The 2017 NAME-BC AGM is scheduled for Sunday, December 10, 2017 at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney from 12:30 – 3:30 pm. Come on out and see what NAME-BC has been up to and join the conversation!

Save the Date: July 29-August 2, 2018, Portland, Oregon

The NAME-Oregon team is hard at work planning an exciting conference in 2018! Please check back for more details about the conference—including presentations, lodging, and registration information—as they become available.

Join Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), the Canadian Network for Ocean Education (CaNOE), and the Royal BC Museum (RBCM) for a fun and informative ocean-focused Pro-D-Day. Become acquainted with the growing network advancing ocean literacy in Canada; explore cool, weird and wonderful marine creatures in the Museum’s collections; and dive into ONC’s Ocean Sense program to explore learning resources newly created for the BC curriculum that integrate western science with Indigenous place-based knowledge.

Who: Formal & informal educators with an ocean passion
When: Monday August 28th and Tuesday August 29th, 2017
Where: The Royal BC Museum; Newcombe Conference Hall
Cost: $0-25, depending on sessions selected

Click here to register at Eventbrite!

Please join us for State of the Salish Sea—A Virtual Tour with Chrys Bertolotto, Natural Resource Programs Manager, WSU Snohomish County Extension.

Saturday February 4, 2017
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

Highline College MaST Center (located near Redondo Beach Park)

The Salish Sea stretches from northern Vancouver Island south to Olympia, Washington and is nestled between the Cascade and Olympic Mountains.  Come learn about the coastal processes that shape the landforms we see, as well as glimpse the wide diversity of animals that the region supports.  We’ll assess several of the environmental indicators of health for the region and consider actions we can all take to leave a positive legacy of clean water, robust wildlife populations and natural areas that we can all enjoy.

For directions and more information on the MaST Center please visit http://mast.highline.edu/

Photo by Gary Purves

The NAME-Alaska team is hard at work planning an exciting conference in 2017!

Save the Date: August 7-11, 2017, Homer, Alaska

Please visit the conference page for more details about the conference, including presentations, lodging, and registration information.

Date: Saturday, January 28 – Sunday, January 29, 2017

Address: 5400 N Pearl St., Tacoma, WA

Cost: $30 NAME members & $40 Non-NAME members, if registered by January 13th.

Kids under 2 are free and kids under 10 are half price. All you have to do is e-mail: wmoses@highline.edu  to get your spot reserved and then pay at the door. Overnight fee is a donation to Washington NAME and pays for your dinner. Registration after January 13th or at the door is $40 member and $50 non-member.

Space is limited!! Please register before January 13th so we know you are coming!!

The Oregon Coast STEM Hub promotes integrated science, technology, engineering and math education and serves coastal teachers, students and communities.  It is one of six Regional STEM Hubs funded in 2014-2015 by the Oregon Department of Education.  The Oregon Coast STEM Hub is centered at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport and serves the entire Oregon coast region with partners.

This coast based STEM Hub is working to provide professional development for teachers and partners in effective practices focusing on STEM integration and Project Based Learning.  K-14 student experiences in the classroom and field are supported by providing connections to STEM professionals, equipment and resources to carry out STEM related activities and making opportunities to showcase student created designs and STEM projects.  This is all accomplished by created a network of resources, programs and professionals to support STEM learning for students that is housed on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub website which serves as a clearinghouse for connecting these community resources with schools.

NAME is already an official partner of the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, but we are looking to expand the network of available resources!  Learn how your organization can share STEM resources, events, and more to help foster student STEM experiences:  http://oregoncoaststem.oregonstate.edu/book/how-plug

The NAME-BC AGM was held on Saturday, December 4, 2016 at the Sidney branch of the Victoria Public Library from 1-4 pm. Thanks to everyone who made it to the meeting. We would like to welcome our new BC Co-Director, Cathy Carolsfeld!

Check back soon for meeting minutes and information on our goals and ideas for 2017!

Oregon Coast Quests is a place-based education program at Oregon Sea Grant that uses clue-directed hunts to get people outside exploring their communities.  All that is needed to go on a self-guided Quest is a pencil, a set of directions, and a sense of adventure!  Follow the directions, collect the clues, and find the hidden Quest box.  Sign the guest book, stamp your page to prove you made it, and then re-hide the box for the next person to discover.  Currently, there are 26 active Quests in Lincoln, Coos and Benton counties, and the directions can be found in The Oregon Coast Quests Book, 2013-2014 Edition (available for $10 at Powell’s Books and local retailers).  Nearly 6000 logs have been made in hidden boxes since 2007.

Questing is fun and educational for adults and children, residents and tourists, families and school groups, and other curious free-choice learners.    Some Quests focus on natural history, and lead along estuarine, sandy beach or coastal forest trails.  On other Quests, you might explore a downtown historic district, a pioneer cemetery, a working waterfront, or a fish hatchery.  Many Quests were made by park rangers, naturalists or educators, but 10 Quests were made by youth in school or afterschool programs.

Visit the Oregon Coast Quests website (http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/visitor/oregon-coast-quests) to learn more about the location and focus of each available Quest, locate a bookseller, learn about Quest-building workshops, download Sample Quests, and to obtain tips for Questing with school groups.