NSTA Voices is the official podcast of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), designed to empower, celebrate, and connect one of the largest community of science educators in the world. From elementary school to the university level, the podcast brings members of the NSTA community together to share stories of innovation, advocacy, and the best of modern science instruction. No matter the conversation, NSTA Voices is a friendly space where no educator feels like they are on an island.
Dinosaurs Busting Out of the World’s Largest Children’s Museum
Send us Fan Mail When Joe Frederickson was four years old, his parents took him to see a certain dinosaur movie, and by his family’s account he spent it standing on his seat. Today he’s the lead paleontologist at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, where two 65-foot dinosaurs from a Wyoming dig site stretch right through the building. In this episode of our pre-Indianapolis series, NSTA Voices hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek talk with Joe and with Becky Wolf, the museum’s director of...
21 Oct 2026
Indy26 Pre-Con Podcast: Every Student in Science Class Is a Language Learner
Before you teach the word “mitochondria,” what if you let students point, draw, gesture, and talk their way toward the idea in whatever language they have? In this episode of our pre-Indianapolis series, NSTA Voices hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek talk with two educators from Taunton, Massachusetts: Liz Pawlowski, STEM director and former biology teacher, and Ji-Sun Hamm, a middle school science teacher. Their community includes many multilingual learners, and they’ve made it a mission ...
20 Oct 2026
The Road to Indy Runs Under the Track
Every morning, Jake Apollos turns off the street, drives under the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track, and pulls up to work. Not a bad commute for a former science teacher. In this episode of our pre-Indianapolis series, NSTA Voices hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek talk with Jake, Director of Education at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, about the day he stepped out of the classroom while still loving it, and what he built next: an education department from scratch for a museum tha...
8 Oct 2026
Indy26 Pre-Con Podcast: Two Hundredths of a Second - The Science of INDYCAR
This year's Indy 500 came down to two hundredths of a second. After 500 miles, the winner and the runner-up were separated by inches. So how does anyone even measure that, and what does it take to get a car there? In this first episode of our pre-Indianapolis series, NSTA hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek sit down with Mark Sibla, INDYCAR's Senior Vice President of Competition and Operations and keynote speaker at the NSTA Indianapolis Conference. Mark takes us under the hood of a sport w...
21 May 2026
Weathering the Storm: Science, Service, and the Shell Award
In this episode, recorded live at the NSTA conference in Anaheim, hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek sit down with Erica Carter, a middle school science teacher from Louisiana whose path to the classroom was anything but traditional. From 11 years in a hospital microbiology lab to an alt-cert entry into teaching — right in the wake of COVID — Erica shares how life experience shaped her into a uniquely compelling educator. She opens up about living through Hurricane Ida, the disruptio...
11 May 2026
I Didn't Know My Students Could Do That: The Power of Performance Tasks in Science
What if your science assessment could also be your most powerful teaching tool — and it was completely free? In this episode, recorded on the final day of the NSTA Anaheim conference, hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek sit down with Deborah Atwell of the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Aneesha Badrinaryan, founder of ABG Learning and Assessment, to explore the ATLAS Task Bank — California's open, free repository of over 1,350 K-12 science performance tasks built around rea...
19 Apr 2026
From 55-Gallon Drums to Bedazzled Goggles: How Flinn Scientific Is Redefining Hands-On Science
What does a company approaching its 50th anniversary look like when it refuses to stay stuck in the past? In this episode, recorded live on the exhibit floor at the NSTA Anaheim conference, hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek sit down with Mason Schoolcraft, head of product and sourcing at Flinn Scientific, to explore how a company that started by making chemistry classrooms safer has grown into a full-service hands-on learning partner for educators at every level. From a disposal guide for...
17 Apr 2026
The Urgent Truth About Science Education Advocacy — And Why We Can't Wait
Science teacher vacancies are approaching 17% nationwide — and almost nobody is talking about it. In this episode, recorded live on the exhibit floor at the NSTA Anaheim conference, hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek sit down with James Brown, Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition and NSTA policy advisor, and Juan Carlos Agular, Director of Innovative Programs and Research for the Georgia Department of Education, to dig into one of the most underreported crises in Americ...
17 Apr 2026
Data Overload to Data Literacy- Navigating the Zetabyte Era
Recorded live from the NSTA conference in Anaheim, this episode features Zarek Drozda and Hannah Kurzwell from Data Science for Everyone — a national initiative working to bring data literacy into K–12 classrooms across every subject area. We dig into what "data science" actually means for students (hint: it's not about becoming a data scientist), why the ability to think critically about data matters more than ever in an AI-saturated world, and how science educators can start building ...
16 Apr 2026
Ana26 Pre-con Podcast: Building the Future of STEM with AEOP
In this episode, we welcome Donna Burnett, Executive Director of the K-12 University Center at RIT, to discuss the transformative work of the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). Moving beyond simple skill-building, Donna highlights how AEOP fosters a national STEM workforce by focusing on the "human element" - helping students from elementary school to postdoctoral levels find their authentic career fit. We dive deep into STEM Foundations, an innovative initiative born out of the pandem...
6 Apr 2026
Ana26 Pre-con Podcast: More Than Disney - Your Insider's Guide to Anaheim
There's Disney — and then there's Anaheim. Join us as Scott Oklin, Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Anaheim, takes us beyond the resort district to the hidden speakeasies, authentic churro trucks, vibrant cultural markets, and unexpected neighborhood gems that make this city worth staying one more night. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned conference-goer, this episode will have you planning your itinerary before you ever board the plane.
1 Apr 2026
Ana26 Pre-con Podcast: You Get Out What You Put In - The Future of Science Teaching Is Already Here
The next generation of science educators has arrived — and they are ready. In this episode, hosts Andrew Kuhn and Patrice Semicek welcome Laci Hoover and Jeremy Gruver, two senior education majors from Shippensburg University, for a candid conversation about what it actually means to step into a classroom in 2026. From building real relationships with students in just eight weeks to competing with TikTok through hands-on science inquiry, Laci and Jeremy offer a refreshing, ground-level view o...
26 Mar 2026
Ana26 Pre-Con Podcast: Preparing Students for the "Wicked Problems" of the Future
This episode of NSTA Voices is part of the NSTA Anaheim Pre-Conference Series. In this episode, NSTA President-elect Donna Governor discusses the urgent shift needed to move science education into a "future-ready" era. Drawing from a career that spans 40 years - ranging from the days of five-inch floppy disks to the age of AI—Donna explains why science must be more than a 20-minute-a-day afterthought or a reading comprehension exercise. She explores the concept of "wicked problems" - complex,...
16 Mar 2026
Ana26 Pre-Con Podcast: Finding Your Science Community
This episode of NSTA Voices is part of the NSTA Anaheim Pre-Conference Series. Discover why NSTA Conferences are the ultimate "refilling station" for educators. Retiring NSTA president Dr. Alicia Conerly joins the podcast to discuss breaking down professional hierarchies and finding a safe space to celebrate the value of science education. From first-timer webinars to high-energy general sessions, learn how to navigate networking and turn "sit-and-get" professional development into an active,...
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