Educator's Showcase 2011

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History celebrates science education by hosting its third annual Educator's Showcase from January 24 until February 5, 2011. This short-term exhibit is available at no cost to all educators in and around the Brazos Valley and will provide information from organizations that offer free and low cost materials and resources for educators, with an emphasis on environmental, science, and history education. This year's showcase is again sponsored by the Barbara Bush Literacy Corps.

"The Museum's commitment to scientific and cultural literacy remains a key aspect of our mission and we strive to do all we can to assist local educators at every level with their efforts to enhance classroom learning in these areas. We hope this annual event will provide a forum for networking and for the exchange of valuable information about the exciting and meaningful supplemental materials, curricula, and other resources available in our area for use in the classroom" explained Maria Lazo, the Museum's Associate Director and Education Coordinator.

In conjunction with the Showcase, the Museum is offering a No Student Left Indoors Teacher Workshop on February 5 from 9 am to 4 pm to train educators to utilize No Student Left Indoors, a curriculum produced by Jane Kirkland. This curriculum is aligned with the National Science Education Standards for outdoor science and is recommended by the National Science Teachers Association. It focuses on how to create a field guide to the nature in the students' own schoolyard. The curriculum connects science, language arts, history, creative arts, and technology and specifically encourages students to write about what they find. Current research also suggests that outdoor nature connections are integral to healthy student development and are lacking in our technology driven environments. This approach encourages those interactions through hands-on schoolyard nature explorations and easily fits into existing classroom curriculum. Advanced registration is required to attend this workshop; and is free to the first 15 registrants. Enroll by calling Maria Lazo at the Museum 979-776-2195.