Mrs. Blackburn holds undergraduate degrees in science, psychology and child and family studies from Lander University and graduate degrees from RICE and University of Houston in Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, and Curriculum and Instruction. She began her career as a Counselor working in ER admissions and as a Child Play Therapist. She served as a school liaison for the Texas Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority (MHMRA) where she worked closely with school administration. She was a school teacher in Galveston ISD in Texas for more than 10 years. She was on the Southeast Regional Texas Magnet Planning Committee which introduced her into STEM Education in 2006. She began accepting contract work with several institutions in 2009. These contracts increased her knowledge in STEM Education. Mrs. Blackburn joined the UTMB Office of Educational Outreach as the Assistant Director and STEM Coach and works with the Southeast Regional Texas-STEM Center as a Mentor Teacher and STEM PD Facilitator. Mrs. Blackburn became a Texas Regional Collaborative (TRC) Mathematics and Computer Science Director in 2016. UTMB and the TRC provides Mrs. Blackburn with an avenue to continue working in schools and aiding teachers to integrate 21st Century Skills, Project Based Learning and STEM Practices that will benefit our future. In this role, she oversees several schools, districts and community colleges in a statewide effort to improve teaching and learning, career and college readiness, student support services, teacher and administrative coaching, and projects focused on promoting equity in STEM education.
Sessions in which Valerie Blackburn participates
- International Space Station Ozo-some Mission!
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Learning Innovation Center- ERC
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Use the Ozobot color coding and geometry concepts to dice roll your way to a new and innovative International Space Station Module! Walk away...
- Session
Sessions in which Valerie Blackburn attends
- Early Bird Check in Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Main Plaza
- 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM | 3 hours
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- SEEC 101
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Space Center Theater
- 7:30 AM - 7:45 AM | 15 minutes
- Keynotes Session- Vanessa Wyche
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Space Center Theater
- 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Keynote
- Lunch 1 Thursday
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Astronaut Gallery - Lunch 1
- 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | 1 hour
- Space Robotics Challenge Phase 2 – Engaging Students Through Space Exploration Solutions
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Saturn Club
- 12:45 PM - 1:30 PM | 45 minutes
- NASA Centennial Challenges directly engage the public in the process of advanced technology development. The program offers incentive prizes to gen...
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- Let's enjoy with the air: Balloon trampoline and Gagaku
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Destiny Theater
- 3:45 PM - 5:15 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Learn unique international educational activities that highlight the properties of air and what it can do. From balloons to Japanese musical ins...
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- Keynote- Dr. Alan Stern
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Space Center Theater
- 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | 1 hour
- Dr. Stern is a planetary scientist, author and the principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. He will p...
- Keynote
- Expert/Educator: Space Travelers Guide to Packing for Mars - Tetris in Real Life
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Destiny Theater
- 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- What does an astronaut require for extended travel in space? It isn't just about the mechanics - but what makes "home" f...
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- Lunch 1 Friday
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Astronaut Gallery - Lunch 1
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | 1 hour
- Modifications and Adaptations for Students with Unique Abilities: Using Genetics by Making Your Own Dragon
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Learning Innovation Center- ERC
- 1:15 PM - 2:45 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- In today’s classroom, teachers are teaching students with unique needs. These unique students may include students on the autistic spectrum, ...
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- Escape Space: Unlocking The Airlock to Survival
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Destiny Theater
- 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- There's an emergency on space station! Energy and oxygen levels are low, pressure is decreasing, the hatch door is stuck and the crew begins to pan...
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- SEEC Banquet
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Main Plaza
- 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM | 4 hours
- Race Into Space with Dr. Seuss
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Learning Innovation Center- Lab 1
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- K-5 cosmic cadets will love these mini-lab science stations; each designed around a Dr. Seuss book. Available in English and Spanish, these station...
- Session
- Lunch 1 Saturday
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Astronaut Gallery - Lunch 1
- 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | 1 hour
- Living and Working on the ISS
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Learning Innovation Center- Lab 4
- 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Living and Working together on the ISS, encompasses the skills necessary for crews with varied backgrounds and nationalities to work together to ac...
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- Featured Keynote- Gene Kranz
- Signup required Space Center Houston (Hosting of all events take place on-line-virtually) - Space Center Theater
- 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | 1 hour
- An iconic NASA flight director, Gene is best known for his leadership in bringing Apollo 13 safely back to Earth and guiding Apollo 11 into hist...
- Keynote