Region 4 Update: Winter 2023
By Crystal Starr Howe, Region 4 Director
Southern California science educators have been busy this fall, bringing exciting experiences to students in the region. Inyo County Office of Education (ICOE) just finished hosting their county Science Campers at the Bernasconi Education Center and it was a great success! Students, counselors, instructors and teachers all shared laughs, good food and of course, some truly engaging hands-on science.
Some highlights of their time together were:
Learning about Townsend Big Eared Bats with Evan Standifer of the BLM on Crater Mountain, where the BLM studies this very special bat species.
Summiting Crater Mountain and learning the rock cycle along the way—students loved using hydrochloric acid to test the marble at the top!
Wading through the creeks and ponds to search for aquatic life that could indicate the health of the water after such a big water year. Students discovered that the ecosystem up at Bernasconi is healthy and thriving!
Tie dying after a long hike day is something to remember at science camp. The kids were wonderfully gifted tie dye artists!
Celebrating a week of learning outdoors with a cozy campfire on Thursday. Everyone sang songs, played games and shared skits about all they had learned throughout the week.
A huge thank you from ICOE to all of their teachers who made this possible: Alicia Ginter, Dave Fulkerson, Rebecca Hennigan, Kylie Birkhimer, Erin Renee, Autumn Tyermann, Christy States and Rory Winzenread! Thanks to the bus drivers, aides, and school principals as well for stopping by: Anthony Huges, Dave McCabe, and Erik Forsman. ICOE had help from all across the community, and a very special astronomy guest teacher—Science Camp royalty, Maggie Riley! What a joy it is to work with such a wonderful team in this community!
Additionally, Riverside County Office of Education just wrapped up several weeks of hosting STEM conferences: Educator STEPCon, Student STEPCon, and Counselor STEPCon! They engaged about 7,000 students both virtually and in person, as well as 200 educators and 50 counselors. The goal is to continue to strengthen their STEM ecosystem by providing student-inspiring, content-rich opportunities, while providing educators with tools and current STEM information.
Southern California Association of Science Specialists!
SCASS is another opportunity to network with your fellow science leaders in Southern California. This year’s focus is Inspiration, Integration, and Innovation. Next meeting is February 29. See the SCASS site for meeting dates and registration links.
Southern California CA Science Projects have online and in person Professional Learning Opportunities!
See each project for up to date offerings:
Connect to your local Southern California County Office of Education!
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