COSEE-West

Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Friday
COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

Amazing presentation from our fellow teacher participants. Everyone had a blast learning from peers and showing off their best classroom skills and strategies including us as participants. We were really grateful to our speaker on El Nino and La Nina. Samantha Stevenson did a great job for us clarifying and bringing us up to speed about the latest events. She also put it into perspective that El Nino and La Nina years are different - so it is sometimes difficult to see the patterns right away and we cannot expect them to be the same. We ended with a post assessment and then everyone said their goodbyes. We are really grateful for the experience. We are now planning how to keep in touch with our new friends and hope to start a teacher network. What a great antidote for a difficult year! There is nothing like meeting new teachers and working together to build new lessons around an important theme. Thanks to COSEE-West and COSEE Colorado for creating this opportunity for us and our students!

Thanks for reading about the teacher exchange program!

Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Thursday
COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

We posted our data to share, spent some more time completing the testing and analysis, and had one of best speakers.

Bob Raynolds from the Denver Natural History Museum gave a very powerful presentation without a powerpoint. The force of his message escaped no one. When he spoke about his experience and what he has seen, from melting glaciers to remains of elephants and sloths found in the Colorado mountains, his message was one of awareness, and having a focus on solutions. He shared some of his work as a stratigrapher, looking for oil in Pakistan, and studying geothermals in the Arkansas basin of Colorado. He showed us the Keeling curve and asked that we make sure that students are made aware of the fact they live in a world that is changing and they will have to learn to live with that change. He stressed that the climates of the world does not behave in a linear fashion. That water supplies will decrease in this century by 30%. One most impressive thing that he said was that the ambient radiant energy of the Earth's atmosphere is enough to "excite" the molecules of CO2 which excites the water vapor in the atmosphere. Water vapor is the primary gas in the climate change scenario.

We also got our COCORAHS rain gauge. Can't wait to be part of the network!

To see Friday's entry, click here:
Friday

Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:54:00 +0000

Wednesday
COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

FIELD TRIP DAY! Up into the mountains through the passes to the Betasso Water treatment facility. We got a thorough tour and education about the process of water treatment and hydrological energy production from an engineer who was fantastic, and even got to tour the power generation facility - it was loud!

The lab was one of the most interesting parts - it is where they test the water continuously. Then up into the hills to tour the recent burn area. We saw the consequences of building too close to wild lands. Many homes were gone and only the mailbox remained. We saw areas where the fire jumped across canyons and burned trees that are still standing. We even saw some attempts at protecting the exposed soil from erosion. The forest service and city had to reseed from helicopters and drop hay on top to keep the soil from washing away. Large areas had tree trunks cut and laid down to keep the soil, and seeds in place. At Gold Hill in the mountains, an old mining town, we all posed for pictures at a one room school house.

We had a great time at the reservoir, stopping to take samples of ditch water along the way. A lightning storm was building up from clouds forming all day and just as we got there everyone had to evacuate the shore and water because the lightning was passing directly over us.

We had a great time at the 75th St sewage treatment plant. Emmanuel was our fabulous tour guide. Lesley was fascinated by all of the upgrades and changes made to the plant since she had brought students there. They have really upgraded their capacity and efficiency. Emmanuel and the engineer had fun explaining the creatures they showed us on their electronic scanning microscope which allowed everyone to see the water bears and amoebas in the biosolids that were created at the plant.

We ended the day taking a water sample from the creek behind the waste treatment plant. We almost got blown into the water as the wind storm caught us. The creek was still rising and we had to run across the street to get the water sample so we did not get caught in a flash flood under the underpass.

To see Thursday's entry, click here:
Thursday

Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:53:00 +0000

Tuesday
COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

After reviewing how to use the electronic equipment and the kits, we hiked down to the river to look at stream flow and talk about the pathway of the water from its source through the town. So happy to work side by side with the High school teachers on water testing protocols so Middle school can learn how to do water quality testing nitrogen, ammonia, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and temperature in the field.

Our speaker was Mark Squillace, Director of the Natural Resources Law Center of the University of Colorado. He gave an amazing talk on Western water law, explaining the evolution of water law in the U.S. and current issues in water law including the idea of a "public good" or "public trust". Today's speaker rode past us on his bike as he left when we went down to the creek to take water samples at another site near the high school.

We got into groups by interests and started working on water related lessons and units.

To see Wednesday's entry, click here:
Wednesday

These two videos are from July 15, 2011 where the teachers took water samples and learned to test water quality.
Boulder Creek, Playground

Boulder Creek, Sampling Site

Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:46:00 +0000

Monday
COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

You never have to worry about going without food because we had a big Boulder breakfast, 24 hour cookies and coffee, and internet service. Free bikes available at the hotel. Since Boulder High school is just two blocks away, walking was an option. Joe Barsugli came to talk to us about the connection between water in the California and Colorado regions. He works with the Western Water Assessment. Since Mr. Barsugli grew up in Southern California he had a special feeling for the area and showed us an amazing google Earth journey right to the headwaters and down to the mouth of the Colorado river.

Some of the teachers and our instructors went out for appetizers and visiting local hangouts. Thanks to Marsha for hosting the "Meet and Greet" and sharing her chocolate. Oz went on an expedition to check out low flow and waterless urinals because the city is well known for being environmentally conscious.

Really glad that our new friend, Pam, has a room on the SECOND floor because that allows us to evacuate to somewhere because the water is still rising.

To see Tuesday's entry, click here:
Tuesday

Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:41:00 +0000

Sunday
COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

Walking around the airport heading for the rental car, Charlene ran into a Tornado shelter while looking for the bathroom. We had a beautiful drive to the town of Boulder under sunny skies and miles of open space. First things first when we saw a friend from last year, Kerry from Alamosa, we all sat down to make sure our homework assignments were done. Then we took a walk on Pearl St after settling in, and Sunflower market for some healthy snacks. Pearl St is kind of like the Promenade in Santa Monica - college students taking a break from their studies to entertain with juggling, music, and acrobatics. Really thankful for the car because the river is at flood stage, and we are IN the flood plain.

To see Monday's entry, click here:
Monday

COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative Teacher Exchange Program 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:49:00 +0000

This weekend, 5 teachers from southern California will leave for a week in Boulder, Colorado. Those teachers will participate in a week-long workshop called "Water in the West" - please see description below.

To complete the teacher exchange program, in August, 5 teachers from Colorado will come to southern California for a week long workshop about Ocean Observing Systems.

"In 2011 a spring lecture series of cutting edge research combined with a weeklong Summer Institute will focus on the link between the global oceans and water resources in the Western U.S. Colorado’s State Climatologist along with members of the Western Water Assessment will be feature speakers.

Lectures and connecting activities will be offered in a face-to-face format at the University of Colorado's ATLAS Building and in an interactive distance learning format via videoconference. The Summer Institute will consist of scientist lectures, classroom activities and discussions, lab and computer work, and field trips."

To see the report from the day they arrived, click here:
Sunday

Stipends for educators in 2011 !

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 01:24:00 +0000

Keep an eye out for upcoming events that are part of this series!

*The Boeing Company has generously provided financial support to USC for COSEE-West to bring you 5 pair of public lectures and educator workshops in the 2011 calendar year.*

Included in this grant is funding for 25 educator participant stipends for each of the 10 events. Each stipend is $25.

Stipends are available to the first 25 educators who:
1) Register for the event by the deadline given in the event announcements (make sure you receive confirmation from us),
2) Attend the entire event,
3) Provide your information so we can pay your stipend from USC.
4) Complete a feedback survey at the end of the event.

There are some restrictions and more details will be sent to you when you register for a Boeing co-sponsored COSEE-West lecture or workshop.

NASA Study Shows Desert Dust Cuts Colorado River Flow

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:07:00 +0000

(click on title for link to the article)

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 7

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:45:00 +0000

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 6

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:40:00 +0000

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:38:00 +0000

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:35:00 +0000

(The COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative is funded to exchange 5 teachers between southern California and Colorado for a week-long summer workshop in each location. Below is the report from day 4 of the California teachers' adventure in Colorado.)

June 30, 2010
Fieldtrip days are awesome! We started at Triceratops trail where we saw lots of evidence of climate change in the fossils and trace fossils that CO has protected from erosion. The tropical vegetation, swamp animals, and raindrops/sand ripples compared to today's CO animals/vegetation/climate overwhelmingly supports the hypothesis of climate change in CO! Dinosaur Ridge and the Dinosaur Ridge Museum supply's even more fossil and trace fossil evidence for the above hypothesis. However, the most remarkable experience of the day was walking through the freezers at the National Ice Core Center! Surrounded by ice cores containing materials and gases from long, long ago, feeling the numbness of a -60 degree wind-chill factor, and the thought that keys to our past and a roadmap for our future climate may just lay in one of those very expensive ice cubes is mind boggling. Our final stop of the day is USGS where Ken Gerson (kegerson@usgs.gov) supplies us with so much knowledge about maps, map making, map reading, and the many uses of maps that we insist on his email in case we need clarification after we internalize all the great info he gave us. Ken is the teacher's best friend as he gave us so many materials, his e-mail, and his promise to send teachers their older maps for free and give us the best price possible for today's best sellers. We are all exhausted, so we will eat and call it an early night.

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:34:00 +0000

(The COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative is funded to exchange 5 teachers between southern California and Colorado for a week-long summer workshop in each location. Below is the report from day 3 of the California teachers' adventure in Colorado.)

June 29, 2010
As we get to know our CO counterparts better, breakfast is becoming a meeting place to reflect on yesterday's events and inquire about future endeavors. Of course, the Gulf oil spill always sneaks its way into our climate/environment change conversations. We all agree that the facts cannot be held back from students, but it is also important to provide our students with activities that empower them and bolster their confidence in making at least a small difference in this situation or an overwhelming depression may keep them from even trying. Today's speaker enlightened us on present-day sea level changes, stating that sea level changes are inevitable, however, it is the time we have to prepare and the price tag attached that will dictate how well we adapt to our new topography. We were given insight to some good bell activities to start the dialog for a climate change/sea level unit. More sightseeing in the PM.

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:29:00 +0000

(The COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative is funded to exchange 5 teachers between southern California and Colorado for a week-long summer workshop in each location. Below is the report from day 2 of the California teachers' adventure in Colorado.)

June 28, 2010
Day one at Boulder High School starts off with the excitement of networking with 16 wonderful CO teachers with vast experience in climate change, this program, and teaching in general. The group’s raw talent is almost intimidating, but many of the participants are quick to assure me that they were once as green as I in this subject and they are happy to have a new overview on these matters. The speaker today presented evidence regarding climate change affecting a local animal called a pika, a descendent of the rabbit. We have pikas in CA also therefore we are looking forward to observing these little guys whenever we get back into the CO or CA mountains. Maybe our young scientists could help Chris Ray (the CO presenter) with her field studies? Although some technical difficulties set us back in class work today, we relied on teamwork to get us though the homework and back to exploring the beautiful CO outdoors. Boulder Creek is closer and a bit more populated, but the beauty and serenity is just as prevalent. Dinner at the teahouse with our CO ambassador Kerry completed another wonderful day at the COSEE-West CO Collaborative.

CA teachers blogging from CO, day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:15:00 +0000

(The COSEE-West Colorado Collaborative is funded to exchange 5 teachers between southern California and Colorado for a week-long summer workshop in each location. Below is the report from day 1 of the California teachers' adventure in Colorado.)

June 27, 2010
Day one in Colorado started out with dropping off our luggage at the hotel, meeting and having lunch with Kerry (our unofficial ambassador of Boulder CO) at the entertaining Pear Street Mall, an outdoor extravaganza of great food, unusual entertainment, and friendly people to commune with. Our first trip to the CO mountains started out with some pretty exciting cloud watching all the way to Estes National Park. The variety of shapes, shades, sizes and texture were apparent from first glance, however, their importance to predicting weather became so much more evident as we in countered light rain, heavier rain, small hail pellets and, yes, large frozen gulf balls. Note to all future collaborative teachers always opt for the hail option on your car rentals as CO hail will do damage. In spite of, or maybe because of the weather we were inspired by the variety of vegetation, the stunning scenic view, and the magnificent animal life found in the mountains of CO. The up close breath taking views of deer, elk, pika, etc. motivated us all to rededicate ourselves to helping our students understand the importance of becoming proper stewards of the Earth. Students just will not put the effort into protecting something they have not experienced or do not understand their personal connection to!

In honor of world oceans day

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:34:00 +0000

I thought I'd post a couple of talks that I ran across today:

"Brian Skerry reveals the ocean's glory - and horror"
The first one is by Brian Skerry, a photojournalist who has shot for National Geographic. He shows us the "glory - and horror" of our oceans. It's about 16 minutes long, but filled with pictures both inspiring and terrible.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brian_skerry_reveals_ocean_s_glory_and_horror.html

"Chris Jordan pictures some shocking stats"
The second talk is not necessarily related to the oceans, but I feel is very pertinent to the current state of where we are as a species. It is by Chris Jordan, and he uses art to help us visualize some of the incredible numbers in some of the statistics that we get bombarded with. For example, some of his artwork depicts the amount of paper cups that are used every day in the United States. It's about 11 minutes long and well worth the look.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html

Budding scientists in the field

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:02:00 +0000

The UCLA undergraduates have arrived in Moorea and are settled into their new digs for the next month or so. They've also gotten a better idea of what they want to spend their time studying. The teams have set up blogs where they will post about their experiences living and working on a tropical island, the joys of working in and around the ocean and how many zip-ties it takes to tie things down in the water :)

So check them out, envy them, comment on posts you like, drool over the images, and have fun! In no particular order, here they are:

Chubby Parrot Surgeons:
"Our group is interested in how herbivorous fish impact reef environments by exerting top-down control on algae. Algae grows very quickly, and complete covers coral if it is not "mowed down" by fish and other herbivores. If algae covers the coral, the zooxanthallae (tiny organisms that help the coral polyps survive) will be unable to perform photosynthesis, and the coral will die."
http://teamast.blogspot.com

Jackie, Tim & Wilson:
"We are in the preliminary stages, but we know that we are going to be focusing on nutrient gradients in Cook's Bay and how the changing percentages of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in algae tissue affect the nutrient needs of the algae."
http://mooreambq2010.blogspot.com

Team Awesome (a.k.a. Edward TWEEZERhands):
"We'll be determining the changes in the algae's (Galazaura filamentosa) physical defenses as a result of herbivory and nutrient addition."
http://katie-jeryl-trishelle.blogspot.com

Snorkeling, Scuba, & SCIENCE, Oh My!:
"We will be comparing various sites along Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay for levels of herbivory and nutrients."
http://majesticmoorea.blogspot.com

MBQAMC (a.k.a. Mo'orean THUNDER):
"Our project is trying to identify a "tipping point" where algal growth is controlled more by bottom-up processes than by top-down processes."
http://mooreabioblog.blogspot.com

Spring 2010 MBQ Blog:
"Our research is going to be geared towards fish herbivory on benthic algae. We are going to look at what size fish are having the greatest impact via feeding on the algal communities as seen through a partitioning of various sized fish by using cages to determine which fish can enter an enclosed area."
http://mbqjonnickcam.blogspot.com

MBQ in Moorea: Riley, Natalie and Casey:
"...the objective of our experiment is to determine whether the rhizoids of rhizophytic algae are an integral structure in nutrient uptake which could enable it to take advantage of sediment enrichment so as to out-compete non-rhizophytic algae in a way which could cause changes in macroalgal community composition."
http://rncmoorea2010.blogspot.com

Marine Biology Quarter at UCLA, Spring 2010:
"We've finally narrowed our research topic down to study the interaction between Dictyota and Hypnea, two algae that are found very closely associated in the field. Hypnea is found intertwined in Dictyota; however, this association is not always found. In fact, there seems to be a gradient down the bay for when the association occurs. Therefore, we are predicting that this association is potentially controlled by bottom-up and top-down processes."
http://mooreabruins.blogspot.com

COSEE-West at the COSEE Network Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:19:00 +0000

The annual COSEE Network meeting got started today. Our day was full of presentations and discussions on doing more to engage scientists in education and outreach, as well as the different ways in which we already engage scientists.

After a day stuck indoors, we're off to dinner and networking at the Seattle Aquarium. I'm excited, since I've never been to this aquarium and I'm nerdy enough that I try to hit an aquarium wherever I go.

And they're off!!! To Moorea that is...

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:07:00 +0000

Follow UCLA undergraduates as they explore the island of Moorea before beginning their field research projects. The teams have set up blogs where they will post about their experiences living and working on a tropical island, the joys of working in and around the ocean and how many zip-ties it takes to tie things down in the water :)

Although the 'official' blogging does not start until May 3, 2010, some of the teams have already started blogging. So check them out, envy them, comment on posts you like, drool over the images, and have fun! In no particular order, here they are:

MBQ Moorea 2010:
http://teamast.blogspot.com/

Jackie, Tim & Wilson:
http://mooreambq2010.blogspot.com/

Team Awesome:
http://katie-jeryl-trishelle.blogspot.com

Snorkeling, Scuba, & SCIENCE, Oh MY!:
http://majesticmoorea.blogspot.com

MBQAMC:
http://mooreabioblog.blogspot.com/

Spring 2010 MBQ Blog:
http://mbqjonnickcam.blogspot.com

MBQ in Moorea: Riley, Natalie, and Casey:
http://rncmoorea2010.blogspot.com/

Marine Biology Quarter at UCLA, Spring 2010:
http://mooreabruins.blogspot.com

Blog Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:45:00 +0000

COSEE-West is at UCLA doing blog tutorials! Yay!

Recruited at Ocean Sciences 2010

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Unless one is giving a talk or poster presentation at a conference, most people attend with the intent to listen, learn and connect with old friends and colleagues. Most do not expect to be put to work...

However, while talking to the people who do press for the Ocean Sciences 2010 conference, I was asked if I'd like to contribute a blog post to their site. I like writing and I like blogging, so I agreed.

Here is the link to the blog post that made it:
http://blog.agu.org/meetings/2010/02/24/ocean-observing-systems-in-the-classroom/

COSEE Goes to Ocean Sciences 2010

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:33:00 +0000

I love attending the Ocean Sciences conference. From the outside, the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon looks simple, sleek and unassuming. Inside, the world of ocean sciences has gathered in an explosion of ideas, technology, and a heady mix of PowerPoint presentations and Starbuck’s coffee. Walking the halls I hear conversations in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Like channel surfing on the radio, I get snippets of one group’s issues with their CTD data, a graduate student getting last minute advice on her presentation, while a third group discusses satellite data on phytoplankton blooms. It is über-nerd nirvana for all things marine and I have come home.

The COSEE Network had a very large and visible presence at this year’s meeting. There were too many sessions and talks for me to attend every one of them, but from what I have heard from others and experienced for myself, the COSEE sessions were very well received. One only needed to be in the Wednesday evening poster session for a visual indicator. The row I was in was almost all COSEE and traffic was brisk. As COSEE staff stood by their posters, the enthusiasm and need for what we do was a little surprising at times. I was presenting a poster on COSEE-West’s online workshops and was a little startled when a scientist popped out from the crowd in front of me said, “I need to talk to you about this!” It turns out she was trying to get more of her institution’s courses online and was looking for ideas on format and platforms.

This need was further demonstrated at a Wednesday luncheon organized by Janice McDonell (COSEE Networked Ocean World), Linda Duguay (COSEE-West) and Bob Chen (COSEE New England) for scientists looking for help with their Broader impacts activities. Various COSEE staff were on hand to talk to people looking for help with a number of different efforts, from after school program involvement to podcasts and multi-media to online workshops and blogging. The goal was to encourage scientists to reach out to a broader audience and to help them in that endeavor.

I think one of the main take-home messages from all of the COSEE presentations and posters was to let scientists know that there are many different ways of getting engaged with a broader audience and that the COSEE Network is available to help them. I also think that the emphasis on how much scientist engagement with broader audiences benefits everyone involved was a key message that sometimes gets lost in the minutia of actually doing something.

I was pleasantly surprised at how seamlessly the COSEE sessions blended with so many scientific presentations. The last Ocean Sciences conference I attended did not seem to have anyone talking about broader audience engagement. If there were people discussing this, it was not as obvious as it was at this year’s meeting. It was also good to get back to our roots, in a manner of speaking. Many COSEE staff have a background in the marine realm, and at least in my experience, it sometimes feels like I keep drifting farther and farther away from those roots. Attending meetings like Ocean Sciences helps reset me in terms of knowing what’s current in the field and renews the wonder and enthusiasm for research that I can then transfer to the people I educate. I am grateful I was able to attend, and I know I will be digesting all that I learned for many months to come.

COSEE-West at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2010 Annual Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:32:00 +0000

At any large conference, there is a good chance that at least some of the presentations will be deadly dull. And if those presentations happen to be on policy, things can go one of two ways: 1) the audience can be lulled into a semi-comatose state by charts and statistics or 2) they can be enlightened and entertained by the battles, compromises and unexpected outcomes that inevitably result when humans must work together. But what happens when a presentation involves policy, politicians, scientists, teachers, and students? COSEE-West found out when we hosted our “Building Bridges Between Ocean Scientists, Educators, and Students” symposium at the AAAS 2010 Annual Meeting on Friday, February 19, 2010.

The theme of this year’s AAAS meeting was “Bridging Science and Society,” and since that is also part of COSEE’s mission, this meeting was a perfect venue to showcase what COSEE-West has done in furthering those goals. Our session consisted of three speakers discussing their role in COSEE-West’s efforts on getting the word out about California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. First to speak was Dr. Christopher Lowe (California State University, Long Beach), discussing his research on fish movements in and around a marine protected area with educators at one of our Saturday workshops. Second, Jane Lee (COSEE-West) spoke about the three different ways in which COSEE-West used Dr. Lowe’s lecture in our education efforts. And last but not least, Amy Hill (Chadwick School) spoke about how her high school students became involved as advocates for their local coastline (and research site) with the MLPA initiative.

Our audience was about 60% educators and 40% scientists (based on an informal show of hands), with a reporter from Nature and the head science writer from the University of Southern California also in attendance. The questions centered either on how teachers could get their hands on a scientist, their data and/or more content knowledge or on how scientists could formulate their messages to connect with a broader audience. Contact information changed hands, websites were scribbled down, and hopefully a couple more educators and scientists were added to the collection that COSEE-West and the COSEE network have built.

The feeling in the room throughout the symposium was intent and encouraging. People want to know what the other side is doing. Educators are hungry for new knowledge and experiences to bring to their students, while scientists are realizing that they can use their ideas and projects for more than just publications and knowledge for knowledge sake. Just when I think that surely, now we are making a dent in bridging that gap between science and society, I find someone looking for a way across to the other side (or at least to meet someone in the middle). No matter how many times I help conduct a workshop or lecture, attend conferences or work with a scientist on a presentation, there is always a need for what COSEE-West and the COSEE network does every day.

Still Alive...And Coming Soon!

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:23:00 +0000

Yikes, it's been a while since my last post! Well, this is just to let everyone know that pictures from our latest workshop will be coming soon.

Two graduate students from Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, came down and dissected Humboldt Squid (Dosidicus gigas) with us this past Saturday (January 30, 2010).

It was so cool to see such a huge animal laid out on the tables. I've dissected market squid before, but these were so much larger. Anyway, pictures to come soon!