Professional Development

Workshops for Educators

These intellectually challenging workshops for educators take a novel approach and are directly applicable to the work done in classrooms, preschools, libraries and community centers every day. For more information, or to register for a workshop, contact Reservations at
(505) 224-8341. 

Explora offers several 
half-day workshops:

Are you an early childhood care provider, looking for new ways to fulfill your required training hours?

Explora’s professional development workshops for early childhood educators provide 1.5 competency hours in any of the following areas:

Competency 1: Child Growth Development and Learning
Competency 5: Learning Environment and Curriculum Implementation
Competency 7: Professionalism

For more information: 
Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators.
To register a workshop, either at Explora or your location,
contact Reservations at
(505) 224-8341.

Comparing Teaching Approaches

Educators today are tasked with helping students understand a wealth of science content. Workshop participants will wear two hats as they experience several different teaching approaches as both a student and as an educator. A reflective discussion will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches

How to Put on a Science Fair

This workshop prepares teachers and administrators for the logistics of putting on a science fair. Leave this workshop with a manual of everything you need to know, from judge/student ratios to criteria-based scoring sheets. Teachers also will run through a practice fair, setting up actual projects and judging them.

Ice Ball Inquiry

Pursuing our own curiosity is at the heart of learning and being human. Facilitating students’ scientific investigation is vital to developing their understanding and their thinking skills. Through the use of suggestion, tools, and questions, educations will experience the power of the inquiry process.

Question Types and Sequences

This workshop addresses the types of questions teachers use in their classrooms and the questioner’s role. How can teachers use opening questions to allow for varied responses and invite broad participation? With which questions should you follow up to support generalization and application? What types of questions support cognitive growth? Leave this workshop able to encourage and support "what if" questions.

Inquiry-Based Science

What is inquiry, really? This workshop will examine how teachers can support their students’ movement from a condition of doubt, puzzlement or wonder to one of understanding and appreciation. We’ll discuss and practice the roles of questions, suggestions and inference in inquiry, and model how teachers can adapt existing curriculum to allow for inquiry.

Using Discrepant Events

Teachers experience first-hand the motivation and curiosity generated by the twenty-five discrepant events in this workshop, events that challenge everyday assumptions and create doubt about what we think we know. Through discussion and practice, workshop participants prepare discrepant event ideas for various content areas, and develop  activity sequences that lead from curiosity to investigation.

Early Childhood Educators' Competency Credit Classes

Early childhood caree providers: Looking for new ways to fulfill your required training hours? Immerse yourself in science-rich, inquiry-based Classroom Exploration activities and fulfill required early childhood training hours. Each program takes an inquiry approach to learning and involves every participant in active exploration of physical materials that you can apply immediately in your classrrom setting.