National Science Teaching Association

What National Science Teaching Association does

The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), founded in 1944 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is the largest US professional association dedicated to science education, serving 35,000+ members and reaching an estimated 2 million K-12 and postsecondary science teachers. NSTA operates a vertically integrated platform spanning five peer-reviewed journals (Science & Children, Science Scope, The Science Teacher, Journal of College Science Teaching, Connected Science Learning), the NSTA Press book imprint, the NSTA Learning Center (180,000+ users with 70,000+ forum posts and 164,000+ badges awarded), Professional Learning Units for continuing education credit, and the free Daily Do sensemaking lesson library. The 2026 leadership team is led by CEO Robert Lay, with a governance restructuring in June 2026 introducing a new Board of Directors and Leadership Council under president-elect Dat Le, PhD. Technology infrastructure includes the NSTA Portal, the Atom AI Assistant for resource discovery, Interactive E-Books+ Professional with embedded assessments, and integration with wholesale distributor Ingram Content Group.

NSTA monetizes through eight distinct streams: individual membership dues (annual, recurring), conference registration and expo booth sales (national and regional, with booths priced $3,680–$67,000), NSTA Press bookstore sales distributed direct and via Ingram, the College Class Bundle program ($80–$104 per student across 200+ universities), institutional e-licensing for districts (10–40% volume discounts on print-equivalent costs), advertising in journals and the 250,000-subscriber NSTA Reports e-newsletter, mailing-list rentals ($110–$130 per thousand with demographic selects, minimum order 5,000 names), and administration of marquee competitions including the 34-year Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision (world's largest K-12 science competition) and the Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge. Corporate partners Carolina, ECA, Flinn Scientific, and Vernier anchor both content credibility and monetization. The 2025–2026 strategic footprint expanded with the Class CrunchLabs launch (October 2025, $7.2M grant-funded), a CrunchLabs.org Foundation partnership with Mark Rober as 2026 keynote, the 2025 Best STEM Books list with the Children's Book Council, and the Indianapolis 2026 national conference.

Name

National Science Teaching Association

Legal name

National Science Teaching Association

Website

https://nsta.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The National Science Teaching Association is the largest US professional association for science educators, serving 35,000+ members and a broader community of approximately 2 million science teachers through membership, peer-reviewed journals, conferences, professional development, and K-12 science competitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from 35,000+ members including teachers, science supervisors, administrators, informal educators, home educators, scientists, and business/industry representatives. Members receive access to journals (ranked as #1 benefit), discounts on conferences and products.
2. Bookstore Sales: Sales of NSTA Press books, co-publications, and third-party science education titles. Includes bestsellers like the Uncovering Student Ideas series, Stop Faking It! series, and Picture-Perfect STEM books. Also includes NSTA Kids children's books.
3. Conference Revenue: Registration fees for national and regional conferences (e.g., Indianapolis 2026, Minneapolis 2025). Includes expo hall booth rentals ($3,680-$67,000 depending on size) and exhibitor workshops ($1,125-$1,250 per session).
4. Advertising and Sponsorships: Revenue from advertising in journals (Science & Children, Science Scope, The Science Teacher), NSTA Reports e-newsletter (250,000+ subscribers), website banner ads (1M+ monthly page views), and corporate sponsorships from partners like Carolina, Flinn Scientific, Vernier, and ECA.
5. College Class Bundle Program: University students purchase Class Bundles ($80-$104 per student) including digital membership and access to e-book libraries, professional learning units. Professors receive free digital professional membership.
6. E-Licensing: Building or district-wide digital licensing of NSTA Press books with pricing based on quantity (10-40% discount off multiple copy costs). Enables transfer of seats when teachers leave.
7. Mailing Lists: Rental of postal mailing lists segmented by grade level, discipline, position, institution type, and geography. NSTA Members list at $130/M; Active Buyers list at $110/M; NSTA Masterfile at $120/M.
8. Competitions Administration: Administration of student competitions including the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competition (world's largest K-12 science competition) and Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

NSTA is a nonprofit professional association that delivers science education resources, publications, and professional development to science educators across the United States. Its core offerings include individual memberships providing access to five peer-reviewed journals, an NSTA Press book catalog, the NSTA Learning Center online community, Professional Learning Units, web seminars, conferences, and student competitions. It also sells books, e-books, and provides district-wide e-licensing and university class bundle programs.

Product overview

The National Science Teaching Association operates a comprehensive platform for science education, combining membership services with professional learning resources, publications, and competitions. The core offerings include five NSTA Journals spanning elementary through postsecondary education, the NSTA Press book catalog featuring award-winning series (Uncovering Student Ideas, Stop Faking It!, Picture-Perfect Science, Everyday Science Mysteries), and Interactive E-Books+ Professional. Professional development is delivered through Professional Learning Units (PLU), live Web Seminars, and the Daily Do lesson plan library. The association hosts the annual National Conference on Science Education and administers the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competition, the world's largest K-12 science competition. Recently launched Class CrunchLabs provides free middle school curriculum through a $7.2M grant. The NSTA Learning Center serves as the online community hub with 180,000+ users, while Atom AI Assistant provides intelligent search across resources. The platform is accessible through NSTA Membership serving 35,000+ educators, the NSTA Bookstore for publications and e-licensing, and supplementary directories for science supplies and career opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NSTA Journals

Quantifiable outcome

• 35,000+ members representing the largest science teacher membership base
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• CrunchLabs.org FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2026CrunchLabs founder Mark Rober delivered the keynote address at the 2026 NSTA National Conference in Anaheim. CrunchLabs launched Class CrunchLabs, a free science curriculum for middle school students, with a $7.2 million grant. The partnership includes a four-part webinar series (February 2027) on implementing the CrunchLabs curriculum.
• Children's Book CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2025The Children's Book Council cooperated with NSTA to select the 2025 list of best STEM books for K-12 students, highlighting 22 books that explore real-world problems and promote critical thinking.
• ToshibaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerToshiba has been the title sponsor of the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competition for 34 years, the world's largest K-12 science competition. First-place winners receive $10,000 and second-place winners receive $5,000 in U.S. Series EE Savings Bonds. The competition fosters STEM interest among young students across the United States and Canada.
• ColossalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerColossal partnered with NSTA for the 'America's Favorite Teacher' and 'America's Favorite Student' campaigns. Winners receive recognition and meet Bill Nye the Science Guy, with support from The Planetary Society and Reader's Digest.
• The Planetary SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Planetary Society partnered with NSTA to support the 'America's Favorite Teacher' and 'America's Favorite Student' campaigns, providing additional credibility and reach for science education advocacy.
• Reader's DigestminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReader's Digest partnered with NSTA as part of the 'America's Favorite Teacher' and 'America's Favorite Student' campaigns, contributing to public recognition and media support for science educators.
• ShellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShell partners with NSTA for the Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge, a competition for K-12 teachers near Shell assets to win a science classroom makeover. Applications due February 2027.
• CarolinaflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCarolina is a long-standing NSTA corporate partner, appearing on the Corporate Partners logo banner alongside ECA, Flinn Scientific, and Vernier. Provides science supplies and equipment to science educators.
• ECA (ECA Science Kit Services)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorECA Science Kit Services is a corporate partner providing kit management, replenishment, and fulfillment services in their 'Ready-to-Teach' style for NSTA's Picture-Perfect STEM ClassPacks. ECA's services enable cost-effective science kit distribution to school districts.
• Flinn ScientificflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerFlinn Scientific is a long-standing NSTA corporate partner featured on the Corporate Partners logo banner. Provides science laboratory supplies and safety equipment to educators.
• VernierflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerVernier is a long-standing NSTA corporate partner featured on the Corporate Partners logo banner. Provides science technology and sensors for data collection in classrooms.
• Ingram Content GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIngram Content Group handles bulk orders for NSTA Press books through Ingram Consortium Book Sales and Distribution (CBSD), providing wholesale pricing and streamlined fulfillment for bookstores, online retailers, and resellers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): NCTM is the parallel K-12 subject-matter professional association for mathematics educators, operating an almost identical model: ~40K+ members, peer-reviewed journals, professional learning units, regional and national conferences, and a Press book catalog. It is the closest functional twin to NSTA in a different discipline.
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): NCTE is the direct K-12 subject association for English language arts, with a comparable membership, journal, conference, and publishing model serving the same teacher audience around a different subject.
• National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS): NCSS is the closest peer among subject-specific teacher associations for social studies, with member subscriptions, journals, annual conference, and professional development resources similar to NSTA.
• ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development): ASCD is a comparable but broader professional association serving educators, curriculum directors, and administrators with membership, publications, conferences, and PD — overlapping NSTA's leadership and supervisor customer segments.
• International Literacy Association (ILA): ILA is a peer professional educator association focused on literacy, with memberships, peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and awards operating a model highly comparable to NSTA.
• International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): ISTE is a peer membership association focused on educational technology, with conferences, certification, and a publishing presence analogous to NSTA's professional development and conference activities.

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic Education: Scholastic is a much larger commercial K-12 publisher across multiple subjects and grade levels, with overlapping customer audiences (teachers, schools) and competition for instructional content and book budgets.

Emerging players

• Curriculum Associates: Curriculum Associates (i-Ready) provides standards-aligned digital instruction and assessment in science and other subjects at district scale; comparable to NSTA's standards-aligned publishing and licensing business but delivered as a commercial digital platform.
• Discovery Education: Discovery Education is a commercial K-12 digital science curriculum and content provider whose standards-aligned digital resources compete for the same science curriculum budgets as NSTA's licensing and Press offerings.

Others

• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC): CEC is a peer professional educator membership organization in special education with comparable membership, journals, and conference model, and is thematically adjacent to NSTA's K-12 educator community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nsta
• Facebookfacebook.com/NSTA.FB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/44764

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Science Teaching Association