STEM Summer Institute 2026

August 3 • Monday
12:00 – 13:00 W Check-In and Badge Pick-Up
13:00 – 17:00 B Every Classroom, Every Subject: Building Data Literacy in Grades 2–8
Norm Hall

Speakers: Annette Brickley
13:00 – 17:00 B Math as a Lens for Our Stories: Cultivating Curiosity with Data (K-5)
Norm Hall

Speakers: Katrina Engeldrum
13:00 – 17:00 B Rooted in Relevance
Norm Hall

Speakers: Melissa Goretskie
17:30 – 19:00 W Welcome Reception
Museum of the Rockies (600 W Kagy Blvd, Bozeman, MT 59717)

August 4 • Tuesday
08:00 – 09:00 W Check-In, Breakfast and Exhibits Open
Norm Hall
09:00 – 10:15 W Keynote: Cultivating Expert Learners Not Just Expert Knowers
Norm Hall

Speakers: Valerie Otero
10:15 – 10:30 W Break and Transition to Sessions
TBA
10:30 – 11:30 R Increasing Classroom Efficiency with Generative AI Prompting
Norm Hall

Speakers: Mary Anne Skinner
10:30 – 11:30 R Mathematics as a Language: Building Numeracy That Powers STEM
Norm Hall

Speakers: Thelma Fernandez
10:30 – 11:30 R Rooted in Place: IEFA and Environmental Science
Norm Hall

Speakers: Connie Michael
10:30 – 11:30 R Spark Insight: Easy Data Science Integration for K-12 Educators
Norm Hall

Speakers: Lee Ellen Harmer
10:30 – 11:30 R TBD
Norm Hall

Speakers: Sam Massey, Diandra Lewis
11:30 – 12:45 L Lunch and Learn-Exploring OpenSciEd High School from Carolina
TBA
11:30 – 12:45 W Lunch and Visit Exhibitors
12:45 – 14:45 K AI for Inquiry: Designing Better Questions, Investigations, and STEM Challenges

Speakers: Jason Neiffer
12:45 – 14:45 K Patterns, Play, & Purpose

Speakers: Katrina Engeldrum
12:45 – 14:45 K Quantum Adventure

Speakers: Vryann James Sison
12:45 – 14:45 K Using the science of learning in STEM classrooms

Speakers: Jeannie Chipps
14:45 – 15:15 W Break and Visit Exhibitors
TBA
15:15 – 16:15 T NotebookLM as a Trusted STEM Companion
Norm Hall

Speakers: Vryann James Sison
15:15 – 16:15 T Plants and Culture: Science and Culture Tradition meet in the Classroom
Norm Hall

Speakers: Aislee Olmstead
15:15 – 16:15 T STEM-ulating Activities for People and the Planet
Norm Hall

Speakers: Corinne Day
15:15 – 16:15 T Student Led Consensus Building Using Student-Generated Data
Norm Hall

Speakers: Mary Webb
15:15 – 16:15 T Using "Pedagogical Tools" to Facilitate Model-Building Activities
Norm Hall

Speakers: Valerie Otero
15:15 – 16:15 T Wiring Curiosity to Career: Building UAS Pathways Through Hands-On STEM
Norm Hall

August 5 • Wednesday
08:00 – 08:30 W Check-in, Breakfast and Visit Exhibitors
TBA
08:30 – 10:30 W AI Playdate: 8:30 – 10:30 | AI Playdate: Practical Exploration for STEM Educators
Norm Hall
10:30 – 11:00 W Break and Last Chance to Visit Exhibitors
TBA
11:00 – 12:00 S Culture and Food

Speakers: Charla Lake
11:00 – 12:00 S Data Science Across K-12: Building Student Engagement and Future-Ready Skills

Speakers: Lee Ellen Harmer
11:00 – 12:00 S Explore Quantum Career Connections

Speakers: Jeannie Chipps, Molly Iversen
11:00 – 12:00 S Fire, Soil, and Sensemaking: Designing STEM Investigations That All Students Can Access

Speakers: Acer Pitas-Pilo
11:00 – 12:00 S Lessons from the Field: Building Your Own AI Literacy-Focused Community of Practice

Speakers: Connor Mulvaney
11:00 – 12:00 S STEM Opportunities in MSU's College of Letters & Science
12:00 – 13:00 W Lunch
TBA
13:00 – 14:00 W Panel Discussion/Lightning Rounds
Norm Hall
14:00 – 14:15 W Break and Transition to Breakout Sessions
None
14:15 – 15:15 N Empowering Students with AI: A free Resource for Educators

Speakers: Sierrah Paul
14:15 – 15:15 N Fire Ecology: Rapid Forest Assessment as a Tool for Monitoring Change
Norm Hall

Speakers: David Tuss, Suzi Taylor
14:15 – 15:15 N Geometry in the Montana Indigenous People's Culture

Speakers: Wendy Killebrew
14:15 – 15:15 N Integrating IEFA into Math - A Usable Lesson

Speakers: Bill Becker
14:15 – 15:15 N Introduction to Growing Plants In The Classroom, the Moon and Beyond

Speakers: Michael Walz