Kirstin Milks
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drmilks.bsky.social
Kirstin Milks
@drmilks.bsky.social
1.7K followers 220 following 110 posts
High school science #teacher, futurist, maker, dad joke enthusiast. Communities of learning, innovation, empathy, and fun • 2025 prez #WeAreNABT • she/they • kirstinmilks.com #PlaceBasedScienceTeaching
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drmilks.bsky.social
Kirstin Milks @drmilks.bsky.social · Oct 6
Our book is here! @sayuri-neko.bsky.social & I are so thankful to all of you who’ve been cheering us on!
Learn more at link in bio 💚
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#placebasedscienceteaching #placebasedlearning #scienceteacher #innovation #education #teaching #stemeducation #newbook
drmilks.bsky.social
Such fun for @sayuri-neko.bsky.social & I to be live on the airwaves at WPFW! Thanks for having us on #UMustLearn as we talked about the power of #PlaceBasedTeaching & how it can help us build a more hopeful & just future.

More: tinyurl.com/PlaceBasedScienceTeaching
October 26, 2025 at 4:58 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
Such fun to join my school's #STEM teams at #MCCSC's #STEAM night, where we ran an engineering design challenge! Thanks to our students for helping engineers of all ages flex their prototyping power 💪
(all photos posted with kid & parent/guardian permission)
#iteach #stemeducation #innovation
October 16, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
jessicacalarco.com
UPDATE: Following the firing of the director of the student newspaper, Indiana University has now cut the print edition of the newspaper entirely.

www.idsnews.com/article/2025...
Indiana University cuts IDS print entirely, hours after firing student media director By IDS staff Oct 15, 2025 1:23 pm · Updated Oct 15, 2025 1:23 pm IU previously directed the Indiana Daily Student to stop printing news coverage in our newspaper. Upon pushback, the university fully cut print, including our special editions. The IDS was not involved in the decision. Media School Dean David Tolchinsky sent the order to IDS leadership in an email responding to its appeal that the school not censor the newspaper. And the dean attributed the decision to “the campus.” He has not yet responded to a message for clarification.
October 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
Our book is here! @sayuri-neko.bsky.social & I are so thankful to all of you who’ve been cheering us on!
Learn more at link in bio 💚
.
#placebasedscienceteaching #placebasedlearning #scienceteacher #innovation #education #teaching #stemeducation #newbook
October 6, 2025 at 12:05 AM
drmilks.bsky.social
SO excited and proud that #PlaceBasedScienceTeaching is out the world!!
sayuri-neko.bsky.social Dr. Whitney Aragaki @sayuri-neko.bsky.social · Oct 4
standing where it all started. mahalo waiākea. 💙

alongside @drmilks.bsky.social , we sought to develop a resource that honors the places, people, & communities that pour into our students. now here we are: place-based science teaching is available nationwide!

we can’t wait to connect with you.
October 5, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
corwinpress.bsky.social
If you're attending #NSTA in November, this article from Corwin author @sayuri-neko.bsky.social will help you bring a place-based lens to the conference: www.nsta.org/blog/ca...

@drmilks.bsky.social #PlaceBasedScienceTeaching
September 22, 2025 at 1:15 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
#ISTELive #ASCDAnnual is delightful - join @sayuri-neko.bsky.social and me for #PlaceBasedScienceTeaching tomorrow with our easy, ?-based framework for sparking #stemeducation that's relevant, rooted in community, and just plain FUN! See you Wed July 2, 11–11:30, HBGCC-Stars at Night Turbo Talk 💚
The ISTE Live and ASCD Annual photo booth is a delight this year - and we are delighted to be standing in front of it. Text reads SPARK JOYFUL LEARNING in vibrant, Texas-inspired font with stylized plants and animals all around.
July 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
drmilks.bsky.social
Excited to be back in action w/ Whitney, bringing the joy of #PlaceBasedScienceTeaching to #ISTELive and #ASCD this week! See you Mon for tech & authentic #STEM and/or Wed for the power of place-based curriculum in transforming education for students AND their teachers 💚 @sayuri-neko.bsky.social
Place-based Teaching: Expeditions in the Schoolyard By: Kirstin Milks and Whitney Aragaki ISTE/ASCD Conference Wednesday July 2, 2025, 11:00 AM Field Experiences: Blending Digital Learning with Authentic Outdoor Education in Biology By: Kirstin Milks and Whitney Aragaki ISTE/ASCD Conference Monday June 30, 2025, 1:00 PM
June 29, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
cody.im
Yay! 'Wally, the resident corpse flower at the Indiana University Bloomington Biology Building Greenhouse, is preparing for another bloom.' today.iu.edu/iub/live/new...
Excitement is in the air – and soon an unforgettable scent
Wally, the resident Amorphophallus titanum — also known as the corpse flower — at the Indiana University Bloomington Biology Building Greenhouse, is p...
today.iu.edu
June 25, 2025 at 7:22 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
On the #PAEMST blog today: innovation education, featuring my students!

So thankful to the PAMEST network for showing me how it's done - and to #SamsungSolve for supporting student change-making through #STEM innovation & #PlaceBasedScienceTeaching

📲 paemst.nsf.gov/blog/post/147
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Rewarding & Inspiring Great Teaching Since 1983 PAEMST Awardee leads Bloomington High School South to $125K STEM competition win In the span of a school year, a team of teenage scientists in Bloomington, Indiana, designed an athletic hearing-aid headband, pitched their invention on a national stage, and won a $125,000 prize package for their school. Kirstin Milks - a 2019 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching recipient - was the coach and mentor behind the team. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is an annual contest that challenges students to leverage STEM to improve their community. The contest is multiphase: teams submit proposals and activity plans, work with Samsung employees to develop prototypes, and create videos showcasing their products. It culminates in a live pitch where finalists present their solutions to a panel of judges. "The goal is to honor and support student- led innovation," said Milks, who teaches AP Biology and introductory science at Bloomington High School South.
June 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
jsmithmargraf.bsky.social
Congratulations to David Renner, the 2025 ISTA ESP of the year! David greets the students and parents every morning with a handmade sign that brings them joy and laughter as he directs traffic, so the students congratulated him with handmade signs of their own. @ista-in.org
June 17, 2025 at 3:08 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
Today we celebrate the amazing class of 2025. It’s been a tremendous honor to be your teacher — thank you for sharing your wisdom, your courage, your empathy, and your wit with me (and next year’s students!)💜
Bulletin board that says “words of wisdom” - it’s a collective mural for students to share what they’ve learned with next year’s incoming students
May 31, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
heymrsbond.com
I wanna see more classroom teachers delivering keynotes, facilitating workshops, and given space and larger platforms to talk about what’s working/not working with students in this moment.

Too many educator conferences, not nearly enough current teacher voices and experiences.
May 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
@hnmalcolm.bsky.social
a picture of a penguin with the word hello on it
Alt: a picture of a penguin with the word hello on it - but not just any penguin - the little buddy from the penguins of madagascar, a classic film beloved by both john green and me. in this essay i will
media.tenor.com
May 24, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
npr.org
Whether you get your forecast from an app on your phone, a website or a meteorologist on TV, most of the underlying information comes from the federal government.
By @rhersher.bsky.social
Where does your weather forecast come from?
Whether you get your forecast from an app on your phone, a website or a meteorologist on TV, most of the underlying information comes from the federal government.
www.npr.org
May 19, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
nabtbio.bsky.social
9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/s...
9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything
www.nytimes.com
May 19, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
heymrsbond.com
Hey so Palestinians, especially Palestinian children, do not deserve to starve to death.
May 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
cody.im
If I had to pick a top five of posts you shared with me last night, it would be these, listed in no particular order. Credit to the original authors:

1. Debris lofted in the air bsky.app/profile/math...

2. Drone time lapse of the later storm moving over N. Monroe County bsky.app/profile/alex...
mathcancer.bsky.social Paul Macklin @mathcancer.bsky.social · May 17
Tried my best to clean up and sharpen. Decreased gamma so you can see the debris a bit better.
airborne tornado debris (enhanced) airborne tornado debris (enhanced) airborne tornado debris (enhanced)
May 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
I’m so excited to announce that #biology education poster session proposals are now being accepted for the #WeAreNABT conference in St. Louis this fall! #Teachers, #students, and #professors, we’d love for you to share new lesson plans, lab exercises, or research data!
Link below ⬇️
May 15, 2025 at 2:33 PM
drmilks.bsky.social
I’m so thankful to get to work with students like these amazing young innovators 🥰 Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Read more in this article from The Herald Times:

Bloomington South team wins national #STEM competition for athletic hearing aid accessory

www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/e...
Seven high schoolers, one teacher, all smiles. The young women are holding their prototype
May 10, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
npr.org
The presidents of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers say the political climate has added to age-old money problems for teachers, such as underfunded schools.
On Teacher Appreciation Week, union leaders say teachers are underpaid and under attack
The presidents of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers say the political climate has added to age-old money problems for teachers, such as underfunded schools.
www.npr.org
May 8, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
npr.org
Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.
Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds
Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.
www.npr.org
May 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Kirstin Milks
ecoevodevo-lab.bsky.social
For all in need of a break, an example of IU Biology at its best, fostering growth, knowledge, and opportunity through the agency of science and science education biology.indiana.edu/news-events/... @iubiology.bsky.social @ncse.bsky.social @drmilks.bsky.social
Mentorship at IU leads to published study, career shift for high school senior
IU Biology News: Mentorship at IU leads to published study, career shift for high school senior
biology.indiana.edu
May 6, 2025 at 1:46 AM
drmilks.bsky.social
Want to see why #innovation matters in #STEMed?
Check in with our wonderful all-girl #SamsungSolve 🎉national winners🎉 on the local news ⬇️
Big thanks to @wrtv.bsky.social for highlighting what makes this team’s story and tech solution so special 💜
May 3, 2025 at 12:35 AM