Stay up to date on coronavirus coverage: Listen to WMFE on your radio, the WMFE mobile app or your smart speaker — say “Alexa, play NPR” or “WMFE” and you’ll be connected.

The University of Florida’s “Scientist in Every Florida School” program will place scientists in K-12 classrooms in Escambia, Alachua, Seminole, Lee, and Palm Beach Counties.

At Teague Middle School in Altamonte Springs, UF PhD candidate in paleontology Jeanette Pirlo will visit eighth grade teacher Chelsea Holloway’s science class. 

ATTN: #FL Ts! #ScientistsinFLSchools Program Monthly Webinar Series: Featuring scientists highlighting how to connect their research w/ your classroom thru the lens of the nature of science.

Monday, September 30, 2019 at 7 PM – 7:30 PM
Join us: https://t.co/CwZKQED9uQ pic.twitter.com/5iZw1B22HI

— Stephanie Killingsworth (@mrsK_IBSCI) September 11, 2019

The Education Desk spoke with Pirlo about how students will get to participate in “micro-digs” on soil samples from her excavation in Williston. She says they’ll look for fossils of smaller mammals that lived alongside the larger prehistoric elephants she studies.

Hollaway got to visit Pirlo’s lab during a four-day professional development workshop in July. She’ll incorporate this earth systems science into her lesson plans for the year.

We encourage K-12 FL Ts tune in and join us for a free virtual Q&A with Augspurg on Sept. 20, 2019 from 1:00-1:30 p.m. as he discusses w/ peers how they can use their passions to advocate for science, justice & a healthy environment. 4 link Email: rlburton@floridamuseum.ufl.edu pic.twitter.com/Gx0gpjTmTq

— Stephanie Killingsworth (@mrsK_IBSCI) September 11, 2019

In January science teachers from around the state will participate in the Seminole County Environmental Studies Center’s “Scientist in Every Florida School” summit. They’ll complete a condensed, one-day version of this workshop.

The “Scientist in Every Florida School” program is part of UF’s moonshot initiative. It’s aimed at solving Florida’s most pressing problems including a shortage of students pursuing careers in STEM.

For more information on the “Scientist in Every Florida School” program, click on the link. 

If you’d like to listen to the interview, click on the clip above.

Education reporting on 90.7 News is supported by Helios Education Foundation.