About 165 teachers sacrificed their Saturday this weekend, hoping to learn how to make science and math more interesting to their students.

Educators from Tucson and outlying school districts in southern Arizona attended the Sixth Annual Science and Mathematics Conference at Desert View High School.

Workshops on subjects including biotechnology, Internet astronomy and geology were presented by University of Arizona faculty and community teachers. The presentations were designed to show teachers a hands-on approach to science and math.

The UA Science and Mathematics Education Center helped sponsor and organize the conference.

Selina Johnson, SAMEC program coordinator, said the organization helps teachers and other educators find out what's going on in the math and science community.

"SAMEC cuts across the separate units of the university. It brings together university people from all colleges who want to work in support of K-12 in math and science," said Richard Greenberg, director of SAMEC and planetary sciences professor.

He said SAMEC is looking for ways UA faculty can work with kindergarten through 12th-grade educators.

SAMEC also provides administrative, secretarial and financial support.

Greenberg said the conference is an opportunity for teachers to be updated on advances in science. But most importantly, he said, it allows teachers to be part of a community of educators and scientists.

David Byrum, chemistry and physics teacher at Flowing Wells High School, agreed.

"Science teaching is a lonely endeavor. You don't get to meet with experts in the field. The conference is an opportunity for science teachers in the community to listen to people who are very good in their field and adopt them into their classrooms."

Byrum said teachers get to hear information on "state of the art stuff" and tell their students that there is a reason to learn science.

Robin Roche, program coordinator for the education outreach program at the UA Center for Insect Science, presented a one-hour workshop on cochineals, dye-producing insects that fasten onto cactus pads.

Roche encouraged teachers to take cochineals off of cactus pads and make their own dye.

"I'm trying to get them excited about using insects to teach," Roche said.

Kathryn Lloyd, fourth-grade teacher at Wheeler Elementary School, attended the cochineal workshop. Lloyd said she wants to incorporate science into the classroom curriculum.

She said hands-on activities grab the interest of students and hold it longer than just reading dry material.

Marianne Hernandez, second- and third-grade teacher at Ochoa Elementary School, attended the workshop on children's literature and the integration of math and science.

"It's really neat to see how literature is integrated with math and science. You get ideas from the workshops that you can take back with you and use them in the classroom," Hernandez said.

This was the first year museums participated in the conference. Pima Air and Space Museum offered a workshop called "Flying into the Future: Integrating Aviation into Your Curriculum," and gave a full tour of the museum.

The aerospace collection can encourage young people in the areas of science and math, said Edward Harrow, executive director at the Pima Air and Space Museum. Harrow said the museum wants to show their education program to educators and encourage them to bring in their students, at no charge, into the museum.