Bringing together university scientists and K-12 teachers

I organized (in collaboration with a working group established by the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, COSEE) a "Science in Action Night at the Museum". On Feb. 16, 2012 we brought together 12 professors from the University of South Carolina that do environmental research and over 100 K-12 teachers from around the State of South Carolina. The event was hosted by the SC State Museum.  Each university professor set up a booth within the museum that displayed their research.  K-12 teachers then circulated through the museum and talked with the scientists about opportunities for bringing science into their classrooms and for collaborating on scientific projects.  The goal of this event was to enhance K-12 science education within South Carolina and to simultaneously enhance the broader impacts of the research that is being conducted at USC. The picture below shows my grad student Ben Toscano explaining his research to some teachers. The pictures to the right are of me doing the same.

Visiting classrooms to share the excitement of marine biology

I am actively engaged in education outreach to bring scientific exploration into the classroom for K-12 students. This includes the following activities.