Read on to learn more about our current Focus Workshops, or visit our Past Focus Workshops page to learn more about past offerings!
Circuit and Coding Basics for Educators
Location: The Berkshire Science Commons at Berkshire Community College (Pittsfield, MA)
Dates: Friday December 12, 2025 & Saturday December 13, 2025 (8:30 AM-3:30 PM ET)
Bring curiosity and creativity into your classroom with this interactive workshop designed to make beginner computer science approachable for both teachers and students – through an exploration of circuitry and coding. Designed for middle and high school educators, this two-day program blends hands-on activities with practical strategies so you can see how these skills connect directly to student learning. Major takeaways will include: learning how circuits work, practice with coding, creating circuit diagrams, and brainstorming your own project. You’ll gain an understanding of coding basics using accessible tools like TinkerCAD and CodeKit. Along the way, you’ll discover how Arduino can power creative, student-driven projects. By the end of the workshop, you’ll walk away with not only a strong understanding of circuit and coding essentials, but also a classroom-ready project and lesson plan to engage your students in problem-solving and STEM exploration.
Collaborating Partner: Berkshire Science Commons
Cost: $350 per educator; $325 per educator if attending in a team of 3 or more educators from the same school or district.
14 PDPs are available without graduate credit.
22.5 PDPs and 1 optional graduate credit from Cambridge College/Bay Path University is available for an additional $75. Graduate credit requires additional work.
*This Focus Workshop will provide you with a take-home materials kit that can be used to implement and design engaging activities learned from the workshop.
A Matter of Scale: Earth’s Cosmic Coordinates
Location: The EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature (Worcester, MA)
Dates: Friday January 30, 2026 & Saturday January 31, 2026 (8:30 AM-3:30 PM ET)
Join us for this two-day Focus Workshop designed for grades 3-8 educators, where you will launch into an exploration of the Earth’s place in the universe, among the other billions of galaxies. Through hands-on activities, planetarium explorations, and classroom-ready investigations, you’ll explore the scale of the universe, model our solar system, dive into the life cycles of stars, and much more. Along the way, you’ll uncover strategies to deepen guided-inquiry in your classroom while connecting Earth’s place to the larger story of science. Hosted at the EcoTarium, this workshop blends content knowledge with practical teaching tools, leaving you inspired. The workshop will culminate with the creation of a Supernova paint model.
The Wade Institute instructors weave art, phenomena, and the Science and Engineering Practices into the science concepts explored. You will leave the workshop with more tools to explore and teach a subject that young and curious Earthlings are eager to learn.
Collaborating Partner: The EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature
Cost: $300 per educator; $275 per educator if attending in a team of 3 or more educators from the same school or district.
14 PDPs are available without graduate credit.
22.5 PDPs and 1 optional graduate credit from Cambridge College/Bay Path University is available for an additional $75. Graduate credit requires additional work.
