I.A.S.T.A.  SCIENCE NEWS

A World We Can Change: A Clean Air Conference & Expo  for High School Students Thursday, May 27, 2010 Los Angeles Convention Center

 

  Register Now!

Science Teacher Leaders Professional Development Program

• Intensive (15 days/yr) program for high school science teacher
leaders with a minimum of 3 years classroom experience.
• Participants will enhance science content knowledge and
leadership skills.
• Participants will develop interdisciplinary inquiry-based science
lessons and projects.
• Lessons and projects will be standards-based, NASA-themed,
and inclusive of literacy development.
• Lesson and projects will be implemented in the Teacher’s
classroom.
• Opportunities to collaborate with CSU faculty, scientists, and
instructional coaches in curriculum development.
• Participating Teachers will receive a stipend of up to $3,000.

Who :

• high-school science teachers

What & When :

• NASA–inspired Professional Development

• Developing NASA–inspired Lesson Plans

• Summer 2010: June 28 - July 2 & Aug 9-13

How :

• web: http://csupomona.edu/~rmogul/nasaliftoff

• email: rmogul@csupomona.edu

• phone: 909.869.4309

• campus: Pomona/Chemistry Dept. (4/3-429)

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Cal Poly Pomona
Rakesh Mogul
Campus Director
rmogul@csupomona.edu
(909) 869-4309
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Dean Gilbert
Science Consultant
gilbert_dean@lacoe.edu
(562) 922-6896

 

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Please forward to teachers and leaders:

To Teachers and Educators,

Giant African snails are being used increasingly in science lessons in
schools. These snails are illegal in the continental United States because
they are highly invasive, and can cause extensive damage to important food
crops and other agricultural and natural resources. These snails can also
pose a risk to human health (for information, see http://www.cdc.gov<
http://www.cdc.gov/>, or call your state health department). The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is
interested in finding these snails, and encourages those using these
snails in classrooms, nature facilities or keeping them as pets to turn
them in voluntarily without fear of penalty.
If you have a giant African land snail, PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE IT INTO THE
ENVIRONMENT OR GIVE IT AWAY. Instead, report it to your State Department
of Agriculture (you will find this office listed under State government in
your phone book, or on the web at:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/npb/npbmemb.html#Members), or to the US
Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
office in your state (you will find this office in your state listed under
Federal or U.S. government in your phone book, or on the web at:
http://www.ceris.purdue.edu/napis/names/sphdXstate.html).
"Giant African land snail" is the common name used to describe any of
three snail species native to Africa and considered serious agricultural
pests in the United States. The giant African snail (Achatina fulica), the
giant Ghana tiger snail (Achatina achatina), and margies (Archachatina
marginata) are large, terrestrial snails that reach up to 20 cm (8 inches)
in length and 10 cm (4 inches) in maximum diameter. These snails are about
the size of an average-size adult fist. The brownish shell with darker
brown vertical stripes covers at least half the length of the snail.
Giant African snails have a voracious appetite. They are known to eat at
least 500 different types of plants, including peanut, beans, peas,
cucumbers, and melons. If fruits or vegetables are not available, the
snails will eat a wide variety of ornamental plants, tree bark, and even
paint and stucco on houses.

These snails also reproduce rapidly, laying as many as 100 to 400 eggs in
a single session. Snails contain both male and female reproductive organs,
and can lay up to 1,200 eggs per year.
There are alternative snail species that may be used with your science
curricula. Ideally, snails that you collect locally can be used to teach
about native fauna, and these can be used without a permit. Currently the
U.S. Department of Agriculture is reviewing permit procedures for exotic
mollusks for educational purposes on a state by state basis. For more
information on obtaining a permit, please visit
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/permits/plantpest/snails_slugs.html