Science Education and Outreach

A key objective of the Botanical Society of America is to sustain and provide improved formal and informal education about plants. The Society offers diverse programs and resources to promote the teaching and learning about plants and careers in plant science.

Special Announcements

New Resource:

A new movie from the University of Florida: TreeTender highlights the importance of biodiversity to all of us. The movie captures the amazing scope of the story of the Tree of Life, that humans are just one small part of that Tree, and how serious the current threats are to the health of the Tree of Life. Protecting biodiversity is in our hands and we can and should work together to make a difference.

Featured Sites

Botanical Accuracy - www.botanicalaccuracy.com/

PlantED - BSA's Digital Library - http://planted.botany.org/

Programs and Opportunities

Online Science Mentorship Program
PlantingScience.org is an inquiry and science mentorship program led by the BSA that brings together students, plant scientists, and teachers from across the nation. Students engage in hands-on plant investigations in their classrooms and collaborate online with peers and scientist mentors, building their understanding of science through first-hand experience and expert guidance. For scientist mentors, the program offers an outreach opportunity to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for plants with high school students and teachers.

Increasing Diversity at the Annual BSA Meeting
Travel grants for undergraduates to attend the Botany meetings are available. Learn more about Preparing Leaders and Nurturing Tomorrow's Scientists (PLANTS). This is a special opportunity, supported by the National Science Foundation and the BSA, for undergraduates to join a supportive network of peers, graduate students, and professors, and receive support to attend the annual conference. The Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) program provided intial support begining in 2003.

Teaching Awards
The BSA Education Committee and Teaching Section recognize the contributions of their peers to excellence in botanical education through the C. E. Bessey Award.

Making an Impact
The BSA seeks to support and promote our members efforts to meaningfully address the NSF Broader Impact Criteria.
A list of Broader Impacts Resources was one outcome of the 2007 Joint BSA-ASPB Education Workshop.

Online Resources

Lab Resources - Grades 6-12
The McIntosh Apple Development Poster Project | One Bad Apple: Synchrony in Ripening Fruit | Sailing Seeds: An Experiment in Wind Dispersal | Gasping for Breath: Bottle Experiments with Mung Beans

Visual Resources - Grades K-16
Carnivorous Plants | Online Image Collection | Capillary Action - Video clip
The BSA Online Image Collection is part of the AAAS BEN Digital Library.

Thought-Provoking Resources - Grades 6-14
Plant Talking Points

Careers in Botany Online booklet and scientist profiles - Grades K-16

BSA Statement on Evolution - Grades K-16

About the BSA

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