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1. Southern Exposure
Visit McNeally Conservatory, an authentic neo-tropical rainforest and explore relationships between plants and animals and the importance of sustainable agriculture. Tropical Encounters takes guests on an adventure through a Central and South American rainforest and hundreds of plants and animals through the eyes of experienced Minnesotan field researchers. Guests encounter such animals as freshwater stingrays, giant river turtles, frogs, toads, fish, free-roaming birds, an anaconda and Chloe the sloth. Plants that provide medicine for indigenous people of the forest and are studied in modern medicine are exhibited. After lunch explore the Como Zoo using the newly created self-guided tour and learn about animal behavior, natural history, and conservation and how to integrate this experience into curriculum.
Grade level: K - 12
Interest areas: Science
Limited to 55 participants
$89; lunch is included
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2. Minnesota Ambition: Conquering the wilderness and the wheat
Take a trip back in history to 1880's Minneapolis! Explore the Mill City Museum and rise and fall of the milling industry. Visit the restored Washburn Mill which was the most technologically advanced and largest flour mill in the world. The Washburn Mill closed in 1965 and was nearly destroyed by fire in 1991. Working through the Minneapolis Community Development Agency, the city cleaned up the rubble and fortified the charred walls of the mill in the late 1990s. From Mill City your journey continues at Fort Snelling, which guarded the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers following the Revolutionary War and the Louisiana Purchase and through the Dakota Conflict in 1862. Costumed docents reenact life at this outpost as living history.
Grade level: K-12
Interest areas: Social Studies
Limited to 55 participants
$89; lunch is provided
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3. Empire Builders and their homes
Rugged stone, massive scale, fine detail of the James Hill House and ingenious mechanical systems recall the powerful presence of James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railway. Tour the Gilded Age mansion completed in 1891, the setting of the public and private lives of the Hill family and James J. Hill, the empire builder and visionary. Then make a call on Anna Ramsey, wife of the first territorial governor, at St. Paul's Ramsey House. Guides dressed as her servants may even surprise you with a tour of the Victorian home and some fresh cookies. Enjoy a glimpse into family and servant life in the 1870s. From here journey onto the Minnesota History Center for lunch and a guided tour of the genealogical archives, the MN A-Z exhibit, the boxcar and other hands-on displays. Get resources on how to build primary source document files.
Grade level: K - 8
Interest areas: Social Studies
Limited to 55 participants
$89; lunch is provided
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4. Modelling two magnets: capitol Hill Magnet program at salem hills gifted and talented magnet school and athemeum gifted elementary school
This action lab includes visits a gifted and talented magnet school and a full time magnet program where participants will discover the potential a full time magnet program can unleash. Capitol Hill Magnet School is a St. Paul Public Schools 2006 Blue Ribbon School serving 1056 academically gifted students grades 1-8. At Capitol Hill Gifted Magnet School participants will join classrooms to observe learners in the classroom using the Parallel Curriculum Model. Following the classroom visits, the teachers will meet with the participants to answer questions and share reflections about their own journey with the Parallel Curriculum Model, teaching and the impact of this model and the program on their students.
Part 2 of the action lab takes place at Athenueum Magnet Program. Atheneum Magnet Program at Salem Hills Elementary School serves gifted students in grades 2-5. Participants learn and experience our program in action. Sessions cover the overall program design and provide insight into the program administration and management in addition to a comprehensive look at the current identification system. Participants visit classrooms and experience the rigor of the curriculum and instruction.
Grade level: Grade K-8
Interest area: All subject areas
Limited to 55 participants
$69; lunch is included- Full Day Lab
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5. Dimensions Academy and Javits Program in Action
Dimensions Academy, a program for profoundly gifted children will host the first half. Participants will be given an overview of how the program was developed, curricular aspects and the social / emotional component. A visit to various classrooms to see the students in action as well as conversations with the teachers and building administration is planned. Dimensions Academy was developed using NAGC Program Standards. The William & Mary curriculum is used extensively in the program as is the work of Michael Clay Thompson.
Northeast Middle School (NEMS) is a student-centered 6-8 Middle Grade Program-International Baccalaureate Candidate school and a focal site for the MPS Javits Grant. Participants observe demonstrations of the Javits Grant's Catalyst High Potential Strategies Project for middle grades. They will be offered a choice of class(es) in which to observe the strategies in action including an English, math, science or social studies class and an interdisciplinary AVID class. Participants are invited to meet with NEMS teachers to discuss the unique, embedded professional development design of the Project.
Grade level: Grade K-8
Interest area: Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts
Limited to 30 participants
$69; lunch is included- Full Day Lab
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6. The Lighthouse Program for Insatiable Learners
Enter the lighthouse which provides a rich educational experience for students in grades 4-12, that matches the curriculum to the needs of the insatiable learner. This program is part of Spring Lake Park School District 16's alternative learning center and was established in 2003 for those students seeking success in an alternative setting. Participants will hear a brief history of the program and be introduced to some of the key players whose efforts were necessary to see this dream become reality. Action Lab attendees rotate through a series of student led programs and demonstrations showing important aspects of the program such as Problem Based Learning, Integration of AP and other advanced high school curriculum, Technology Supported Learning, Service Learning, and Subject specific supplementation. Participants discuss the programs, selection process, curriculum, and national and state standards with teachers, students, and administrators.
Grade level: Middle School/High School
Interest area: All subject areas
Limited to 30 participants
$49; lunch is on your own
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7. Senstivity and inspiration: Effectively educating gifted gay, lesbian, bisexual transgender (GLBT) youth
Participants can learn, from students and educators in three long-established Twin Cities programs serving many gifted gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth, how these programs meet these adolescents' intellectual, academic, creative, leadership, social, and emotional needs. Attendees will experience tours, panel discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and student artistic performances, courtesy of Minnesota's State High School for the Arts, St. Paul Schools' Out for Equity school- support program, and Minneapolis' District 2002 GLBT-youth community center.
Grade level: High School
Interest area: creativity, performing arts, and leadership
Limited to 30 participants
$49; lunch is on your own
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8. Exploring Science in minnesota
Spend a day exploring the Science Museum of Minnesota and The Bakken Library and Museum. These innovative museums support the educational community, providing exceptional exhibits in science and technology as well as rigorous programming for schools. The Science Museum has a comprehensive science and technology focus, permanent and special focus exhibits and an Omni Theater. The Bakken (founded by the creator of the cardiac pacemaker) gives special attention to the role of electricity in human health. A guided tour will be provided of the artifacts of innovation and invention [at the Bakken]. Beautiful settings for each museum on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River and along the shore of Lake Calhoun.
Grade level: Middle School/High School
Interest area: STEM
Limited to 30 participants
$89; lunch is included
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| 9. LifeScience Alley tours
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are hotbeds of innovation and the home of leading life science companies, including Cargill and General Mills. We will visit two of the innovation icons which were founded here: 3M and Medtronic. We begin with a guided tour of the Hall of Products at 3M featuring the wide array of products that 3M has developed. Stop by the Company Store and load up on Post It Notes. Then we will visit 3M's Innovation Center, showing the processes used to create these and future products. Next stop will be Medtronic where the first cardiac pacemaker was created. A guided tour will highlight the company's past and show why it is now the leader in electrotherapeutic innovation.
Grade level: Middle School/High School
Interest area: STEM and career guidance
Limited to 30 participants
$89; lunch is included
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10. An Art-filled Day
ArtsConnectEd is internationally recognized web site designed to provide access to the combined collections and educational resources of the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to teachers and their students. The interactive features of ArtsConnectEd include tools for viewing and constructing thematic learning objects. Educators from both museums will introduce the Art Collector feature of the site in which teachers and students can make their own customized art collections or copy pre-made collections on interdisciplinary topics. Ideas developed by museum staff and participants for integrating Visual Arts across the curriculum will be explored. In addition, participants will be introduced to the Visual Thinking Strategies, and inquiry-based teaching method while touring the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker.
Grade level: K -12
Interest area: Arts
Limited to 40 participants
$89; lunch is included
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11. Artful Children: Minnesota's Children's Museum and children's theater
Interest Areas: science and performing arts
Participants explore hands-on activities with particular focus on developmentally appropriate practices and outcomes in the areas of math, science, art, and health and fitness for early childhood. The action lab allows participants direct experience with props/materials used within various activities. Each area includes science concepts and vocabulary, science area ideas, sensory area ideas, classroom activities, bibliography, and family science activities. The national standards for the described action lab include abilities to do scientific inquiry, properties of objects and materials, position and motion of objects, properties of earth materials, objects in the sky, and abilities of technological design.
Grade level: Pre K-3
Interest area: science and performing arts
Limited to 55 participants
$89; lunch is included
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