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MoPOP’s Teacher Professional Development occurs throughout the school year and features workshops, tours, curriculum development, and networking opportunities.
Our goal is to create experiences in which teachers engage with pop culture and each other; where we provide useful teaching tools that are interactive, fun, equitable for all learners, and easy to use.
UPCOMING EVENTS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Cli-Fi: Fighting Climate Change with Science Fiction (Virtual)
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
10:00am-12:00pm
Virtual
2 STEM Clock Hours available
$30 for Educators | $15 for Educator Members | $0 for TAB Members
Scholarships available, contact education@mopop.org
How can science fiction help students understand and address climate change? We’ll review the basic science of Earth’s climate and the proven causes of climate change and global warming. Drawing on MoPOP’s science-fiction collection, we’ll investigate how science-fiction creators link real technology with possible climate crisis futures to prompt discussions, advocate for change, and inspire new solutions. Inspired by actual modern technology, we’ll work together to imagine our own climate change solutions.
Jessica Lane is the Director of Education + Programs at MoPOP in Seattle, WA. She has worked in museum education for over 20 years with experience in historic site interpretive tours, children's museums, and creative writing programs. She joined MoPOP in 2015 and oversees their educational and public programs including workshops, homeschool programs, summer camps, exhibition openings, and more. She is a life-long sci-fi fan who proudly displays her Star Trek cast autographs, original Star Wars action figures, and female hero collectibles anywhere she can. She believes in the power of pop culture to teach about inclusion, acceptance, and compassion.
EDUCATOR EVENT
FREE Educator Day
October 2024 (Date TBD) 11:00am-4:00pm MoPOP
Cost: Free!
Join us for our FREE Educator Day at MoPOP! All educators who RSVP in advance get free access to the museum, will meet Education staff, and learn about upcoming MoPOP Education offerings!
PAST EVENTS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Fantastic Creatures Teacher PD
Saturday, March 30, 2024 10:00am-1:30pm MoPOP
3 STEM Clock Hours available
$43 for Educators | $20 for Educator Members | $0 for TAB Members
Scholarships available, contact education@mopop.org
Participants will become a group of explorers, creating never-before-found species of fantasy creatures! Taking what we already know about animal biology and habitats, participants will use their imaginations and household items to create and become unique creatures.
Natasha Ransom (she/her) is MoPOP’s Manager of Outreach & Adult Education, and has been with the museum for 6 years. Previously, she worked for ArtsEd Washington, the Teaching Artist Training Lab, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Bringing Theatre Into the Classroom, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. She loves working with educators to make arts learning more accessible. She’s so excited to lead this PD experience with you at MoPOP!
EDUCATOR EVENT
FREE Educator Day
October 14, 2023 11:00am-4:00pm MoPOP
Cost: FREE!
- Join us for our FREE Educator Day at MoPOP! All educators who RSVP in advance get free access to the museum, including Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA.
- Don’t miss the special screening of LAIKA’s ParaNorman at 2:30pm in Sound & Vision Theatre!
- Meet Education staff and learn about education offerings for this school year!
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Afrofuturism in Weaving (Virtual)
Saturday, December 3, 2022
Weaving as a skill builds dexterity, spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, and creative expression. Workshop participants learned the basic elements of weaving, material structure and technology, the manipulation of 2-D fabrics into 3-D structures through material and structural choices. Our work was inspired by our current exhibition, Ruth E Carter - Afrofuturism in Costume Design. Workshop participants took home activities adaptable for grades K through 12.
Erika (she/her) has been weaving since being introduced to it by her kindergarten teacher over 30 years ago. In the years since, she has explored weaving as an artist, archaeologist, university lecturer, and now high school teacher and member of the Seattle Weaver's Guild. She earned her Master's degree in Ancient Near Eastern Art & Archaeology from the University of Chicago and is currently a PhD student in bioarcheology at the University of Arkansas where she taught Intro to Egyptology for 5 years. As an educator, Erika is focused on integrating ancient technology into the classroom in modern ways. Erika is currently a long-term guest teacher in the Kent School District.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
STEAM Power Teacher PD (Virtual)
Saturday, March 12, 2022
MoPOP, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, and Pacific Science Center teamed up for a day of virtual professional development fueled by STEAM. STEAM Power features three skill-based workshops. These workshops are designed especially for educators addressing a broad spectrum of virtual STEAM learning, highlighting key topics from each organization’s specific areas of expertise, taught by each organization’s staff and professional educators.
EDUCATOR PREVIEW
Educator Preview for Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop (Virtual)
Friday, November 5, 2021
Our Virtual Educator Previews included a virtual tour of the exhibit, discussion with our Curators, an overview of connected learning content, and time to ask questions. For this preview, we were joined by Vikki Tobak, Curator and author of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Costume Changes: from Disney to the Classroom (Virtual)
Saturday, October 2, 2021 10:00am-12:30pm
How do Disney costumes, character transformation, and the personal growth of students all tie together? Using examples from MoPOP’s exhibition Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume, we explored how costumes can be a direct reflection of personal and/or societal change. In literature, theatre, and film, we see our favorite characters go through costume transitions. How often do we ourselves go through costume changes too? What ignites those changes? This professional development workshop provided hands-on activities to explore character development through costuming and social-emotional learning in the classroom.
EDUCATOR PREVIEW
Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement
Friday, July 9, 2021
Our virtual Educator Previews include a virtual tour of the exhibit, discussion with our Curators, an overview of connected learning content, and time to ask questions.
EDUCATOR PREVIEW
Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume
Friday, June 18, 2021
Our virtual Educator Previews include a virtual tour of the exhibit, discussion with our Curators, an overview of connected learning content, and time to ask questions.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Exploring LGBTQIA+ Representation in Pop Culture
Saturday, May 15, 2021
We partnered with the the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) for this PD in connection with our past exhibition, "Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement." We explored frameworks for students to examine how LGBTQIA+ characters are represented in films, TV, literature, and more. Participants looked at examples from current pop culture and from MoPOP's exhibition, and left with tools that are applicable in their own classrooms.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
STEAM POWER 2021
Saturday, March 20, 2021
MoPOP, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, and Pacific Science Center teamed up for a day of virtual professional development fueled by STEAM. STEAM Power features a choice of two, 1-hour, skill-based workshops. These workshops are designed especially for educators addressing a broad spectrum of virtual STEAM learning, highlighting key topics from each organization’s specific areas of expertise, taught by each organization’s staff and professional educators.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
GAME TO GROW- USING TABLETOP
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES IN THE REMOTE CLASSROOM
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Are you interested in integrating games like Dungeons and Dragons into your classroom? Tabletop role-playing games are a great support not only for educational and academic outcomes, but also help students build social and emotional skills through authentic relational play. This tool is especially helpful for neurodivergent youth, as it recognizes and respects unconventional and creative expression, and builds community inside and outside of the classroom. Workshop participants learned the basic structure and elements of a tabletop role-playing game, how they can support social emotional learning goals, and how roleplaying games are especially useful as participation structures for neurodivergent youth.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TEACHING MARVEL IN THE REMOTE
CLASSROOM WITH DONTE FELDER
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Discover the intersectionality of race, comics, and politics through the eyes of a “Blerd”. Donte Felder, a self-proclaimed Black nerd, used Marvel Comics as an entry point to discuss social justice movements that have played a role informing our world on race in the United States. Participants brought their imagination, critical analysis superhero goggles, tights, and capes to help Donte Felder save the world from boring classroom curriculum.
Thanks to our education and outreach sponsors:
