Reserve Your Room for the Upcoming Conference!

October 23-25, 2025

We’re excited to announce that you can now book your accommodations for our upcoming conference at:

Wyndham I-Drive Avanti Palms Resort and Conference Center

6515 International Drive

Orlando, FL 32819

A special group rate of $95 per night plus tax (approximately $104) is available. This rate includes the 18% resort fee, so there are no surprises at checkout.

To receive the discounted rate, please use our exclusive booking link below:

2025 Hotel Booking Link at Wyndham I-Drive Avanti Palms Resort and Conference Center

Please remember to edit the dates of your stay so you do not book for the whole week. 

If you have questions concerning the hotel or unable to book a room at the FAST rate,

please email Barbara Rapoza at b_rapoza@yahoo.com

Early Bird Registration is open until October 10, 2025

General Conference  (presenters DO NOT use, see below)    

              Early Bird        $75  (ends October 10, 2025)

              Regular         $100  (after October 10, 2025) 

Life members               

             Early Bird        $25  (ends October 10, 2025)

             Regular           $40  (after October 10, 2025) 

This is for life members ONLY. If you would like to become a life member, click on the JOIN US button on the homepage.

Presenter

Presenter     $75

This registration button is for approved PRESENTER and CO-PRESENTER registration ONLY 

NOTICE: All PRESENTERS and CO-PRESENTERS must register and pay by Sept 20, 2025 to secure their session. 

F

 Main Conference Registration page <--click here

Field Trip, Social Events and Workshops registration page <--click here

For Vendor information pertaining to the Exhibit Hall at our Conference,

please contact

 Sharon Cutler: cutlersharon@mac.com

VENDOR REGISTRATION FORM <--Click here if you would like to represent your company at our 2025 FAST Conference in Orlando

FAST 2025 CONFERENCE PROGRAM BOOK

coming at the end of September

There is a small fee to attend the field trip and the workshops that is in addition to the conference registration fee. Concurrent sessions on Friday and Saturday are free.  Conference registration is required to attend all events. 

Field Trip

Experience Indoor Skydiving- The Ultimate Thrill Experience in a state-of-the-art vertical wind tunnel. This STEM program includes a physics demonstration, a flight safety and gear orientation, lab stations and the indoor flight! Meet in the registration area at 8:45am to either arrange car pooling or drive the 10 minute drive on your own. 

Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025

Time: 8:45am until 12:15pm

Cost: $10.00

Minimum 15, Maximum 50

Social Events

 Meet and Greet! 

Sponsored by FPL & Accelerate Learning

Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025

Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Cost-FREE! Pre-registration required

Even though the cost is free to everyone, you MUST REGISTER by October 10, 2025 to ATTEND! Your registration allows us to order enough food and drink so all attendees will have a great time! You must be registered for the conference to attend. 

Location: Amelia Ballroom

Educators only, no guests!

Come as you are and enjoy snacks, beverages and the company of your colleagues.

WORKSHOPS

We are pleased to offer exciting workshops on Thursday, October 23^rd. Pre-registration is required for these workshops which are 2-hour in-depth sessions. The cost to attend a workshop on Thursday is in addition to and separate to registering for the FAST Conference. A workshop participant must also be registered for the Main Conference. Any workshop not meeting minimum capacity will be cancelled. 

If you and your guest fail to register for the conference, you and/or your guest's field trip, social event and/or workshop registration will be voided. 

Workshop #1

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Title: Tech Meets Science: Sphero RVR+ and Cycles in Nature

Presented by: 

Melissa Woods and Gina Clark, Tech Integrators, Brevard Public Schools 

Audience: Elementary

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 35

Minimum: 10

Description:

Join us for an engaging two-hour workshop designed for educators looking to enhance their science curriculum with innovative technology. In this session, participants will learn how to integrate Sphero RVR+ robots into lessons on various scientific cycles, including the water cycle, life cycles, and the rock cycle.

Through hands-on activities and collaborative discussions, attendees will explore creative ways to use these versatile robots to bring complex scientific concepts to life. By the end of the workshop, educators will have practical strategies and lesson plans to effectively incorporate Sphero RVR+ robots into their classrooms, making science both fun and educational for their students.

Workshop #2 

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 9:30 am – 11:30 am 

^{Title: Stronger Together: Designing Science Lessons that Encourage Collaboration}

Presented by: 

Anna Monteiro, Director of Senior Fellows Program and Rosiane Lesperance, Program Officer of Teacher Development, Knowles Teacher Initiative 

^{Audience: K - 12} 

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 30

Minimum:   6

Description:

In this interactive professional development session, participants engage in a hands-on science task to explore what makes group collaboration effective. By stepping into the role of students, educators experience firsthand how well-designed tasks promote teamwork and critical thinking.

Next, participants are introduced to the Groupworthy Evaluation Tool, which helps assess the collaborative potential of instructional tasks. This tool highlights key features like multiple entry points, interdependence, and open-ended problem-solving that make tasks ideal for group work. Facilitators lead a discussion analyzing sample tasks to identify elements that support or limit collaboration.

With this understanding, educators work in small groups to apply the tool to their own science lessons. They evaluate and revise tasks to make them more engaging and supportive of student collaboration. This hands-on approach ensures practical application and immediate relevance.

The session emphasizes the importance of intentionally designing tasks to promote effective group work. By the end, participants leave with a revised, group-worthy science task ready for use, a deeper understanding of collaborative lesson design, and a valuable tool to evaluate tasks across content areas. The session concludes with reflection on fostering classrooms where every student meaningfully contributes.

Workshop #3

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

^{Title: Designing the E in STEM: Engineering Lesson Plans for K-5 STEM}

Presented by: 

Liz Boeger, K-5 STEM Teacher, Lake Alfred Elementary, Polk County Schools

^{Audience: Elementary}

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 35

Minimum: 10

Description:

Participants in this session will develop a K-5 lesson plan framework for the engineering component of STEM. Discussion will include integrating the Engineering Design Process, aligning to Florida Science standards, researching lesson ideas and sourcing materials. Hands-on builds will incorporate  recycled and everyday materials and TeacherGeek project kits to design, build, test, and refine K-5 STEM lessons. Participants will take home their builds, including the project kit from TeacherGeek.

Workshop #4

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

^{Title: Empowering Teachers and Students to Engage in Biotech Lab Experiences with Research Grade              Tools} 

Luanna Prevost, Site Director, Carolina Sarmiento, Site Coordinator, Dan McFarland, Site Ambassador, Joanna Idafibia, Lab Technician, (all) Amgen Biotech Experience - Tampa; USF- Integrative Biology

^{Audience: High School}

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 35

Minimum: 10

Description:

This session will engage science teachers and administrators in biotech labs and discussions on how these labs can be tailored for and implemented in their teaching environments. Participants will learn about the free training and supplies available to teachers through the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) program. ABE labs are appropriate for a wide range of courses including Biology, AP Bio, Bioscience, and Forensic Science among others. We will discuss how ABE labs can be implemented in these courses and with students at all high school levels in the classroom, online and in the laboratory through the ABE Tampa team at the University of South Florida.  During the session, participants will engage in micro pipetting to demonstrate the importance of this technique for investigating the biology of macromolecules. They will also conduct gel electrophoresis to identify the appropriate DNA fragments and the importance of this technique for designing proteins, treating disease and identifying individuals. These activities will be used to demonstrate how these labs engage students in the process of science through investigating scientific questions, making predictions, and developing scientific explanations.

Workshop #5

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Title: Using Citizen Science to Drive Place-based Science Learning and Literacy

Presented by: 

Lacey Huffling, Georgia Southern University, and several Florida Teachers

Audience: Middle School 

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 35

Minimum: 10

Description:

We will discuss how middle school science teachers are incorporating citizen science research into their classrooms. We will explain the selection criteria the teachers used for the citizen science projects we incorporated into our classrooms, and we will give a brief overview of the programs (e.g iNaturalist, Nature’s Notebook, BioCubes, Marine Debris Tracker, GulfSeeLife, Adopt-A-Stream, and EarthEcho). Participants will engage in a model lesson where they start with observations and move through the data collection, analysis, and report writing phases of our model lesson. During this workshop, participants will experience the full cycle of scientific investigation from observations to data reporting. Then we will debrief and analyze the lessons.

We will generate discussion around how citizen science can be a valuable pedagogical approach, by examining the advantages and constraints such lessons have on incorporating place-based science learning into classrooms. We will also share implications and best practices for incorporating citizen science based on our initial experience. Participants will leave with a BioCube and a Nature's Notebook's Phenology card to get you started. Participants will leave with access to the lesson plans

Workshop #6

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 3:15 pm to 5:15 pm

Title: Intro to Solar 

Presented by: 

Susan Schleith, and Emily Rauley, Florida Solar Energy Center, University of Central Florida

Audience: K - 8 Teachers 

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 30

Minimum: 10

Description:

Participate in hands-on STEM activities from the "Solar Matters" curriculum developed by FSEC with the University of Central Florida. Explore energy concepts using solar thermal and solar electric (photovoltaic) technologies. All participants receive lessons and a free basic solar car kit (solar panel and motor) that can be used to build a Solar Sprint car or do further experiments. Door prizes!

Workshop #7

^{Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025}

Time: 3:15 pm to 5:15 pm

Title: Everglades Literacy Teacher Training

Presented by: 

Alyssa Saldarriaga and Tessa Whalen, Everglades Literacy Program Coordinators

Audience: All Science Educators

Location: TBD

Workshop Cost: $ 5.00, Pre-registration required

Maximum: 35

Minimum: 10

Description:

Learn how to shift school community culture to become a Champion School, recognizing exceptional efforts in Everglades education. The Everglades Literacy Program’s Teacher Training is a hands-on, inquiry-based program aimed at improving the understanding of this rich topic through interdisciplinary techniques. The Everglades Literacy Conceptual Framework and PreK-12 Curriculum is a free set of lessons (three per grade level) that scaffold from PreK-12 to build complexity among topics. This core curriculum focuses on (a) providing resources for teachers to implement these lessons in the classroom; (b) reducing environmental risks and negative impacts to this fragile and unique ecosystem; (c) protecting the future of America’s Everglades for future generations; and (d) training teachers and students to make better-informed decisions. This program is aligned to the Florida Standards and will support positive student outcomes through the understanding of the nature of science, science language development, and mathematics learning using the watershed in our own backyard. Teachers who attend will receive printed lessons and materials for their classroom.

CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF CONCURRENT SESSIONS.

or see below 

Click here to see a short video of our Conference in Tampa!