Now we have to add environmental connections and saving the planet to our current curriculum...Seriously? No Problem! Wow your students with fun lessons and exciting activities that not only connect to the real world, but in addition, show them how everything is interconnected. From recycling to humans' unique interactions with the environment, you will gain materials and information to enhance what you are already teaching by incorporating environmental science. This class directly addresses the current and upcoming standards.

Much of science necessitates the use of models; models are very useful in dealing with the various forms of science education. This course will focus on Earth and Environmental education models. Models Matter presents an overview of our home planet, from a geological perspective of changes in the atmosphere, water and rocks of Earth. Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, landslides, floods, life evolution, plate motions, and life cycles interactions-- all of these processes interact to sculpt the dynamic planet where we live today.

Any science experimenet can include engineering with just a small tweak. Join us for a fun course that has lots of engineering ideas to integrate into your existing science class activities. The NGSS stress the inclusion of engineering design in science classes. You are probably doing experiments in your science class that involve engineering such as flying paper airplanes, using ramps, testing bridges, and more. Explore engineering + science with resources that can help you expand your engineering knowledge. Develop or revise activities and experiments to use in your classroom. 

Explore forensics with numerous resources and website links that can help you expand your forensics knowledge and develop a unit to use in your classroom. how to set up, photograph and sketch a crime scene, identify fingerprints, analyze chromatography, extract DNA, analyze blood splatter, identify unknown powders, investigate hair, fiber and more!!

It is common knowledge that water exists in the solid, liquid, or gaseous state. However, many students struggle with the idea that all other compounds can change their state as well. By studying the chemical nature of what happens during a chemical change, participants will be able to expand their students' preconceptions concerning states of matter throughout the elements of the periodic table. 
 

At first glance, the periodic table may look like a simple storehouse for the 110+ elements in the known world. A more thorough look at its structure will reveal a series of "hidden" purposes for each element's placement within this table. Participants within this course will explore how a chemist uses the periodic table to identify both similar and different properties of the elements within each of their numerous families.
 

The chemical world is a never-ending cascade of compounds breaking bonds, forming new bonds with other atoms, and breaking apart once more. Knowledge of the atomic structure is key to understanding the true nature of how atoms interact. This course will expose participants to the dynamic nature of the subatomic world.
 
Graduate credit is available through UMKC ($50/credit hour) and Baker University ($65/credit hour). Each online course equals one credit hour. Payment made directly to University for credit. 

Understanding how we perceive the world around us allows us to understand our amazing senses better. Within this course, participants will explore each of the five senses and how they consist of organs with specialized cellular structures that have receptors for specific stimuli. In addition, through a chapter on special senses existing within organisms other than humans, the learners will expand their knowledge of this topic.
 

 Size is the single-most abstract concept that confuses both students and adults. The amazing connections between our cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems will be the topic of this course. However, it is not enough to be able to indentify a structure- its function must also be understood. You gain a better understanding of the structures and how they work.