NSTA Conference

     Yesterday, I went to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference. I attended several good sessions, which I will write more about later. In the Elementary Extravaganza and the exhibition hall, there were many very interesting lessons, books, and more.

This idea was teaching camouflage by using M&Ms and two different kinds of fabric. It's simple, cheap, and easy to understand as it would be much easier to grab the M&Ms from the fabric on the right. There was another idea which used newspaper to show how butterflies use camouflage. One the newspaper, they glued paper butterflies. Some were pink or yellow, but others blended in because they were cut from other newspaper. The ones cut from newspaper were hard to find, and I didn't even notice them at first.

I also saw these clay insects, which students built and then labeled the parts. This past fall, we studied insects, and they would have loved building it rather than just drawing pictures.








     Another cool idea was teaching the water cycle. We made bracelets with the beads in order to show how it is a cycle. It starts with a yellow bead for the sun. Then there is a clear bead for evaporation. Next, comes a white bead for condensation. Precipitation is represented by a clear blue bead, and the last bead is blue, representing collection.

    I also got a butterfly necklace, which is housing a little larva that I am anxiously waiting to turn into a butterfly. Hopefully, I can bring it with me to school one day so that my fifth grades can also see it. Finally at the NSTA conference, SeaWorld brought in two penguins!