NSTA Kids recently had its popular Next Time You See a Sunset book read by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The space station's Story Time from Space (STFS) program is a project supported by the Global Space Education Foundation and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space) that aims to foster literacy and STEM learning. Watch astronaut Mark Vande Hei read  Next Time You See a Sunset.

The popularity of "escape rooms" has carried over to the science classroom in the form of breakout box games that teachers use to review or introduce content. Learn more about how teachers are incorporating breakout games in their classrooms.

Congress has agreed to a two-year spending deal that lifts the budget caps and will increase funding for Fiscal Year 2018 domestic programs and the Senate began work on the Higher Education Act. Read this, and more, in this issue of the NSTA Legislative Update.

President Trump's original proposed budget announced last year cuts science education funding, including the education sectors of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as several federal grant programs, EdSource reports. "Systematically, throughout the government, we've seen an anti-science bias," said David Evans, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association. "This can have a significant impact on students. It makes me fear for the future." Read the article and check out the Education News Roundup for a selection of the week's top education news stories.

Exemplary K–12 lab teachers wanted. The Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge offers K–12 teachers located in select school districts near Shell assets a chance to win a school science lab makeover support package valued at $10,000 (for the elementary and middle levels) and $15,000 (for the high school level). The deadline for submissions is April 10. 

Join us Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time for the Teaching Controversial Topics virtual conference. At the end of this virtual conference, you will walk away with strategies for the classroom regarding teaching controversial topics, have a better understanding of the Nature of Science, and have the opportunity to network with other teachers of science. Register before the February 16 earlybird deadline and save!