Science in the Rockies Buzz Hear what teachers have to say about Science in the Rockies

”About 150 teachers experienced a training workshop late last week and learned to be exactly that kind of teacher through Steve Spangler’s Science in the Rockies 2011. I attended the workshop as a guest observer to get to see first-hand what was behind everything that I had heard about this teacher workshop.

Steve Spangler, a former science teacher himself, has taken his unique combination of boyish inquisitiveness and professional expertise and packaged it into a humor-laced, digestible format for his teaching peers.

Over the course of two days I watched teachers evolve from that first day, I-don’t-know-you-people-body-language to full-on belly laughing – showing real evidence they were not just feeling like kids, they were learning like kids.

These teachers swung tubes over their heads, made ginormous windbags out of Diaper Genie refills, walked on glass, and built potato guns. (No, that is not a type-o. I said “potato gun” and “teachers” in the same sentence.) Those were only some of the 75 kid-tested, teacher-approved science activities covered in Spangler’s standard, and approved, curriculum.

Science in the Rockies shows teachers how to use proven best practices and teaching strategies in combination with some amazing experiments to make science more exciting, more engaging, more interactive and more meaningful to teachers and students.

Extra credit goes to Spangler for not pushing a sales pitch on merchandise and materials. As a matter of fact, he goes out of his way to tell you how to find stuff on a teacher’s budget, and openly shares his recipes.

If you love what you see as much as I do, then maybe have a chat with your PTO or PTA about raising funds for a few teachers to attend, or invite him to your district’s professional development day.

You’ll have a gas! Pun totally intended. “
— Karin Piper from Denver, Colorado

”I got the DVD today and watched every scene! You people really know how to put "excellence" in absolutely EVERY aspect of EVERY thing you do! You blow me away!!“
— Jan from Crawford, Colorado

”This has been great! It is like Christmas every time we come back to the table! Thank you!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I can see my class oohing & aahing this year. I'm excited about school even after 34 years...“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”It was more than I could have imagined or hoped for. I'm totally pleased. This has kept my attention the entire time!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”Not only provided great activities but also taught us how to introduce the concepts & ask the right questions to promote inquiry. Great, friendly, helpful staff!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”This has been so much fun! I learned so much to share with my students. One of the neatest things is that I received so many of the supplies that I need to use in my classroom. I can take what I learned & apply it right away. This has been the best conference I have ever attended! (18 years)“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I hope to be back or see you on the Alaska Cruise in 2011.“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”Everything was great! It was the best seminar/workshop I have been to since becoming a teacher (4 years of teaching). I recommend that all new teachers go to this workshop! Thank you! “
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”Thank you for all the wonderful activities. Very educational. Kiddos "get it" with the activities that help explain difficult concepts.“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I had an awesome time! I can't wait to get back to school and share what I've learned!!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”Steve you're absolutely wonderful and so is your team. Everything flows so smoothly. I have never had so much fun in my life! I feel like a kid again. Keep it coming!!!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”Thanks for the fantastic organization of materials and all of the fun activities! I'm so amazed at the price of your conference with all of the supplies we receive. I attend conferences for $700 and receive only a DVD!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”The Spangler Staff here do a great job. Thanks for your hard work to make this such a great conference. AWESOME!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I am loving how we interact & use everything plus having a way to revisit on the site. You're modeling such good teaching. “
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”The literacy connections are fabulous for connecting science and reading. I like that you give options for making supplies.“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I was blown away. Thank you or helping me "believe" I am a scientist.“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I love the team - work well together & I bet you can't wait to get to work each day.“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”Everything was excellent! I haven't learned so much since my college science 6 years ago. My mind is only 1/2 full =)!“
— Teacher from SITR 2010

”I attended Science in the Rockies 2009 and loved it! I wanted to share with you a quick slideshow of all the science we are doing here at my school. I have primarily preschool age children and 1 kindergarten class. I now show this slideshow during open house and job fairs. Unfortunately, my powerpoint presentation was too large to email so you can't hear the cool music, but this slideshow shows the great pictures we captured.

Your workshop truly changed how we do science here! I loved every minute of the workshop this past summer. “
— Heather from Virginia Beach

”I attended Science in the Rockies in the summer of 2007. It was awesome! Yesterday, for Halloween, we made worms with my class and the other third grade at my school. The kids loved it. We had 42 kids in one room, under control, and loving Science. Most of the kids poured out the water and took their worms home in the cup to see what would happen. I even talked to some parents last night trick or treating with their kids and they were all enthused. It was great fun and perfect for Halloween Science. (I did use 2 ½ packages of worm activator and ¾ of a bottle of worm goo for 42 kids.)“
— Teri from

”We (there were five of us from the gifted program for middle school science education in Houston County, Georgia) are ALL using the many incredible hands-on labs and “hooks” that you and your staff shared at Science in the Rockies. After 27 years of teaching and attending workshops, all the training I’ve received pales in comparison to the extraordinary workshop that you and your staff conducted.“
— Peggy from

”I am still on cloud 9 about the conference. I shared “almost” all of the experiments with my team preschool-teachers (I have to save something up my sleeve to dazzle them at another training!). The literacy connection is very useful for us in the early childhood education field; the combination of science and literacy helps us achieve new NAEYC curriculum standards. Thanks again for a great experience!“
— Nan from

”I just finished sharing all my new knowledge and stuff with my co-workers at the pre-school where I work. So now we are all excited to start introducing science concepts to our kid. Thanks again for a wonderful experience. I can not stop talking about how much fun I had and how impressed I was with your organization and wonderful staff. I especially liked the connections with literature and science. Keep up the good work.“
— Dianna from

”The “Science in the Rockies” workshop was awesome, and it was a lot of fun! I had a great time and learned so much. I have been showing my children all of the fun experiments, and I can’t wait until the fall to show it to my students! Thanks for everything!“
— Marina from

”My fifth graders were SO EXCITED when they saw all the new Science materials I brought home from “Science in the Rockies”. We go to the first grade classroom once a week and have a time of reading and mentoring. We shared the story, “Put Me In The Zoo” with the “magic red thumb”. We had the first graders “hooked” immediately. They can’t wait for us to come back to their classroom and honestly the fifth graders can’t wait to go. Thank you for new ideas, materials, and enthusiasm for teaching!!!!!!!!!!!!!!“
— Teresa from

”Be warned, there are going to be many, many posts exclaiming how wonderful this conference is and how it is definitely worth your time to go and it’s 110% true! Not only will your head and suitcase explode with knowledge and materials, you’ll also leave with a great feeling knowing you met some of the most interesting and nicest people you’ll ever come across. Never have I been to a conference where people are so accomodating and friendly! I’m taking the positive vibes and all the neat science stuff with me to use in my classroom and of course my life. Keep that great science spirit alive!“
— Alyssa from

”I haven’t stopped talking about what I learned since I returned to Missouri. Yesterday at our district convocation, I connected with a high school chemistry teacher (I teach kindergarten). I’m excited to explore the possibilities! I presented the “Halloween” type activities to my team and we’ve decided that we’ll do science stations in our rooms for our October party. We’ll get parents to teach the stations and our four classes will move from room to room. I can’t wait to start school and share the lessons with my students. Thanks for a wonderful 3 days!!“
— Barb from

”The conference was outstanding! I have already shared many of the ideas with fellow teachers trying to set up classrooms. They have laughed at my excitement and gladly taken the experiments that better fit their curriculum. I had to redo my cabinets to fit all the new supplies - THANKS! Our principal loved the potato launcher - I took it to school with potatoes and she was having fun in the parking lot. We already have plans for me to share things at our first staff meeting (including “setting up” one of our teachers with the air bags). The principal wants others to go to the conference next year too. Again, thank you to ALL the great staff for a fun and professional conference!“
— Sarah from

”Science in the Rockies was an unforgettable experience! My two boys are experimenting with all of the fun new science stuff! Steve and his staff are fantastic and I can’t wait to share all of the new things with my new students. How lucky are we to teach the greatest subject on Earth?? Thanks again Steve and staff!“
— Kim from

”Steve - The conference last week was the most amazing educational experience I have ever had! My boxes arrived last night and I can’t wait to take to school and redo our science room. I was watching a channel 9 video from the conference last year. One of the experiments used a plastic trash can (spackle bucket?) with something stretched over the open end. A teacher hit this clear material with a stick that had a ball on the end to create air flow that knocked a paper cup off of another teacher’s head? Obviously, I want to know more about that one! Many thanks.“
— Petie from

”I can’t wait to use the vacuum bag experiment. Best of all, most of the students are small enough to fit into our extra large garbage sacks — after I first get permission from our custodian to raid the janitorial closet, again. Now, which end of the kid goes into the bag first??? : ) Steve, I have gotten the best ideas from you and I’m so glad I stumbled across your pod cast about three years ago.“
— Bart from

”It’s great to see there’s teachers with just as much (or even more) enthusiasm for Science as there ever was, just a pity there’s so little time to teach it in school. This training is such an excellent experience - your team does a great job at providing teachers with ideas to integrate science into other teaching. I really missed being there this year, but like all the movies, there should be a sequel and I hope you’ll be putting on a Science In The Rockies 2 next year!!“
— Sue from

”Dear Steve, I recently attended your workshop at the Marriott on Union. I throughly enjoyed it. My job as a Science interventionist is to make science and the scienctific inquiry process accessible and exciting to elementary students. The Steve Spangler experience fits exactly into what i am trying to accomplish with my students. Let them handle the discovery and then take that experience into further questioning to achieve the facts. Thank you for the wonderful and informative experience.“
— Judith from Goldrick Elementary in Denver, CO