Annual Meeting

The 2023 Missouri Academy of Science Annual Meeting

is scheduled for April 21-22, 2023

Location:  Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, MO 

Schedule for the Missouri Junior Academy of Science (MJAS) Annual Meeting

Friday, April 21, 2023

Time Event Location
8:30 – 10:00 AM General Registration Connor Ballroom (Billingsly Student Center, BSC 335)- Lobby
10:00 – 10:30 AM Welcome/Orientation Connor Ballroom (Billingsly Student Center, BSC 335)

Drs. Teresa Boman and Mary Kilmer, State Co-Directors
10:30 AM -12:30 PM High and Middle School Concurrent Paper Sessions BSC and Reynolds Hall (see program book for full schedule)
12:30 – 1:45 PM Lunch  MSSU Lions Den, Dining Hall or Other
2:00 – 3:00 PM Early Awards and Announcement of Finalists Connor Ballroom, BSC 335
3:00 – 5:00 PM High and Middle School Concurrent Finalist Paper Sessions Middle School: BSC 309

High School: Connor Ballroom, BSC 335
6:00 – 6:30 PM Middle and High School Finalists Awards Ceremony  Connor Ballroom (BSC 335)

Schedule for the Missouri Academy of Science (MAS)

Senior Division Annual Meeting

Friday, April 21 – Saturday, April 22, 2023

Time Event Location
Friday
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM MAS Social, Evening Opener, Science Improv, Refreshments North End Zone (NEZ 205)
Saturday
8:00 – 9:00 AM Onsite Registration and Poster Set-up Reynolds Hall Lobby (2nd floor)
9:00 – 9:45 AM In-Person Poster Session A Reynolds Hall/Nixon Hall (see program book for full details)
9:45 – 10:30 AM In-Person Poster Session B Reynolds Hall/Nixon Hall (see program book for full details)
10:45- 11:45 AM Keynote Speaker, Chad Pregracke, Founder of Living Lands and Waters Taylor Performing Arts Center
11:45 – 1:00 PM Meet with the Speaker and Lunch  MSSU Dining Hall or Other
1:00- 1:30 PM Business Meeting (all welcome to attend) Reynolds Hall 111
1:30 – 4:30 PM Oral Presentations Reynolds Hall and Nixon Hall (see program book for full details)

Keynote Speaker:

In celebration of the MAS Conference occurring on Earth Day, MSSU is very excited to host Mr. Chad Pregracke as the keynote speaker.

The Mississippi River was literally Chad Pregracke’s back yard while growing up near East Moline, IL. The son of educators and river enthusiasts, KeeKee and Gary Pregracke, Chad and his older brother, Brent, spent the majority of their time on, in and around the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Between his childhood and first job as a clam digger, it didn’t take long before realizing that he didn’t like what he saw – above or below the river – and decided to do something about it. At the age of 17, Chad started making calls to government agencies to notify them of the problem, assuming someone would take care of it. Year after year passed by and the problem only worsened. In 1997, Chad decided that if no one else was going to clean up the river, he would.

In 1998 at the age of 23, Chad founded Living Lands & Waters. Today, the organization has grown to include a full staff and fleet of equipment. The crew averages nine states a year along the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio Rivers, as well as many of their tributaries. Most recently, Chad expanded the mission of the organization to include Student Educational Workshops, The MillionTrees Project, Adopt-a-River Mile, Invasive Species Removal and The Great Mississippi River Cleanup.