SCIENCE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES “THE SCIENCE OF YOU” IN MARCH 2009

More than 500 free events scheduled for the public at UC San Diego, San Diego State University, University of San Diego, Cal State University San Marcos, The Scripps Research Institute, The Salk Institute, Burnham Institute, C. Venter Institute, MCAS Miramar and other venues throughout San Diego County - all culminating in Balboa Park for Expo Day, April 4, 2009

The San Diego Science Festival is partnering with more than 125 collaborators – leading businesses and organizations in the community that wish to offer their guidance, financial support and time to help teach the scientific leaders of tomorrow. Collaborators include: LegoLand California; the San Diego Public Library; the University of California, San Diego; San Diego State University (SDSU); the Girl Scouts; and Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to name a few. Also involved are all area major colleges and universities, research institutes, major school districts, school science clubs, professional science societies, Balboa Park cultural institutions, informal science educators and centers, various military and community organizations, science outreach programs and cross-border science institutions.

For more information visit www.sdsciencefestival.com.