SITKA, Alaska – The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) Sitka Campus will offer a three-day workshop June 5-7 called “Educators and Scientists: Putting our heads together to get kids excited about science.” The workshop takes place at the Sitka Sound Science Center.

This workshop is a professional training for elementary school educators and scientists, teaching them how to develop teacher-scientist partnerships to help get kids excited about science. The workshop will be led by UAS faculty, Sitka Sound Science Center staff, and other scientists and educators. It will provide educators with hands-on experience and training in how to teach science to a diverse student audience. The goal is to increase science literacy and build a workforce of marine and aquaculture professionals from within Alaska.

Elementary school teachers will learn how to inspire kids to think about science in new ways, and they will learn ways to make science fun. By participating, scientists will figure out how to bring their research to the classroom and engage the future scientists of Alaska. There is no cost to attend this workshop, but teachers can earn two continuing education and professional development credits by paying a $90 fee. Some travel scholarships are available for teachers from outside Sitka.

This workshop is offered in partnership with the UAS Sitka Campus Fisheries Technology and Understanding Pacific Pathways programs. It is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture program Taking AME (Aquaculture and Marine Education). The Sitka Sound Science Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to science research and education in the Gulf of Alaska. It offers classroom and laboratory space, a cetacean acoustic lab, a small aquarium with touch tanks and the Sheldon Jackson Salmon Hatchery (the only training facility of its kind in the state of Alaska).

For more information about the workshop, contact Jan Straley from the UAS Biology Department at 747-7779 or jmstraley@uas.alaska.edu, Kate Sullivan with the UAS Fisheries Technology program at 228-4565 or ksullivan@uas.alaska.edu, or Sitka Sound Science Center Executive Director Lisa Busch at 747-8878 or lbusch@sitkascience.org. Those teachers needing travel scholarships or help with housing and other logistics should call Lisa Busch for assistance.

For more information about UAS Sitka Campus programs and to register for this workshop, call 907-747-7700 or 800-478-6653, or go online atwww.uas.alaska.edu/sitka.