The year two-thousand and fifteen was a HUGE one for the Digital Learning program at the California Academy of Sciences. We’ve had a lot of changes, pivots, sad goodbyes, and successes over the past twelve months that are important to acknowledge. Farewell, Christine / Welcome, Jeff! Over the summer, we bid a fond farewell to …
This weekend was the first national Climate Game Jam, happening at sites all around the country. For us, it was a super fun and inspiring two days of game hacking, science exploration, and team building, all to educate young people about climate change, and what they can do about it. The Climate Game Jam was …
The Field Museum of Chicago is one of my favorite natural history museums in the world. The Field is one of the country's oldest natural history museums, dating back to 1893, as an outgrowth of the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. Those deep roots are evident in the neo-classical architecture, old school dioramas, and …
The cool folks at TechHive at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley have launched a crowdfunding campaign to expand their programs to reach 75 Bay Area teens this year. It's a really cool program that helps Bay Area teens become not just makers, but educators and science communicators in their communities. Head to their …
Spreading the word about this cool television and online event happening on Monday August 31: Big Blue Live. Focused on celebrating local marine biodiversity on the California coast, viewers will learn about the birds, whales, sharks, sea lions and more animals that make their home in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. PBS is hosting …
Here's a list of resources for making the case for maker education that I've found helpful for a variety of contexts. MakeEd Resource Library Making and Learning site list of references Are there others out there that folks know about?
At the Digital Media and Learning Conference last weekend, one of the most powerful sessions was a talk on an "ecological view of equity" by Dr. Nichole Pinkard, founder of the Digital Youth Network in Chicago. Dr. Pinkard's talk was shaped and framed by the legacy of Brother Mike Hawkins, an educator, activist and spoken …
I’m jumping on a flight to LA for the Digital Media and Learning conference this weekend. But I am so so excited about our new “Color of Life” exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. Opening June 12, “Color of Life” explores how living things use color to attract, hide, repel, and deceive. I just got …
Tonight I had the pleasure of visiting the amazing maker space at the software design company Autodesk on Pier 9, San Francisco. I was participating in a Bay Area Maker Educator meetup, along with 40 other teachers and education specialists from across the Bay. The invitation promised a visit to a maker lab that “we’ll all …
Cal Academy research fellow Bryson Voirin is studying the adorable, elusive pygmy sloth, a critically endangered species that can be found on just one small island in the Caribbean. I love how he has to "race" to catch them! More about pygmy sloths and their endangered status on the WWF site. More about Bryson's research …