General Information

GENERAL INFORMATION

About the 2019 California Science Education Conference

The California Science Education Conference is hosted and organized by the California Science Teachers Association (CSTA). The annual event takes place over 2 ½ days, Friday, 8:00 am -- Sunday, 1:00 pm. Over 2,000 science educators from around the state are expected to attend this year's conference. The CSTA Conference is well-known by science educators as the place to make connections, generate new ideas, energize their teaching, and learn, and grow as professionals.

This year, the California Science Education Conference will return to the San Jose Convention Center on October 18 – 20, 2019. CSTA is anticipating an attendance of approximately 1,800—2,100 educators. 2018/19 will be a pivotal year in the ongoing implementation of the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) in classrooms across California. The California State Board of Education is scheduled to take action to adopt instructional materials in K-8 on November 8-9, 2018 and the first operational statewide summative assessments for science will be launched in early 2019.

The goal of the California Science Education Conference is to give California science teachers an opportunity to grow professionally in order to improve student outcomes in and access to a high-quality science education. Teachers participating in the conference accomplish this by participating in hands-on, minds-on 90-minute workshops led by teacher leaders, professional developers, and organizations who offer programs and services to support high-quality science teaching and learning. Additionally, teachers have opportunities to participate in more in-depth learning experiences in three- and six-hour short courses. An additional fee is required to participate in a short course and fees vary by course depending on the amount of materials needed to produce the course. Field trips in the local area designed to provide unique science learning experiences are also available for an additional fee. Teachers enjoy exclusive and enriching experiences at science centers, in the natural world, and other venues. The conference is designed to provide multiple networking opportunities to help teachers build and enrich their professional network with the team of teachers they attend with as well as with teachers from across California. Teachers who attend the California Science Education Conference leave armed with new ideas, new learnings, new contacts, new resources, and refreshed and motivated to continue implementing the California Next Generation Science Standards in their classrooms and districts.

About CSTA

The California Science Teachers Association is a professional organization of science educators in California, whose mission is to promote high quality science education. CSTA advances this mission through its advocacy work in state level policy and legislative bodies; publishing a bi-monthly newsletter California Classroom Science; offering opportunities for members to connect and expand their professional network; and providing quality professional development opportunities to California's science educators.

Who Should Attend?

Classroom science teachers (Pre-K-12) science specialists, science coaches, district and county science coordinators, home school educators, preservice science teachers, university and college science teacher educators, and informal science educators.

Conference Location

The conference will be held at the San Jose Convention Center

What Is Included with Your Conference Registration?

Full conference registration includes access to all workshop and commercial workshop sessions (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, more than 150 in total), two general sessions (one on Friday morning and one on Sunday morning), admittance to the exhibit hall (open Friday and Saturday), and several focus speakers (Friday and Saturday).

Weekend only registration includes admittance to the events listed above that take place on Saturday and Sunday.

Ticketed Events

For an additional fee registrants may purchase tickets for fun and educational evening events, short courses, field courses, and the awards luncheon. Weekend only registrants may only purchase tickets for events on Saturday and Sunday.

On-Site Registration and Badge Pick-Up

Registration, located at the San Jose Convention Center, will be open during the following hours:
Thursday, October 17, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Friday, October 18, 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday, October 19, 7:00 am – 5:45 pm
Sunday, October 20, 7:30 am – 1:00 pm