To kick off the 2017-18 school year, Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair (GNOSEF) is hosting a free workshop for teachers and science fair coordinators on Saturday, Aug. 26, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Tulane University, Norman Mayer Building, Room MA 101 (building 6 on the Tulane campus map).   Round-table discussions with experienced teachers will address finding opportunities and overcoming obstacles, while providing important information needed to participate in the GNOSEF. The workshop also helps them prepare for the 62nd Annual Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair to be held February 26, 27, 28 and March 1. Attendees will be awarded a certificate after the five-hour training session, which can be submitted to their school district for requesting CLU (Continuing Learning Unit) credits. Teachers are invited and strongly encouraged to attend the annual GNOSEF Teacher Workshop. There is no charge, but teachers must register by Wednesday, August 23rd, as lunch will be served. Hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), American Petroleum Institute (API), Tulane University, Core Element, H. Britton Sanderford and the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, the free, five-hour workshop, which includes lunch, will include an introduction to the GNOSEF plus the opportunity to attend 3 breakout sessions that allow participants to focus on their interest and need. There will also be brief presentations on resources available, the timeline for participating in the GNOSEF, and an overview of the more than $60,000 in awards, prizes and grants for students, teachers and schools. “This annual workshop is our way of assisting educators with information and resources to help them better deliver STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) curricula, in general, and science fair knowledge, specifically. STEM is important to a child’s overall education, their future career goals and the economic growth of our community,” said Annette Oertling, Ph. D., co-fair director of the non-profit Greater New Orleans Science Fair, Inc. “According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Louisiana will have nearly 70,000 STEM-related jobs to fill by 2018, so it is vitally important that we provide the support needed to teach future generations of STEM employees.” There is no charge for the Saturday, Aug. 26 GNOSEF Teacher Workshop, but teachers must register by Wednesday, Aug. 23.  For more information about the Teacher Workshop and the 2017-2018 Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair in February, visit: gnosef.tulane.edu.