NATS Conference
September 29 – October 1, 2011
Fremont, Nebraska

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Dr. Jeff Goldstein, NCESSE Center Director, is giving the Keynote Address at the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science (NATS) 2011 Annual Conference to be held in Fremont, Nebraska, September 29 – October 1, 2011.

Fremont Address:

Science – It’s Not a Book of Knowledge … It’s a Journey

Every parent remembers that magical time when our children first began to speak, that moment marking the beginning of unending questions. In our children we can see our humanity — our innate curiosity — and recognize the obvious … that we are born to explore!

Science, in all its seeming complexity, is nothing but a means to organize curiosity. A way to empower one’s self to ask the gift of a question, and to hone the art that allows navigation through the noise of the universe around us in quest of an answer. It is an emotional, joyful, and wondrous journey that hopefully allows the traveler to pull back the veil of nature just a little, see how she operates, and celebrate the accomplishment.

Science education is no different. It is the means by which we immerse our children in the act of journey by letting them do science, and acknowledging it is their journey. As teachers, our sweet reward is seeing the joys of learning wash over them. And as teachers, we are charged with nothing less than patiently and gently launching the explorations of an entire generation.