Dear MSA Members,
While skepticism over scientific findings has long been present in the United States, the current political climate has emboldened a rise in anti-science rhetoric and action. We believe it is the responsibility of scientific societies like the MSA to respond by increasing public outreach and engagement through scientific education and discussion. New avenues for mycological education may offer opportunities to inform our youth and other members of our communities of an underrepresented scientific discipline, while empowering them with the tools to think critically and form decisions based on evidence.
The MSA Student Section is spearheading the creation of an outreach database centered around open-access mycological education materials, tools and resources. Our goal is to make this database easily accessible on the MSA website for application in a wide range of outreach activities.
We are requesting the following materials/resources/topics:
- Fungi in K-12 Education; anything that ties in fungi and core concepts in biology that can be taught at a grade school level.
- Hands-on fungal activities ideal for after-school programs, camps, etc.
- Mycological powerpoints, lesson plans, and other materials appropriate for college classrooms.
- Fungal pictures, animations, and videos that can be distributed freely.
- Informational documents on any topics in mycology. These should be written for a general audience, such as an amateur mycological society.
All material uploaded to our online database will be credited to the original creators.
Any other ideas are also welcome! Please email your ideas and/or submissions to <students.msa@gmail.com>. If your files are too large, please email us and we will share a google drive folder in which you can upload your material. All materials uploaded must be available to share freely in compliance with copyright agreements.
We hope you consider sharing your outreach and education materials!
Sincerely,
MSA Student Section Executive Board
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