Why can’t we celebrate ice cream in August too?

National Ice Cream Month was established in the United States in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan. 

 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for STEM Teachers 

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s Career Award for STEM Teachers recognizes outstanding STEM teachers in North Carolina public primary and secondary schools.

The award provides $175,000 over five years. It is available to North Carolina teachers with an outstanding performance record in educating children and demonstrating a solid knowledge of STEM content.

This award presents opportunities for professional development and collaboration with other master STEM teachers who will help ensure their success as teachers and their satisfaction with the teaching field. The award allows schools and school districts to develop and fully empower teachers as leaders in the field.

Teachers working in hard-to-staff, economically deprived classrooms in North Carolina will receive special consideration. Efforts to integrate environmental science and climate change into STEM-related curricula will also receive special consideration.

The Fund and the State Board of Education recognize that improving STEM education in North Carolina will require systemic revision of K-12 instruction.

Did you miss Mega STEM Trek in Hickory?
Here are two more opportunities to attend
Mega STEM Treks! 

Operation Outbreak
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Appalachian State University

NCABR is partnering with Appalachian State University to present Operation Outbreak, a free one-day workshop on Thursday, September 17, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Register Now →

This workshop will show middle and high school teachers how to use the Operation Outbreak viral simulation tool, developed by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Operation Outbreak is a free, multidisciplinary outbreak science curriculum that combines biology, epidemiology, public health and social sciences to inspire a holistic understanding of infectious disease outbreaks.

The workshop will feature presentations from faculty and staff at Appalachian State University and will include a tour of the Math and Science Education Center (MSEC).

About the Curriculum: Operation Outbreak lesson plans offer an engaging, interdisciplinary exploration of infectious disease outbreaks. Through interactive content, case studies and expert insights, students learn about pathogens, societal responses and prevention strategies — preparing them to tackle health security challenges and to build a resilient future.

Operation Outbreak was created by a middle school civics educator and a Harvard professor to educate students and others about how easily a viral pathogen outbreak can occur. Originally developed as a sticker-based activity with a Bluetooth-based application to simulate an outbreak, Operation Outbreak since has evolved into a global initiative, equipping students, educators and public health practitioners with the tools to understand and respond to outbreaks of any scale. Dr. Todd Brown, the middle school civics educator who co-founded Operation Outbreak, will present the simulation at this workshop and will discuss classroom activities related to the data collected during a simulation.

About the Workshop Series: The Rx for Science Literacy workshop series provides K-12 educators a unique opportunity to hear from scientists about their latest research advances and receive free curricula and other bioscience education materials.

Incentives for attending an Rx for Science Literacy workshop include:

• Substitute teacher reimbursement up to $120 per participant (only eligible to N.C. educators)
• North Carolina-certified educators can earn up to one unit of certification renewal credit for attending this program (4 hours of additional work required).
• Free curriculum and educational resources

For details about all workshops in the Rx for Science Literacy series, please visit: https://ncabr.org/rx-for-science-workshops/

Funding for this workshop has been made possible by: