The end of the calendar year is a time when many lists are published with the best/worst of stories and events from the previous twelve months. The science world also engages in this practice, publishing the top science headlines from various outlets. I have generated similar blog posts for top science stories of 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Here, I am reproducing that post and updating the list to some of the collections of top science news stories from 2019, not just as a reminder to us of what has happened in our field going as far back as two semesters, but as a suggested topic to kick off the Spring 2020 semester with students.

A lost continent. Bullets made of dark matter. A “cow” in space.

These were the subjects of some of our favorite stories about scientific findings this year. 🔎 https://t.co/CJxhG4a86O

— News from Science (@NewsfromScience) December 24, 2019

If you ask your students what were the major scientific accomplishments in 2019, what would they say? Are they aware of what happened in the previous year, as well as the major concerns and challenges in the sciences? Depending upon the subject area you are teaching, how many (or how few) top stories are in the geosciences, marine sciences, paleontology, etc.? An even bigger question… should students know about what is currently happening in our discipline, and does the answer to this question vary for science and non-science majors?

Climate change touches just about everything. So does climate news. Here are some of the biggest stories we worked on in 2019. https://t.co/jvxbBfYNu9 pic.twitter.com/wcmWJqA1LU

— NYT Climate (@nytclimate) December 19, 2019

On the first day of class in 2020, I am going to give each of my students a blank scrap of paper and ask them to write down what they remember as the top five science stories were for 2019 – then I’ll ask them to list any additional stories that relate to our course. I’ll have them write their name on the paper and collect it so I can see what “current event literacy” my students have coming into the course. Since one of the goals of my courses is to highlight recent science news, it will be interesting to see how students answer this same question when I ask it again at the end of the semester for comparison.

This modification could be a fun way to start… what did scientists predict would be the big science stories for 2019?  Nature News had published What to expect in 2019: Science in the new year. Then there was NBC’s 19 bold predictions for science and technology in 2019, and Science Magazine’s What will be the big science stories of 2019? Here are our predictions. Science News had also added What will be the big science stories of 2019? Here are our predictions. Did the science happen? Was it newsworthy in the end?

But whether you decide to ask your students about the top science news stories for 2019 or not, I encourage you to review these lists to see if there were any announcements that you may have missed!

• BBC News – The big science and environment stories of 2019
• Discover Magazine – The Year’s Top Images of Earth from Space
• Ensia – From Nuclear Power to School Food Waste, Ensia’s Most-Read Stories of 2019
• Hakai Magazine – A Year of Fantastic Stories
• JSTOR Daily – Editors’ Picks: Sustainability and the Environment 2019
• NASA – What happened this year at NASA? and NASA Goddard’s 2019 Year in Review
• Nature – The best science images of the year: 2019 in pictures
• NOAA – NOAA Research’s Top 5 Stories from 2019, NOAA Education’s A year in review: 10 intriguing stories from 2019, and NOAA Fisheries Best Ocean Stories, Videos, and Photos of 2019
• Science – Our favorite science news stories of 2019 and there’s 2019’s Breakthrough of the Year and runners-up
• Science Friday – The Best of Science Friday 2019 and The Best Science Books of 2019 and all articles available in their Best of 2019 series
• Science News – Top 10 stories of 2019: A black hole picture, measles outbreaks, climate protests and more and Favorite Science Books of 2019 and These science claims from 2019 could be big deals — if true
• Smithsonian – Our Top Ten Stories of 2019 and Eighteen Things We’ve Learned About the Oceans in the Last Decade
• The Guardian – The science stories that shaped 2019
• The New York Times – What We Learned in Science News 2019 What We Learned in Space and Astronomy News in 2019, and 2019: The Year in Climate
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – The Best of 2019

There are video compilations as well, such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s 2019 Year in Review video.

How about science in 2020? Nature News has published The science events to watch for in 2020. Then there is NBC’s Innovations 12 reasons why 2020 will be an awesome year, and Los Angeles Times Eight science stories to watch for in 2020.

What happened this year at NASA?

🚀 🌔 Set a goal to return to the Moon, to stay, with the #Artemis program
🦅 🌔 Celebrated #Apollo50th and the historic first steps on the lunar surface
👩‍🚀👩‍🚀 The first-ever #AllWomanSpacewalk

And much, much more: https://t.co/pRbSFB76Ez pic.twitter.com/v4dzrFyq4n

— NASA (@NASA) December 31, 2019

(please add any lists/links in the Comments section that I may have missed!)