13 school days til summer ... and San Diego Summer Teacher Conservation Workshop

Has anyone else started their summer countdown yet? :)


It has been a busy school year and my classes went great. We did so many fun labs and activities but I just did not have extra time or energy to post about them all. I am hoping next school year I will be able to make more time to blog.


I wanted to share some great news though, I got accepted to the 2014 Summer Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. I am so excited and can't wait! Not only will I get to travel to California for the first time ever, I get to see and experience San Diego Safari Park. I am a huge fan of zoos (I have a goal to visit at least one in every state and so far have been to 15 zoos in 10 states). I'm so excited for the opportunity to experience San Diego and learn info to bring back to my classroom. We'll be sleeping in tents at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and learning about all kinds of topics. Here is the topic list they sent us:

Recovery of the California Condor

• Pedigree analysis

• Karyotypes

• Polymerase Chain Reaction

• Gel electrophoresis

• Captive breeding program management

• Reintroduction biology

• Radio telemetry

The Bushmeat Crisis

• DNA sequencing

• Phylogenetics

• BLAST

Reproductive Endocrinology

• Reproductive physiology

• Enzyme immunoassay

Climate Change and the Polar Bear

• Animal behavior and behavior modification

• Human impacts on climate

• Applied research on denning behavior

Life in a Biodiversity Hotspot

• Biodiversity of Southern California

• Field Methods

Spatial Ecology

• Introduction to GPS and Google Earth

• Analysis of spatial data

• Conservation program management

Global Amphibian Decline

• Wildlife disease

• Human impacts on biodiversity

The Value of Biodiversity

• Introduction to biodiversity

• Intrinsic and utilitarian importance of biodiversity

Science as Inquiry

• Intro to guided inquiry investigations

• Intro to open inquiry investigations

While in San Diego, I'm going to stay a few extra days to experience other parks, including the San Diego Zoo and maybe Sea World if time/money allows. I'll make sure to post pictures and how it went after my trip!


Enjoy these last few weeks of school until summer. I know this trip is my well-earned reward for a busy school year, I hope all of my teacher friends find a way to reward themselves and relax too :)