Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Wonder is in Our Nature®

Science Teaching Network

Partner with Nature Museum educators and scientists to incorporate real-world science, authentic learning opportunities, and unique resources into your classroom instruction.

Teachers in Grades 1-2, Grades 4-5, and Grades 6-8 are invited to join the Nature Museum’s 2023 Science Teaching Network, a grant-funded teacher professional development program focused on best practices in science instruction, the Next Generation Science Standards, and locally-relevant nature and science topics.

Jump To: Program Highlights | Summer Institute Choices | Registration | Feedback

Science Teaching Network Program Highlights

  • Attend a Summer Institute at the Nature Museum to explore an NGSS-aligned curriculum and make connections to local ecosystems.
  • Receive an NGSS-aligned nine-lesson unit with all curriculum and implementation materials.
  • Take a fully-funded field trip to the Nature Museum and receive a bus reimbursement.
  • Observe one Nature Museum educator-taught lesson in your classroom.
  • Participate in three Saturday PD workshops to support curriculum implementation, reflection on science teaching practices, and teacher collaboration (September, November, January).
  • Earn a stipend of up to $200 and up to 36 professional development clock hours.

Science Teaching Network Summer Institute Choices

Grades 1-2

July 31-August 3
Perplexing Plants

What is this plant and how did it get here? Explore plants, what they need to survive in one place, and how they might get to a new location.

NGSS: 2-LS2-2, 2-LS2-1, 1-LS3-1

Grades 4-5

July 17-20
Woodland Breakdown

What’s happening in the woodland? Explore how organisms of all sizes, from fungi to frogs, get the matter and energy they need for survival.

NGSS:4-LS1-2, 5-LS2-1, 5-PS3-1

Grades 6-8

July 10-12
Biodiversity Disrupted *

*Updated for 2023!
How can we tell if an ecosystem is healthy? Explore the work of conservation scientists at the Nature Museum and evaluate the impacts of human activities on Chicago’s woodland biodiversity.

NGSS: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4, MS-ESS3-3

How to Apply

To participate, teachers must apply and be selected to enroll. Priority is given to teams of two or more teachers in historically under-resourced schools. Each teacher must submit a separate application. Application deadline is June 9, 2023. Click the button below to get started.

Application form

If you have any questions, please e-mail teacherprograms@naturemuseum.org.

Science Teaching Network Teacher Feedback

I love how we were able to connect everything we learned to real life by bringing kids here on a field trip!

I loved that by the end of the unit, students WERE scientists. They were using scientific words they were exposed to and speaking the scientific language in discussions. It really gave them independence and sparked their creativity.

The program breaks the NGSS down in an easy to understand way and shows teachers how to apply them in lessons that are hands on and engaging.

I enjoyed listening to the scientists share their knowledge and their work. ‘Science’ doesn’t seem so abstract to me anymore.

I learned to collaborate and work with teachers from another school. The partnership we created gave me the confidence I needed to become more comfortable teaching science.