Nature is Our Classroom: Connecting Science to Early Learning
For ECE Teachers
Join Bluff Lake Nature Center and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for a full day professional learning experience for ECE educators on January 16, 2027. Each institution will deliver one PDIS approved training lasting three hours. Individuals attending the training will receive one certificate of completion for their participation in each session.
DMNS Presents Guiding Curiosity & Scientific Discovery:
Designed to help educators move beyond fact-based instruction, this hands-on session focuses on building a vibrant, inquiry-driven environment that empowers students to think like scientists. Participants explore the NGSS shift toward inquiry and learn to sustain curiosity using a Question, Prompt, Cue technique, which can also be applied to math and literacy. The workshop highlights the importance of the "effortful struggle" in learning, teaching educators how to guide students through discoveries without simply giving them the answers.
Bluff Lake Presents Cultivating Curiosity and Independence Through Forest School:
Join Bluff Lake Nature Center to explore how curiosity fuels learning and development both outdoors and in the classroom. Bluff Lake’s Forest Preschool is entirely outdoors, allowing students to take charge in their own learning, take risks, and explore the natural world around them. In this training, we will explore the wide-reaching impacts of curiosity, how to ask intentional questions, and how to implement all this within your classroom. You will walk away with a new perspective, and ready to use tools!
Registration Info:
Date: January 16, 2027
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Location: Bluff Lake Nature Center. We will be utilizing our Indoor Learning Space.
Cost: $10+. We are offering flexible payment options ranging from $10 (baseline cost) to $70 (true cost) in an effort to make this training financially accessible to all!
Parking: Our parking lot is available first come first served. Additional parking is available in the neighborhood south of the site and along MLK. Please cross the street at the crosswalk at Kingston. We recommend typing "Bluff Lake Nature Center" into your GPS as our address sometimes is challenging for Google. But our physical address is 11255 MLK Jr Blvd, Denver CO 80238.
Meet the Facilitators
Chira Noce
Chira first joined the Bluff Lake team in March of 2021 as an AmeriCorps member, and currently serves as the Education Director. She holds a bachelor degree in Environmental Science from Regis University, and her Environmental Education Certification from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE). Through her career, she has worked ina variety of formal and nonformal education environments, and has developed a passion for teaching outdoors. Chira enjoys watching students create personal connections to nature and develop new interests and values through programming. Through her role at Bluff Lake, she has found a love for supporting new educators and guiding them to develop new skills. She likes to spend her free time with her dog, baking sweets, traveling, and crafting!
Bluff Lake Nature Center
Kaitlin Essig
Kaitlin joined Bluff Lake Nature Center in 2024 as our Forest School Manager. An enthusiastic "nature nerd", some her favorite natural wonders to nerd out about are water, birds, and plants. Kaitlin gets way too excited about species identification. She holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Science from Saint Vincent College, has her Level 3 certificate in Forest School Program Leadership, and a professional background in environmental education and business management. Her favorite aspect of environmental education is encouraging students to be curious about and explore the natural world. She enjoys hiking, birding, swimming, and baking. She's a firm believer that there's pretty much no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices!
Bluff Lake Nature Center
Denver Museum of Nature and ScienceTamera Sakotas
Tamera Sakotas has built a career on an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education. At the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS), she serves as a Teacher Programs Consultant, bringing her rich background to provide training and support for educators in three areas: Best Practices in Science Education, Mind, Brain and Education and Nature and Environmental Literacy. Throughout her career, Tamera has demonstrated unique experiences in interdisciplinary curriculum development and arts integration, within traditional classrooms and also during out of school time programming. She is passionate about collaborating with educators to increase both impact and joy in the learning space. Tamera holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida at the New World School of the Arts and a master’s degree in International Education from the New York University. When not at the Museum, Tamera can be found doing jigsaw puzzles, exploring the mountains of Colorado and beyond, or in a yoga studio.