SAMEC E-News (Week of 11-18-05) Upcoming Workshops Optics Workshop for Teachers, Saturday,December 3, 2005, 9:00 am to Noon, Pima Community College West Campus, Room K223, Science Bldg., 2202 W. Anklam Rd., Tucson. Dr. David Katz from the Dept. of Chemistry at Pima Community College will demonstrate optics experiments. Open to all science teachers, K thru college. There will be a limited amount of lenses and materials distributed to teachers at the conclusion of the workshop. This workshop is free but pre-registration is required. Free parking is also provided. This workshop is sponsored by Pima Community College Department of Chemistry, The Education Committee of the Southern Arizona Section of the American Chemical Society, and Tucson Assocation of Physics Teachers. For additional information and to ensure sufficient materials for all, please RSVP to: David Katz or 520-206-044. Arizona Project WET Discover A Watershed: The Colorado Workshop. Saturday, December 3, 2005, 8:00am - 4:30pm, Tohono Chul Park, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, Tucson, AZ, 85704. Sponsored by Tucson AMA. Contact: Josie Tanner at 520.792.9591 x 27. Healthy Water, Healthy People Workshop. Saturday, December 17, 2005, 8:00am - 4:30 pm, Whiteriver Unified School District Training Room, Whiteriver, AZ. Focus on Educators of Native students (middle or high school) or tribal water professionals. Contact: Josie Tanner at 520.792.9591 x 27. Arizona Project WET curricula covers all aspects of water education for educators, including the properties of water, the water cycle, water management, water quality and more!  Workshops are an opportunity to learn about Arizona's water resources by participating in engaging, interactive, classroom-ready activities.  After a workshop participants receive a Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide which was written by over 350 teachers, resource managers and scientists. The hands-on activities are great learning tools and are well received in the classroom!  Water Festivals for your class are a exciting way to teach students about water! Register for these great workshops at: http://www.ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/WET/workshops.html 2006 Workshops will be listed in the SAMEC January e-news! Award Opportunities For Teachers Apply for the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. Amgen invites educators with a minimum of 3 years teacing science in grades K-12 to apply for the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. Each year, 19 science teachers are awarded an unrestricted cash award of up to $5,000 for their creativity, effectiveness, motivation, and teaching ability. As winners, their schools also receive a restricted grant of up to $5,000 to be used to expand or enhance the school’s science program, purchase new science resources, or further the professional development of their development of their science teachers. The application deadline is January 31, 2006. Apply online at: http://www.amgen.com/citizenship/aaste.html $2000 SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE TEACHERS. Applications for the Barbara Lotze Scholarship are being accepted until December 1. Further information is available at http://www.aapt.org/Grants/lotze.cfm Resources For Teachers Explore the Innovative Uses of Vernier. Vernier Software and Technology provides Innovative Uses, a site devoted to resources created by teachers using Vernier technology in the classroom. Recently added topics include The Volume of a Person, Measuring Tennis Racket Forces, and The Chemistry of Bathtub Tints. Teachers are also encouraged to share their own innovative teaching activities using Vernier data-collection technology at innovativeuses@vernier.com. If your idea is published, you will receive a $100 Vernier gift certificate. http://www.vernier.com/innovate/index.html Take the NASA Lunar Challenge. Use the excitement of NASA’s exploration vision to achieve parent involvement goals. Lunar Challenge is an award-winning family science curriculum kit that teaches systems thinking using an inquiry approach. Parent-child teams (grades 4-8) use the school as a model to design and construct the first lunar colony out of recycled materials. This four-session unit involves community mentors to provide career insights. Materials can be adapted for classroom or after school enrichment uses. The reusable kit price of $335 includes six months of program support. Lunar Challenge is certified by NASA’s Office of Space Science and NSTA Recommends. http://www.lunarchallenge.com K-12 Student Opportunities Compete in the USA Biology Olympiad. The Center for Excellence in Education invites high school students to apply to the USA Biology Olympiad, a four-tiered competition aimed at selecting a four-person team to compete in the International Biology Olympiad in Rio Cuarto, Argentina in July 2006. The competition begins in February with a multiple-choice exam administered nationwide to all interested U.S. high school students nominated by their teacher. The top 10% or the top 500 Open Exam participants are eligible to take the Semifinal Exam. The top 20 Semifinalist participants are invited to attend the USABO National Finals at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, which consists of a practical and theoretical exam to compete for one of the four places on the U.S. Team. http://www.cee.org/usabo/index.shtml Job Opportunities for Teachers Apply for a Summer Job with Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth is seeking science teachers to instruct in their summer programs for gifted elementary, middle and high school students. CTY offers 3-week academic programs for students from around the world with courses relating to chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, and field sciences. The sessions run from June 22-July 15 and July 15-August 5, and take place at 24 sites around the country. Salary is commensurate with experience and degree, and Johns Hopkins also provides room and board. The online application will be available by the end of November. http://www.cty.jhu.edu/summer/employment