Fifth Annual Mobile Laboratory Coalition Conference
JUNE 28 – JULY 1, 2009 – NEW HAVEN, CT
Conference Overview
Each year, stakeholders in the science education community come to the MLC Conference to share ideas and resources for addressing the diverse needs of students, teachers, and schools across the nation. The overarching goal of the meeting is to understand and promote best practices in mobile laboratory programs and related types of hands-on, inquiry-based science education outreach.
The MLC Conference will be held on June 28th -July 1st in New Haven, CT. The agenda includes plenary sessions, panel discussions, workshops and vehicle tours. Bioscience Explorations at Connecticut United for Research Excellence will be hosting this year’s conference.
Registration and Hotel Information
Register online at https://www.regonline.com/MLC5. We anticipate that registration until May 22nd will be $75; After May 22nd and on-site registration will likely be $100. The event is limited to 100 participants so be sure to register early!
We are in the final stages of blocking off a section of hotel rooms at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT. Finalized booking information will be sent out within the next couple of weeks.
Call for Workshop Presentations, Share-A-Thon Participants and Vehicle Tours
There are many different opportunities to participate in this year’s conference, and we encourage you to participate in as many different ways as possible. We welcome official submissions for:
• Program Share-A-Thon
• Curriculum Share-A-Thon
• Evaluation Share-A-Thon
• Workshop Presentations
• Mobile Laboratory Showcase
For more information please see the attached call for submissions. Please send all information requests, workshop proposals, Share-A-Thon submissions, and vehicle tour proposals by May 22, 2009 to:
Sarah Berke
Director, Bioscience Explorations
CURE
300 George Street, Suite 561
New Haven, CT 06511
203.777.8536
sberke@curenet.org
TO PARTICIPATE IN ONE OR MORE OF THE SHARE-A-THON’S
We will be offering three opportunities to highlight various aspects of your program(s) at the conference. We welcome you to participate in one or more of the following Share-A-Thons:
• Program Share-A-Thon: Sunday, June 28th from 7-9 pm.
Bring general program information, brochures, etc. to share
• Curriculum Share-A-Thon: Monday, June 29th from 4:45 – 5:45 pm.
Bring copies of your Program’s curricula to share
• Evaluation Data Share-A-Thon: Tuesday June 30th from 2:45 – 3:45 pm.
Bring evaluation data and measures to share
To participate in the Share-A-Thons, please send an e-mail message that includes your name, your organization, your contact information (email address, postal address, and phone number), and which Share-A-Thon(s) you will be participating in to Sarah Berke, sberke@curenet.org. All Share-A-Thon presenters must be registered attendees.
The deadline to submit for Share-A-Thons is May 22nd. You will be notified of the status of your submission by May 29th.
TO SUBMIT A WORKSHOP PROPOSAL
Proposals for presenting 60-minute long workshops are also welcome. Each workshop will be limited to 30 participants. Examples of relevant workshop topics include, but are not limited to:
• Sharing curriculum and learning resources
• Providing professional development for teachers
• Starting and growing a mobile science education program
• Using scientific equipment and consumables
• Acquiring private and public funding for mobile outreach
• Logistics of building an educational outreach vehicle
To apply to present a workshop, please send an e-mail message that includes your name, organization, e-mail address, postal address, phone number, workshop title, names of workshop presenters, and a workshop proposal limited to 250 works to Sarah Berke, sberke@curenet.org. Please also indicate if you would be willing to offer your workshop twice during the conference. All workshop presenters must be registered attendees. Information in this abstract will be used in the conference booklet.
The deadline to submit workshop proposals is May 22nd. You will be notified of the status of your submission by May 29th.
TO SHOWCASE YOUR MOBILE VEHICLE AT THE CONFERENCE
We welcome tours of your educational outreach vehicle at the conference. Mobile vehicles will be open for tours on Tuesday, June 30th from 2:30 – 5:00 pm. This is a wonderful way to network and see others programs first hand.
To apply to showcase your mobile laboratory at the conference, please send an e-mail message that includes your name, organization, e-mail address, postal address, phone number, vehicle dimensions, and time duration your vehicle will be present at the conference to Sarah Berke, sberke@curenet.org.
The deadline to submit an application to showcase your mobile vehicle is May 22nd. Due to limited spacing and monetary constraints, only five vehicles will be permitted at the conference. You will be notified of the status of your submission by May 29th.
Please feel free to pass this information along to anyone you feel may be interested!
Sarah Berke, Ph.D.
Director, BioBus Educational Programs
CURE, Inc.
300 George Street, Suite 561
New Haven, CT 06511
www.ctbiobus.org
Ph: 203.777.8747 ext 212
Fax: 203.777.8754
