President's Message

John Taylor is our fabulous UtSTA President. Click here to read his message regarding back to school.

Professional Development

Online Fall Endorsement Classes start THURSDAY! Register TODAY!

Spring registration will open Sep 17th. To see what classes are being offered by UtSTA both online and in person please click here.

UtSTA Conference “Phenomenal and Practical”

Derek Muller is coming as the keynote speaker for our Conference! (Click here to learn more about him.) He will be speaking on "The Messiness of Learning"

This year our annual science conference will be on Feb 8th at the Provo Marriot Convention Center. You do NOT want to miss this great opportunity to network with educators from around the state, learn from veterans and gain valuable teaching tools you can use in your classroom.

NOW is a great time to approach your principal and ask if you and fellow science teachers can get your registration and sub costs covered by your principal or district.

Click here to download a letter you can give or forward to your principal explaining the importance of you attending this conference.

2019 UtSTA Conference Presenters Needed

Deadline Oct 13th

We want you to share your amazing ideas and present at our upcoming conference. We are accepting applications for presenters in all science subjects in grades K-12. If you would like to present a session at the conference or know of a teacher that would be awesome, please fill out or forward the application. Submissions are due by Oct 13th. This year, each presenter (up to 2 per session) will receive 1/2 off conference registration.

Click here to apply.

UtSTA Family Days

September 21st: STEM Football Night

Location: San Juan High School Football Field in Blanding, UT

Time: 6:30-8:00pm (Homecoming football game starts at 7:00pm)

Come for the pre-game science show and learn the science of football by attending our

stations: helmet safety, projectile motion, and friction cleats. Kids and parents will learn

about helmet safety by engineering safety helmets. Kids K-8th can earn a certificate for

building safe helmets for egg heads that can withstand an impact in our collision tubes. Kids

can learn about the importance of the arch in the projectile motion station where they will try

their hand at different throws and kicks. The focus will be placed on the increased angle and

lag time before it hits the ground. Last participants can test how cleats work and why their

effectiveness changes when the grass is wet. The goal is to help students of all ages realize

the science behind sports and have fun learning while playing in each of our stations.

Contact Jamie Carling for more information.

Sep 29: SPIRAL JETTY with the Utah Museum of Fine Art (UMFA)

Saturday, September 29th 1pm-4pm

Attendance is FREE

Google Directions are available at: http://tinyurl.com/spiraljetty

The Utah Science Teachers Association has partnered with Great Salt Lake Institute for 6^th

Annual UtSTA Day at Great Salt Lake. This year’s event we have also partnered with the

Utah Museum of Fine Art (UMFA) for an event with both science and art as a focus. This is a

wonderful opportunity to come experience the North Arm of Great Salt Lake and the Spiral

Jetty (a wonderful art installation along Great Salt Lake’s coast). There will be activities for

teachers and their families including making Winogradsky Columns, information on local

wildlife, an investigation of “Great Salt Lake - Stability and Change in Ecosystems”, collecting

gypsum crystals, Brine Shrimp population model lesson, and MORE!!!

Come with water, snacks, and chairs (if you want to relax). Also plan ahead for travel times

and bathroom stops (more information about the jetty can be found at

https://www.diaart.org/visit/visit/robert-smithson-spiral-jetty).

More information about the event at: https://umfa.utah.edu/index.php/node/280

Image result for Spiral Jetty

Questions about the event? Contact:

Jaimi Butler at jbutler@westminstercollege.edu

Ricky Scott at richard.scott@schools.utah.gov

September 29, 2018: Discovery Gateway Children's Museum

Time: 10:00am-7:00pm (Movie times: 12:30pm and 2:00pm)

Come to Discovery Gateway Children's Museum for a free day of fun and learning through play with your family! The annual Train Day will run 10:00am through 5:00pm with the regular exhibits open all day long. Join the Utah Wasatch and Northern Utah Divisions of the National Model Railroad Association with special guests; Utah Model Railroad Club, Operation Life Saver, and the Utah Lego Users Group for an action-packed day of interactive train activities. Train Day has all the bells and whistles with box car and locomotive races, demolition derby, a small ride-on train, Utah Lego Users Train layout, and Operation Life Saver will even be handing out coloring books! More information about Discovery Gateway Children's Museum can be found at http://utsta.org/EmailTracker/LinkTracker.ashx?linkAndRecipientCode=v7vJhqpIe5XnRo4XTJ4lC74mo6ozvjfGSw3qt%2bWVMw%2fepb%2b5qPDcHC%2b6u5U68yjV0LbizLZ6p3HTUV0R9xEk87VYwVaO9ti2%2bsy4%2fgYbgBY%3d.

Across the street is Clark Planetarium where you can also view the exhibits for free and attend one (or both!) of our special UtSTA movie screenings! Movie tickets are $6 per person (children 2 and under are free as long as they sit in an adult's lap). Incoming! will be playing in the Dome Theater at 12:30pm. Conquest of the Skies will be playing in the IMAX theater at 2:00pm. Please purchase your tickets by September 22, 2018 by clicking on this link. Descriptions for both shows are available at https://slco.org/clark-planetarium.

Sep 29: Septarian Dig

Location: Near Clawson UT

Toy Atwood is very excited about hosting a UtSTA Day at his septarian mine near Clawson. He has close to 200 acres where he finds ammonite and other fossils. He also has an area where he lets the public dig for septarians. He will take us on a tour of all of his sites, including his "super secret" site and tell us about the geology and history. After that you/we can dig for septarians. There was even a suggestion that they could cook us a dutch oven dinner. The tour and the dig are free. If someone wants one of their septarians cut he will do the first pound for free and 25% off after that. He said October is the best time because of the temperatures. Contant Megan Funk for more information

Teacher Resources

Open Education Resource Science Textbooks

Did you know that a textbook has been creating specifically for your grade or subject and align with Utah Science Standards? OER books are available for FREE in PDF form, online at cK-12, and available for print at a nominal cost. School PO's can now be used to order hard copies of the textbook. These books also make great workbooks for students. Most all books have extra large margins for students to annotate, write notes and ask questions right in the book.

Click here for beautifully formatted PDF versions

Click here to order printed copies

High School Teacher Facebook Page

Join this page specific to networking for 9-12 Utah science teachers.

Kits Teachers can Check Out to Use in their Classrooms

The following locations have kits available to borrow and use in your classroom. This a great community resource not many teachers know about.

Weber State CSME Kits

Utah State Extension 4-H Kits (also available to classroom teachers)

University of Utah Engineering

BYU Bioboxes

Natural History Museum Teaching Toolboxes

Southeast Education Service Center Toolboxes

Utah Geological Survey Teaching Kits

Hogle Zoo Teaching Kits

Red Butte Gardens Botany Bins

Revamped Mars Site

NASA's Mars Exploration web site has undergone some great changes.

https://mars.nasa.gov/

The beta web site includes sending a postcard to the Opportunity Rover, a very informative Dashboard with information about Mars, great animations and interactives, and information about all missions, past, present, and future plans, and much more.

And if you are a user, or not, of the NASA Eyes on the Solar System the Parker Solar Probe has been added allowing you to follow the probe as it journeys to a solar orbit.

https://eyes.nasa.gov/

Grants

STEM Action Center Grants

The STEM Action Center is providing classroom grants and STEM Competition grants (due by Sep 14th). Go to stem.utah.gov to apply and to get additional information on upoming grants and activities.

Next Month's Issue

UtSTA sends a monthly newsletter. Be sure to watch your email and bookmark our website at http://utsta.org/EmailTracker/LinkTracker.ashx?linkAndRecipientCode=IIKFoZqDWa6RF2VlNqhqFod1hn9EYVhqswRNTefuHbhBSzR9vKwlvXKzFxL2YMG9Odr6kYPnVOo8E8ag3YQ1kzTWTV8HWq%2fGtTUPKnzzZqc%3d