Jun 21st, 2017 — Roseville, CA

PASCO Scientific Invites Educators to Journey to the Frontiers of Science and STEM Education at ISTE 2017 with Hands-On Demos, Sensor-Based STEM Labs, and a Real NASA Spacesuit

At ISTE booth 808, teachers will experience first-hand how standards-based content and wireless sensors engage and help learners meet NGSS performance expectations

Did you know that a spacesuit weighs approximately 280 pounds —without the astronaut in it — and that it can protect astronauts in temperatures as cold as minus 250 degrees or as hot as 250 degrees Fahrenheit? At ISTE 2017 this week in San Antonio, Texas, educators will have the opportunity to engineer a spacesuit, don an actual NASA spacesuit, and engage in hands-on STEM learning at booth 808, hosted by PASCO Scientific.

At the PASCO Scientific booth, Greg Bartus, senior curriculum and professional development specialist at the Stevens Institute of Technology, will conduct a hands-on science demo to show educators how to harness students’ interest in space exploration to address STEM concepts and practices. During the demos, which will occur at the top of every hour and on the half hour, participants will design a spacesuit to help a spacewalker to survive the extremes of outer space. Educators who engage in the engineering challenge will see first-hand how standards-based content and wireless sensors can engage and help learners meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations. The first 150 participants in the demo will receive a free Wireless Temperature Sensor from PASCO Scientific, and all participants will return to their schools with a complete NGSS lab activity.

At the PASCO booth, educators can also explore the latest sensor-based STEM labs using PASCO’s award-winning line of Wireless Sensors, which were introduced last year and have been successfully implemented in classrooms around the world. The Wireless Sensors simplify lab setup and remove the clutter of cables, allowing students to spend more time exploring and perform experiments that were difficult or impossible before.

“Engineering, which is a big part of the NGSS, is a data-driven decision process. It’s my goal that teachers leave the demo with an understanding of how to easily incorporate sensors into science and engineering projects to allow students to collect the data they need to make decisions,” said Bartus. “When students experience a phenomenon through a video or a textbook, they struggle to engage and do not learn effectively. The use of wireless sensors not only engages students but it allows them to learn well and collect data in ways they couldn’t before. For example, if students design a spacesuit and want to test it in extreme cold, they can simply put the spacesuit and a wireless temperature sensor inside a freezer, close the door, and collect the data they need. For teachers, this facilitates learning by giving students the power to ask questions about a phenomenon and find the answers.”

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