National Lab Dayand the

MSP ProgramJan Cuny

National Science Foundation

National Lab Day 1/13/09

National Lab Dayand the

MSP ProgramJan Cuny

National Science FoundationNational Lab Day

2/24/10

I want to persuade you to spend time

in the classroom, talking and showing young people what

it is that your work can mean, and what it means to you …. to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering … encourage young people to be makers of things, not just consumers of things.

-- President Obama April 2009

Net Day Precedent• 20,000 volunteers

helped to wire 20 percent of California schools to the Internet

• 2,500 wiring kits were donated by telephone companies

Net Day Precedent

A national barn-raising for hands-on STEM learning.

What is National Lab Day?

A nationwide initiative

to form local communities of support around STEM teachers, and

connect them to STEM-based professionals who will share their expertise and their excitement and passion for disciplines.

What is National Lab Day?

NLD1

GOAL: Establish ongoing relationships between teachers, volunteers and STEM-based professionals

NLD Partners Partners

+ over 200 Professional Societies, organizations, and federal agencies, with over 6 million members

NLD and the MSP Program

MSP “is designed to improve the content knowledge of teachers and the performance of students in the areas of mathematics and science by …

Bringing … teachers together with scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to improve their teaching skills; …”

National Lab Day can help!

What could your MSP do?

• Promote, and facilitate the participation of the schools you work with

• Help us to identify the NLD needs of those schools

• Develop multidisciplinary projects and/or projects that cross school boundaries

What could your MSP do? (cont.)

• Disseminate your great projects and best practices through the NLD site

• Encourage the faculty at your universities and colleges to get involved

• Encourage graduate students on your project to take the lead in organizing other graduate student involvement

What could your MSP do? (cont.)

• Have undergraduates in service learning projects get involved; Start service learning projects

• Enlist the support of community organizations and businesses in your area

• Prepare teachers to better provide high quality, hands-on, inquiry-based science

What could your MSP do? (cont.)

• Prepare scientists to work effectively in classrooms

• Help us to understand what makes a successful (or unsuccessful) NLD project

• Come up with other ideas and let us know what they are

• Give us feedback on NLD

Put your project on the map!

Contact Us

Jan Cunyjan@nationallabday.org

www.nationallabday.org

Disclaimer

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this presentation are not intended as an endorsement by

the U. S. Department of Education.