Nsta National Conference 2026

The National Science Teaching Association runs national conferences on science and STEM education, one in spring and one in fall, in rotating U.S. cities. Science and STEM educators and leaders attend for sessions, workshops, institutes and an expo hall of teaching resources.

Nsta National Conference 2026

The NSTA National Conference runs November 4–7, 2026 in Indianapolis.

What it is

This is the National Science Teaching Association's fall national conference for science and STEM educators, from classroom teachers to district leaders. NSTA calls it its "preeminent professional learning event of the fall." The program runs over four days of sessions, workshops and poster sessions, grouped into strands.

The 2026 strands include three-dimensional teaching and assessment; AI, data and technology tools for career-connected science; teaching multilingual learners; integrated learning for durable skills; and supporting science educators. The Expo Hall has companies and organizations showing science and STEM resources, product demos and exhibitor workshops.

Schedule and registration

• Ticketed events (November 4–5) are full-day workshops, sold separately from the conference. You can add a Professional Learning Institute, the Leaders Institute or the Leadership Development Academy to your conference registration, or buy one as a stand-alone ticket. The academy is run jointly with the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA).
• Expo Hall is open Thursday, November 5 (10:50 AM–5:00 PM), Friday, November 6 (9:00 AM–5:00 PM) and Saturday, November 7 (9:00 AM–1:00 PM, the short last day). Some hours on Thursday and Friday are set aside as exclusive expo time.
• First-timers sessions run Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning.
• The Haven offers daily grade-level sessions and a lunch that needs a reserved ticket.

Credits

NSTA issues a transcript based on clock hours and recognizes up to 19 clock hours for national conferences. These are not graduate or continuing-education units.

To get the transcript, you must evaluate your sessions within 90 days. Graduate-level credit is available separately through Dominican University of California.

Future NSTA national conferences

The spring 2027 conference is in Boston, March 17–20. The next fall conference is in Portland, OR, November 3–6, 2027.