For Teachers
The Center is dedicated to helping K-12 science teachers grow professionally and better serve their students. We offer a variety of programs and tools to address both these needs.
Professional Development
Committed teachers know that one of the best ways to educate their students is to educate themselves. The Center provides professional development to teachers in the form of summer research programs, training workshops, recertification material and teacher networks.
Ambassador Program
This program brings together in a single network more than 100 teachers and administrators from across North Florida and South Georgia. This group meets twice a year with Magnet Lab educators to discuss important issues in science education, learn about educational resources and take mini-workshops.
Project MagLab Recertification
Middle and high school science teachers seeking recertification in Florida will find helpful resources here pertaining to magnets and electricity.
Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)
Funded by the National Science Foundation, this six-week residential program gives K-12 classroom teachers the chance to participate in real-world science research at the Magnet Lab. RET’s research component is complemented by seminars, discussion groups and workshops designed to help translate teachers' lab experiences into great learning opportunities for their students.
Ruediger Elementary School Partnership
Once a month, CIRL educators demonstrate a science activity to teachers in this after-school mini-workshop open to all Leon County elementary school teachers.
Teacher Workshops
Exploring new science themes every year, our teacher workshops provide K12 science educators practice with hands-on, inquiry-based activities as well as the materials they will need to conduct the activities in the classroom. All workshops are content-rich and support state and national standards.
Teacher Resources
All teachers need to add new gear to their toolbox every now and then, whether it’s a nifty gizmo, a catchy activity or just a fresh way of thinking about an old topic. We offer teachers in search of that extra something a variety of resources, from classroom visits to guided tours by our scientists. Also review our Science in Literature collection for great ideas on teaching science through fiction.
Absolute Zero
The Absolute Zero campaign features teaching guides, a Web site and a two-part PBS series due to air in January 2008. Targeting students in grades 5 to 8, the materials cover the frigid wonders of low-temperature physics, from the scientists behind the discoveries to the technologies (your air conditioner, for example!) they brought about. The Magnet Lab is a national partner in the Absolute Zero Campaign.
Classroom Outreach
Invite the expertise and research tools of the Mag Lab right into your own classroom. Bringing their own science tools in tow, trained Mag Lab educators will take over your class for one activity-filled period, turning your students on to cool concepts related to electricity, magnetism, microscopes and other topics.
Curricula
Over the years we have developed an array of curricular material, all of which address both Sunshine Standards and National Science Education Standards. Covering magnets, isotopes, optics and more, these lessons can be used in the classroom by teachers or at home by curious students and parents. Available in various formats, these materials are full of teaching ideas, age-appropriate explanations about science, and lots of inquiry-based activities.
On-site Outreach and Tours
Introduce your students to a world-class scientific facility … right here in Tallahassee. During your visit, you and your class will have the chance to talk to scientists, observe research in progress, and do hands-on science with the help of a Mag Lab educator.
Comet Tales
Where do comets come from? What are these “dirty snowballs” really made of? How do you design a good spacecraft? Comet Tales, a collection of NASA-funded programs and activities, addresses these and other astronomical questions.
SuperNet
Scientists and teachers from the Magnet Lab and the affiliated Applied Superconductivity Center provide lectures and hands-on training to middle and high school science teachers. These day-long workshops, offered periodically throughout the year, give teachers the knowledge and skills to bring what they learn into their own classrooms. Ultimately, SuperNet’s goal is to establish new learning communities – nationwide – of scientists, teachers and students who together explore the “emergent universe” through inquiry-based, hands-on activities.
