Oregon Science Teachers Association upcoming events

The Art of Noticing: Place-Based Learning Through Schoolyard Investigations (PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT-Workshop) (August 12, 2026)

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

The Art of Noticing: Place-Based Learning Through Schoolyard Investigations (Pre-conference Event; 4 hr session)

Presenter: Carrie Caselton Lowe, Grande Ronde Community Science Coordinator.

Description: Learning outside is good for learning - and for us. So how do we make it routine and standards-aligned? Explore outdoor learning strategies that weave science across disciplines, highlighting the Learning in Places collaborative and Grande Ronde Community Science Schoolyard Investigations. Prepare to incorporate the schoolyard into your regular teaching practice.

Key Learning Objectives:

Participants will Practice strategies and routines for cultivating regular outdoor learning and student-driven inquiry - including the opening of the Learning in Places storyline, including observation and wondering walks, generating investigation questions, and incorporating participatory science platforms.

Identify ways to integrate science with language arts, math, and social sciences in a schoolyard context using multiple timescales to weave science across disciplines.

Conference Registration is not required to attend this pre-conference event.

Please contact Andrew Sneed (president-elect@oregonscience) if you have special needs and/or have questions.

Let's Get Your Students Outside (PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT-Workshop) (October 09, 2026)

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Let's Get Your Students Outside (PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT-Workshop)

Cost: $25

General Audience: K-12 Science, Environmental Sciences

Presenter: Mike Weddle, Diack Ecology Education Program

Description: Do you want to get your students outside? Do you need equipment and supplies to do this?

The Diack Ecology Education Program provides a system of grants, workshops and resources to teachers and students in Oregon to encourage them to participate in field-based science inquiry and ecology studies.

Key Learning Objectives:

1. Learn how field-based student directed research can provide an engaging opportunity for students to learn critical thinking, data collection, comparative analysis, and written and oral presentation skills.

2, Become proficient with a variety of data collecting tools and procedures, from low-tech items like transect tapes and D-nets to high-tech dissolved oxygen sensors and temperature data loggers.

3, Come away with strategies to manage your particular classroom situation. All classes are unique, but we have a wealth of experience with a wide range of logistical challenges. You can make this work.

4. Know the procedure for applying for a Diack grant for up to $6000.

Conference Registration is not required to attend this pre-conference event.

Please contact Andrew Sneed (president-elect@oregonscience) if you have special needs and/or have questions.

Energy, Electricity, and Engineering in Action - Connecting STEM to Your Students' World (PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT-Workshop and Field Trip) (October 09, 2026)

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Energy, Electricity, and Engineering in Action - Connecting STEM to Your Students' World (Pre-conference Event/Workshop and Field Trip)

Cost: $30

General Audience: Subject Area(s): Physical Science, Life Science, Earth & Space Science, Engineering & Technology, General Science, Education Research, Environmental Sciences, Computer Science, STEM (integrated)

Presenters: Mihir Ravel, PSU; Dan Robinette, North Clackamas-Retired/Lewis and Clarke College; Stephen Scannell, Gresham High School/OSTA Treasurer

Description:

Energy concepts become real when students can hold them and see them in their own community. This half-day workshop is a hybrid with hands-on energy and electricity, and then seeing them literally in action by touring one of the largest Unmanned Aircraft Systems facilities in the US: the Pendleton UAS Drone Testing Range. We'll open with energy as a crosscutting concept - a lens that carries across all the sciences, not just physics - then measure renewable energy sources, work with energy storage (rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors) and conversion (LEDs, motors, sensors), and design, test, and iterate a model electric vehicle using your own measurements. The tour will let us see energy chains in real aviation systems and a career pathway in operation. We'll close with methods for finding place-based anchors in your own district.

Key Learning Objectives:
- Apply a transferable model of energy - generation, storage, and conversion - across all the sciences, not just physics
- Measure energy generation from the solar, wind, and hydro sources that shape the Pacific Northwest landscape, using classroom-friendly methods and tools
- Compare rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors as storage, and build simple circuits driving LEDs, motors, and sensors
- Lead students through a measurement-driven design-test-iterate sequence on a model electric vehicle, supported by a take-home build protocol and materials list
- Identify a place-based anchor in their own district that connects abstract energy concepts to local industry and infrastructure"

Conference Registration is not required to attend this pre-conference event.

Please contact Andrew Sneed (president-elect@oregonscience) if you have special needs and/or have questions.

Using the school garden to connect science, school nutrition, and community (PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT-Workshop) (October 09, 2026)

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Using the school garden to connect science, school nutrition, and community (pre-conference event/Workshop)

Cost: $25

General Audience: (Subject Area(s): K-5 Science, Environmental Sciences

Presenters: Corey Wallis, Walla Walla Valley Farm to School Garden Education Manager; Kerri Coffman, Principal Athena Elementary School; Betsy Russell Carroll, Program Manager, Walla Walla Valley Farm to School

Description: Athena Elementary and Walla Walla Valley Farm to School bring weekly science based lessons to K-4 students using the school garden and participate in the Oregon Farm to School Institute to increase local food purchasing and community events. This session explores interconnection between school gardens, science, school nutrition, and community.

Key Learning Objectives:

Overview of Athena SD school garden programming and partnerships,
Interactive example lessons using our school garden,
Resources for finding science based school garden lessons that tie to NGSS,
Panel discussion of school principal, school nutrition, community partners, teachers

Conference Registration is not required to attend this pre-conference event.

Please contact Andrew Sneed (president-elect@oregonscience) if you have special needs and/or have questions.

2026 OSTA Fall Conference Exhibitor Registration (October 10, 2026)

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Oregon Science Teachers Association 64th Annual Fall Conference on Science Education

Saturday, October 10, 2026

Pendleton School
1800 NW Carden Ave,

Pendleton, Oregon, 97801

We are excited to open exhibitor registration for our 2026 conference in Pendleton, Oregon. We will also be reaching out to science educators in Washington and Idaho to highlight the eastern Oregon location. To get your organization's name on our conference page, please complete the online registration form as soon as possible.

Session registration has closed, but if you are interested in presenting, please email exhibitors@oregonscience.com and we will see if we can accommodate you.

In addition to exhibiting at the conference, there are many sponsorship opportunities to get your organization’s name and logo in the conference advertising on our web page, and in all communications that we send out.

To pay using a credit/debit card, complete the online registration. Click the "Pay online" button.

Paying by check? Complete the online registration and click on the "Invoice Me" button. Print the invoice that will be emailed to you. Make your check payable to OSTA. Mail the invoice with your check to:

Oregon Science Teachers Association

2025 Exhibitor Registration

4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, #1025

Portland, OR 97214

Thank you for your interest in being an exhibitor at the 2026 Fall OSTA Conference and being a partner supporting science education in Oregon.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: Refund requests must be made in writing and be postmarked or timestamped 14 days before the event. Registration cancellations are subject to a $50 processing fee. Email requests to the registrar at registrar@oregonscience.org. Mailed requests are to be sent to the address above.

2026 OSTA Conference on Science Education (October 10, 2026)

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

The Oregon Science Teachers Association
2026 Fall Conference on Science Education

Saturday, October 10, 2026

Pendleton High School

1800 NW Carden Ave

To access the membership rate, you will need to log into the website.

Not sure how to log on?

Click this link to view preconference workshops and activities.

Paying with a credit or debit card? Complete the online registration. Click the "Pay online" button.

Will your district be paying?

Each teacher must complete their own registration, then select the "invoice me" button.
Please forward the invoice you will receive via email to the person in your district or organization who would be responsible for paying your registration.

For your school district or organization to Pay via credit/debit card:

In the upper left corner of the invoice you will find a link to view the invoice online.
Click on that link, and you will be guided through the process to pay the invoice online with a debit or credit card.
If you have multiple teachers contact the OSTA Registrar at the email below if you need assistance.

If you have any questions please contact OSTA's Registrar

Call or text: 971-361-6782
Email: registrar@oregonscience.org.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: Refund requests must be made in writing and be timestamped 14 days before the event. Registration cancellations are subject to a $50 processing fee. Email requests to the registrar at registrar@oregonscience.org. Mailed requests are to be sent to the address above.