The group in one line
The National Science Teaching Association runs its fall national conference at the Indiana Convention Center from November 4 to November 7, 2026. The organiser calls it NSTA INDY26 and the theme is Empowering Educators, Fueling Futures. The venue forecasts 4,000 attendees.
Four days of programming run across six strands: Low-Prep, High-Impact Strategies for Science Teaching; Three-Dimensional Teaching, Curriculum, and Assessment; AI, Data, and Technology Tools for Career-Connected Science; High-Quality Science Teaching for Multilingual Learners and All Students; Connecting the Dots: Integrated Learning for Durable Skills; and Supporting Science Educators: Building Capacity, Not Burnout.
Conference registration includes a one-year NSTA membership. The organiser also offers professional development credit based on clock hours and graduate-level credit through Dominican University of California.
What the destination holds
The convention center publishes 7,100 hotel rooms in downtown Indianapolis and 4,700 rooms connected to the building by skywalk. It publishes 200 downtown restaurants within walking distance and 15 minutes to Indianapolis International Airport. The center sits at 100 S. Capitol Ave. The connected inventory equals 66.2 percent of the downtown count.
More than half of downtown's 7,100-plus rooms sit within blocks of the convention center and Lucas Oil Stadium, per the venue's hotels page.
No shuttle, so the skywalk sets the shortlist
The housing page states that NSTA provides no shuttle service between conference hotels and the convention center. Attendees walk, drive or ride.
The organiser hotel map marks nine of the 13 block hotels as connected to the convention center: Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Hyatt Regency, The Westin, Omni Severin and Embassy Suites.
Four block hotels sit outside the network. The map places Hampton Inn Downtown three blocks from the center, Holiday Inn Downtown two blocks out, Hyatt Place Indianapolis Downtown three blocks out, and Tru by Hilton two blocks out.
The block runs from $189 at Tru by Hilton to $279 at JW Marriott. The nine connected properties start at $239 and run to $279. The four hotels outside the network hold the four lowest rates: $189, $199, $209 and $231.
The block terms
IMN Solutions is the official housing provider, and the page names it the only booking channel. The page warns against unauthorised third-party housing companies and states that NSTA Housing guarantees the best rates.
Reservations run first-come, space-available. October 11, 2026 is the date to guarantee availability and conference rates. Hotels may charge higher rates after it. Agents take bookings by phone or email, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday.
The page publishes its deposit and cancellation terms. One night's room and tax per room is held on a credit card as a guarantee and not charged at booking. A cancellation after the published date carries a $50 processing fee per room. A cancellation inside 48 hours of arrival carries the $50 fee and a hotel penalty of one night's room and tax.
The levers a group can package
Three ticketed events sit beside the main programme, and each one adds a day to a group stay. The Professional Learning Institutes run Wednesday, November 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Leadership Development Academy runs the same day, 8:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The Leaders Institute for administrators runs Thursday, November 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Registration for all three opens at 7:15 a.m., and every participant receives breakfast and lunch at no charge.
The organiser sells a Leadership Experience ticket at $525 and describes it as over $1,400 in value. It bundles the Leadership Development Academy, the Leaders Institute, full conference registration, leadership-focused sessions, Leaders Lounge access and networking. The Leaders Institute does not require conference registration, and a Leaders Institute registrant can buy conference registration at a discounted rate.
A group can also use The Haven at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Marriott Ballroom 6. The organiser runs it as a meeting point with a complimentary lunch on three days and states that lunch seating is limited. Lunch tickets are issued by grade level across the three days.
The sourcing calendar and the pipeline
The venue's own event feed carries the NSTA dates at a forecast 4,000. The same feed lists the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers national conference on October 28 to 31 and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention on November 11 to 14.
The venue expansion page lists the 803-room Signia by Hilton Indianapolis as skybridge-connected with a December 2026 target and a 50,455-square-foot Grand Ballroom.
The Downtown Indy Alliance snapshot, republished by Bradford Allen on March 19, 2026 with CoStar and STR data, reports more than 1,500 rooms under construction, 3,402 in final planning and 3,220 proposed. It puts downtown occupancy at 64.7 percent and average daily rate at $209.11.