Freeport–McMoRan Foundation Center for Leadership in Learning provides schools, districts, and community partners with standards-aligned, research-based professional development opportunities for PreK-8 educators and administrators. All of our facilitators are certified educators with a passion for inspiring creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. We measure our success through the confidence and competence we instill in those we support.
At Your School
Engage in hands-on, standards-aligned, research-based best practices that strengthen educator/administrator practice and build the skills educators need to effectively address students' learning needs. We offer a wide range of topics with sessions ranging from 90 minutes to six hours, and can occur during or after the school day.
Science Teacher Residency (STaR) Program
STaR is an innovative, hands-on program that is led by expert facilitators and content specialists focused on addressing common misconceptions about STEM subjects that are often taught in the classroom.
Early Childhood Educator Science Series
Young children are engaged by and welcome the opportunity to explore their world and confront challenging concepts in science, technology and engineering.
Educate to Innovate Conference
Spend the day earning professional development hours by engaging with innovative content, networking with colleagues and exploring ways to engage our young learners in STEM lessons.
Code.org Regional Partner
Code.org has helped prepare nearly 100K elementary, middle, and high school teachers to offer computer science, 98 percent of whom say they would recommend the program to another teacher.
Integrating Authentic Research into the Classroom
Are you an educator in a Title I school looking to increase student engagement through authentic research projects? If you want to learn how to guide your students through the process of conducting real research and designing their experiments, our team can help you integrate this into your classroom.
Workshops
To stay up-to-date on upcoming workshops and professional development opportunities, join our monthly newsletter mailing list here.
Engineering in the Early Years
K-2 Educators
August 30 | 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | Free Registration Required*
Explore innovative strategies and hands-on activities to introduce engineering concepts to young children. Learn how to foster problem solving skills, creativity, and curiosity through the engineering design process.
Engineering Design in the Workforce
Grades 3-8 Educators
August 30 | 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | Free Registration Required*
This workshop explores the 4 C's—critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication—through the Engineering Design Process, highlighting how it fosters career readiness and soft skills like adaptability, teamwork, and communication, offering practical strategies for educators to implement.
Edison Robots
Grades 2-8 Educators
September 6 | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | $50 (1 robot included)
Discover how to use Edison robots to teach coding, robotics, and problem-solving in the classroom. This hands-on workshop covers basic programming, lesson ideas, and interactive activities—no prior experience needed!
Microbit Training
Grades 3-8 Educators
September 6 | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | $25 (1 Microbit included)
Learn how to integrate Micro:bits into your teaching to make computer science and STEM engaging. This hands-on workshop covers basic programming, lesson ideas, and interactive projects—perfect for all experience levels!
Educate to Innovate
September 19 | 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | $40
Join Arizona Science Center for a day of inspiration, innovation and fun! Spend the day earning professional development hours by engaging with innovative content, networking with colleagues and exploring ways to engage our learners in STEM lessons.
Web Design
Grades 6-10 Educators
October 4 | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | $25
During this workshop, explore how to teach problem solving, creative expression, and teamwork by having students create and share content on their very own web pages.
*Focused on grades 6-10
Animation and Games
Grades 6-10 Educators
October 4 | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® | $25
Participants will discover how to engage in the same design process that computer scientists use to learn how to teach programming concepts and develop images, animations, interactive art, and games.
*Focused on grades 6-10
SEMIquest From Classroom to Cleanroom: Educator Professional Development Day
Presented by SEMI Foundation and Arizona Science Center
October 8, 2025 | 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
CREATE @ Arizona Science Center (105 N. 5th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004) | FREE (Registration Required)
Explore How Today’s Classrooms Can Shape Tomorrow’s Tech Workforce! Arizona is becoming a national hub for the booming semiconductor industry, and YOU can help students tap into this high-demand career field. Join us for a FREE, hands-on professional development workshop where you’ll gain tools, skills, and real-world context to make STEM and computer science more exciting and relevant than ever.
Arizona Science Center's Professional Development Programs Are Generously Supported By:
APS/APS Foundation
Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust
Ernst & Young
Freeport-McMoRan Foundation
Junior League of Phoenix
PNC Foundation
Thunderbirds Charities
Verizon
Voya Foundation