Action Labs

The city of Denver offers unique and wonderful educational opportunities. NMSA has coordinated visits to several venues where you can learn and gather valuable information and resources to take back to your school. Join us for one of these exciting new action labs.

All Action Labs will take place on Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tickets - $35

AL1401
From Bio Mass to Fuel
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Bus departs at 8:30 a.m.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Golden, CO
http://www.nrel.gov/
This action lab will give the teacher a hands-on activity in the presentation of ethanol as a fuel. The information presented will give the participants a better understanding of Ethanol from bio mass to fuel. The activities will focus on the characteristics properties of water and ethanol which will be used in the separation of the two liquids.

AL1402
From Invasion to New Footprints
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Bus departs at 8:45 a.m.
Colorado History Museum - Denver, CO
Using our secondary program. From Invasion to New Footprints, the action lab will demonstrate how teachers can effectively integrate the issues of discrimination and racial profiling into their classroom curricula. This program. was created to teach about the difficult American Indian issues that are a part of the museum's exhibition, Tribal Paths. Through discussion and activities, participants learn about cultural genocide; broken treaties; boarding schools, civil rights, and stereotypes.

AL1403
Middle School Resources and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Earth Science Learning (Includes lunch)
8:30 a.m. – 3:30 a.m., Bus departs at 7:30 a.m.
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) - Boulder, CO
http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Boulder, CO
http://www.noaa.gov/
These two world-renowned laboratories have a wealth of multidisciplinary content and resources to share regarding weather, climate, oceanography, and environmental change. Participants will be treated to a tour of both NCAR and NOAA and receive educational resources that can be used by middle level teachers of all content areas.

AL1404
Aquariums in Your Classroom
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Bus departs at 11:45 a.m.
Downtown Aquarium - Denver, CO
http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumdenver/flash_content/index.html
Join the education staff from the Downtown Aquarium in Denver and learn how to use aquariums and the animals that live in them as teaching tools for all subjects. The staff will lead you through activities that are multi-disciplinary and easy to prepare. They will also lead you on a behind-the scenes tour of the aquarium before letting you enjoy the exhibits on a self-guided tour.

AL1405
EarthTime: How Old is the Earth and How Do We Know?
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Bus departs at 12:20 p.m.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science - Denver, CO
http://www.dmns.org/main/en/
EarthTime is an international scientific initiative aimed at sequencing Earth history through the integration of high-precision geochronology and quantitative chronostratigraphy. Attendees will spend the afternoon participating in activities that will deepen their understanding of Earth's history while also having fun in the museum. Take back a DVD and full curricula for use in the middle school classroom focused on understanding deep time.

AL1406
Using Works of Art in Language Arts Education
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Bus departs at 12:50 p.m.
Denver Art Museum - Denver, CO
http://www.denverartmuseum.org/home
Participants will explore four different kinds of interactive exercises that use students' language arts skills as part of the primary means of exploring a work of art. Interactive exercises will focus on language arts and visual experiences, response experiences, thinking about the cultural context of the art, and making judgments about art. Written materials will be provided in the form of lesson plans and ideas as well as access to electronic forms of the works of art featured for use in home classrooms.

AL1407
Exploring the Latino Aesthetic
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Bus departs at 8:45 a.m.
Museo de las Americas - Denver, CO
http://www.museo.org/
Explore the Latino aesthetic through an examination of Chicano art as a reflection of the experiences and values of Latinos. Celebrate with the Museo de las Americas on the actual opening day of "Dia de las Muertos." Attendees will learn about the blending of pre-Hispanic and Spanish cultures to form Latino heritage. Enjoy historical music and folklore before decorating a sugar skull in Museo's most popular middle school workshop.