The following Professional Development sessions will be available from the Central Michigan GEMS Education Center.

Fall 2009 STUDENT WORKSHOPS AT CMU:

Friday, September 25, 2009 (1:00  – 4:00 p.m.):    Beyond the Solar System   $10.00
Many new astronomy learners, students and adults alike, are unfamiliar with the universe beyond the solar system. The Beyond the Solar System Professional Development Project offers opportunities for deepening content knowledge and exploring strategies for teaching and learning about current scientific models and evidence for the origin and evolution of our universe of galaxies. The project is an initiative of the NASA Universe Education Forum at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as part of its mandate to foster public understanding of NASA's exciting astronomy and space science research. $10

Saturday, September 26, 2009 (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.):  Project Wild/Wild Aquatic $60
Session Description: The activities found in Project WILD instructional materials are intended for use in both classroom and informal settings.  The instructional materials are designed to support state and national academic standards appropriate for grades K-12.  The activities can easily be adapted to meet the learning requirements for academic disciplines ranging from science and environmental education to social studies, math, and language arts.  Educators may choose one or more Project WILD activities to teach a concept or skill.  The activities may be integrated into existing courses of study, or an entire set of activities may serve effectively as the basis for a specific course.

Friday, October 9, 2009 (1:00 – 4:00 p.m.):  Hide A Butterfly $10.00 – AN ADDITIONAL $10.00 FOR GUIDE
This unit opens with a metaphoric wide-angle lens, creating and populating a mural meadow in which paper animals will gradually tell the stories of camouflage, predator/prey, and survival behavior in the real outdoors.
Making camouflaged butterflies, hungry birds, and a meadow of flowers to enact The Butterfly Play, students learn several basic concepts—about protective coloration, parts of a flower, and strategies employed by both hunters and the hunted in a real meadow. There is ample opportunity for students to talk about small animals they've seen in real grass-and-flower environments.

Friday, November 6, 2009 (1:00 – 4:00 p.m.):  Buzzing a Hive $10.00 – AN ADDITIONAL $ 16.00 FOR GUIDE
Studying this beautiful, beneficial social insect could absorb the rest of our lives—if only there were time. In this extensive and fascinating unit, young students get a good introduction to the honeybee's extravagant communication system and intricate behavior, and an appreciation for our interdependence with these and all insects. In a series of guided-discovery activities that build on one another, the children make paper bees to learn about bee body structure; act as bees in a beehive drama, taking the parts of guard bees and other role-players in the hive; perform bee dances to learn how bees communicate directions; and learn about bee predators and honey robbers. Detailed posters of bee anatomy and life stages are included in the guide, and a bee mural captures each elements of the unit as it comes into play.

Friday, November 20, 2009 (9:00  – 11:00 a.m.):    Beyond the Solar System   $10.00
Many new astronomy learners, students and adults alike, are unfamiliar with the universe beyond the solar system. The Beyond the Solar System Professional Development Project offers opportunities for deepening content knowledge and exploring strategies for teaching and learning about current scientific models and evidence for the origin and evolution of our universe of galaxies. The project is an initiative of the NASA Universe Education Forum at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as part of its mandate to foster public understanding of NASA's exciting astronomy and space science research. $10

Friday, November 20, 2009 (1:00 – 4:00 p.m.):  Terrarium Habitats $10.00 – AN ADDITIONAL $12.00 FOR GUIDE