Data Nuggets

Hope we got to chat with you at #SABER2025, and if not, Data Nuggets will be at SABER Midwest @nabtbio.bsky.social as well!!

If you’re at the SABER Annual Meeting, come find @datanuggets.bsky.social at our poster tomorrow! True to Data Nuggets, gotta love some null results :)

Day 2 of our Walder Foundation and NSF sponsored Data Nuggets @datanuggets.bsky.social workshop was also a big success! We had preservice, middle, and high school teachers from throughout Chicago and from several other states. Huge thank you to @eschultheis.bsky.social @kjelvikm.bsky.social and Sam.

We’re so excited to be in Chicago this week to present Data Nuggets to a group of preservice, middle, and high school teachers! Thanks to Mike @mikegrillo.bsky.social and Lara at @loyolachicago.bsky.social for being such amazing hosts!

Day 1 of our Walder Foundation sponsored Data Nuggets @datanuggets.bsky.social workshop was a big success! Scientists from Loyola, the Field Museum and Chicago State built new Data Nuggets on prairie restoration, Anolis lizards, plant microbiomes, and endangered mice..and we caught a Cubs game!

Our #NSF grant, supporting a fruitful collaboration with the @cissyballen.bsky.social Lab, was terminated, along with over 1,600 others. We describe the impact of this loss in a press release here. datanuggets.org/2025/06/nsf-...

We have enjoyed having graduate student, Samson Stynen, working with us this past year. Read more about his experience in this blog post! www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/data...

Though our recent #NSF grant was terminated, the @datanuggets.bsky.social program still continues through support from the @kbslter.bsky.social and other sources! We're searching for future funding opportunities and will continue to help share authentic datasets and science stories with students!

Want to learn more about Digital Data Nuggets on @dataclassroom.bsky.social? Check out this past webinar where we introduce the two programs and our collaboration!

about.dataclassroom.com/real-data-re...

Blinking Out? — DataClassroom Are firefly populations in Southwest Michigan in decline?

Digital Data Nugget! An activity in partnership with @datanuggets.bsky.social

Are firefly populates in Southwest Michigan in decline? Explore data from the longest running study of fireflies: about.dataclassroom.com/ready-to-tea...

9 Great datasets to get your students familiar with different graph types! — DataClassroom What graphs are best for your data? Explore all the possibilities in this helpful blogpost.

DataClassroom Collection - 9 Great datasets to get students familiar with different graph types.

about.dataclassroom.com/blog/nine-gr...

#data #datascience #scienceteachers #graphs

Bon Appetit! — DataClassroom What is the role of nuptial feeding for paternal investment in the Hawaiian swordtail cricket?

Digital data nugget in partnership with @datanuggets.bsky.social

What is the role of nuptial feeding for paternal investment in the Hawaiian swordtail cricket? Check out the data in this digital data nugget here: about.dataclassroom.com/ready-to-tea...

The NSF Is Being Dismantled — With Broad Implications For The American Economy The economic consequences of cuts to the National Science Foundation and restricting scientific inquiry on this scale could be far-reaching.

“The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — hardly a partisan institution — finds that nondefense government R&D yields long-run economic returns of 150% to 300% …“Our findings therefore point to a misallocation of public capital, and substantial underinvestment in nondefense R&D.”

A chocolate cake with red and white decorations and lit candles shaped as the number 75. Bold text reads: ‘The NSF Turns 75 Today. What has it done over the past 7 decades?’ The background is a celebratory red with a spray-paint texture.

HAPPY 75th, NSF!

We’re celebrating this milestone by highlighting some of NSF’s most transformative accomplishments—innovations that have shaped our world and continue to drive progress in health, technology, the environment, and beyond.

Read on 🧵(1/11):

Knew it was coming but it still makes me mad. On Friday DOGE terminated our NSF grant supporting @datanuggets.bsky.social and an amazing collaboration to help encourage more students to pursue STEM careers. That’s $1M that would have went towards jobs, educators, and teaching kids data literacy.

Teachers! Check out this opportunity to win funding to help pay for conference costs, courtesy of our friends at @ncse.bsky.social!
#EduSky #iteachbio 🧪

Trees and bushes, home sweet home for warblers ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 4 PowerPoint of images Grading Rubric...

The HJ Andrews Forest is a long-term research site where the effects of timber harvest and forest regrowth are studied. Scientists are studying how the preferences of small birds, called warblers, give insight into how birds respond to these disturbances. 🪹🐦 #DNOTW datanuggets.org/home-sweet-h... 🧪

Farms in the fight against climate change ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 4 Grading Rubric Carbon, when it is f...

New DN! Caro analyzed data from a 30-year experiment to compare ag practices to see which ones increase soil carbon. Her work helps identify how to benefit both farmers and the planet. #EarthDay #edusky #DNOTW 🧪 @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social @kbslter.bsky.social
datanuggets.org/farms-in-the...

Opportunities to get involved with @datanuggets.bsky.social for both K-12 teachers and undergraduate instructors!

#edusky 🧪

mailchi.mp/4de4911d7ee0...

T. H. Huxley Award: Dr. Elizabeth Schultheis Congratulations to this year’s T. H. Huxley Award recipient, Dr. Elizabeth Schultheis ! Dr. Schultheis is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Kellogg Biological Station…

Congratulations to our 2025 Huxley Award recipient, Dr. Elizabeth Schultheis, for her collection of education resources called Data Nuggets, created together with Dr. Melissa Kjelvik! Learn more here: www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display... @datanuggets.bsky.social

Why so blue? The determinants of color pattern in killifish, Part I ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 4 Reading Activity Grading Rubric In ...

Becky, who studies bluefin killifish, noticed that males found in springs with clear water have red or yellow fins, while males in swamps have blue fins. In this activity, explore data she collected to test the mechanism behind this pattern. #edusky #DNOTW 🧪
datanuggets.org/why-so-blue-1/

Recruitment instructors_IUSE2.docx Which elements of scientist role model stories are effective in improving equity and success in undergraduate STEM education? Interested? Fill out this poll! We are searching for undergraduate bio...

Undergrad biology instructors! Want to participate in a paid research study to test the impacts of highlighting scientist role models in instructional materials? We are looking for you! #edusky 🧪

See more information and apply here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

@cissyballen.bsky.social

Working to reduce the plastics problem ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Level 3 PowerPoint of images Grading Rubric Plastics are materials that can be shaped easily and are used for many functions. This has ma...

Teaching chemistry and want to dive deeper into plastics? In “Working to reduce the plastics problem,” students learn about research where Nick and a team of undergrads tested biodegradable elastomers. #DNOTW #edusky 🧪 datanuggets.org/working-to-r...

🎉We're very excited to release "DataStreams: A crash course in #dataliteracy using stream ecology." This unit is the product of many months of development with scientists, teachers, artists & filmmakers.

It's free for all thanks to NSF funding!🧪 www.galacticpolymath.com/lessons/en-U...

Reconstructing the behaviour of ancient animals ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 4 Scientist Profile on Project Biodiv...

New DN Alert! Holly uses features on fossils to reconstruct the lifestyles of ancient animals. Learn how she compared a fossil to eyesocket sizes of living species to piece together whether the animal was nocturnal. @palaeophd.bsky.social
#DNOTW #edusky #scicomm
datanuggets.org/ancient-anim...

YouTube video by Galactic Polymath PPSTT…the secret to reading graphs like a scientist #dataliteracy 📈

Q: How do we grow #dataliteracy skills?
A: We worked with scientists to develop the PPSTT framework to help students make sense of graphs & figures. Part of a free unit for grades 9–uni; #openaccess thanks to NSF funding to Dr. Tom Luhring at WSU 🧪 #scicomm #edusky youtube.com/shorts/zDRqw...

If you are looking for ways to bring real research and data into your classroom, we have 140 free resources written by scientists who share their story and experiences in STEM! 🧪

Explore all of our activities here:
datanuggets.org/view-in-sear...

#edusky #scicomm #dataliteracy #k12

Float down the Kalamazoo River ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 2 Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 2 Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 2 Grading Rubric Digital Data Nugget ...

Ever since she was a kid, rivers have fascinated Leila. During graduate school, she wanted to test how a dam on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan is affecting the food chain. Come take a “Float Down the Kalamazoo River” to learn more! #DNOTW 🛶
datanuggets.org/float-down-t...

Congrats to Sam Stynen, grad student in the @nickhaddad.bsky.social lab and fellow with @datanuggets.bsky.social on his first teacher conference presenting Data Nuggets! He had a great turnout at #MSTA2025 and led teachers through a dataset looking at butterfly abundance in agricultural lands!

How to Escape a Predator ‣ Data Nuggets The activities are as follows: Teacher Guide Student activity, Graph Type A, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type B, Level 4 Student activity, Graph Type C, Level 4 Grading Rubric Stalk-eyed flies are...

The long eye-stalks on male stalk-eyed flies are attractive to females. But do these elaborate traits make them more vulnerable to predators? In "How to escape a predator", explore how sexual selection and survival interact in this species. #DNOTW datanuggets.org/2015/10/how-...