Science Reference Institute -Tier3 SciRefInst3.2

[JCONSTANT@UMASSD.EDU]

SCIENCE REFERENCE INSTITUTE  TIER THREE  JULY 27, 28, 29,  1994  SIMMONS
COLLEGE


Wednesday Afternoon Sessions    July 27, 1994

Museum of Science Staff, Part One:
Using Children's Literature to Teach Science , Tanya Gregoire  and Mike Fetsko

Intro by Mike Fetsko:
The museum is developing new workshops involving process skills and hands on
observations, experiments, etc.


Some of the outreach programs
-Science and Magic
-Amazing Things
-Food Chemistry
-Brazilian Rain Forest
-Schools Star Lab
-The fee is $300.00-400.00 for the events which are primarily directed to k-8
age group
-DNA class for high school students
These programs are available at no cost to public library
-A#(  Things
-Food Chemistry
-Brazilian  Forest
-Schools Star Lab
-The fee is $300.00-400.00 for the events which are primarily directed to k-8
age group
-DNA class for high school students
These programs are available at no cost to public libraries through a Boston
Public Library Grant, but schools do pay.


Literature Presentation by Tanya:
Some literature titles useful for teaching science (See also the handout from
museum staff):

-Mystery Story (Theories..possible solutions. Student reaches own conclusions
based on clues.)
-Einstein Anderson detective series
-Encyclopedia Brown series
-Eleventh Hour (Code breaking, hieroglyphics, observation skills.)
-Sherlock Holmes and the Dancing Man

GEMS SERIES: Great Explorations in math and Science, published by the Lawrence
Hall of Science in Canada for grades k-8. These include annotated
bibliographies. Some sample titles are:
-Once Upon a Gems Guide  c, 1993
-GEMS Mystery Festival ( resource guides for teachers k-3 and 4-8 ) Guides to
setting up science mystery activities.
-GEMS curriculum guides


LOGIC PROBLEMS:
-Logical Case of the Missing T Shirt (includes steps to using a visual
organizer to find the solution)

FINGERPRINT PATTERNS--categorizing

CODE BREAKING see handout


Activities Section by Mike:
Some periodicals containing ideas for science activities are:
-Science and Children
-Physics Teacher Monthly
-Science Teacher

BOOK BAGS: Library books with related museum or teacher made activities in a
zip lock bag. Some samples shown by Mike:
-Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
-Spiders
-Glorious Flight Across the Channel

Participants were then given books and asked for suggestions on making book bag
activities.
-Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs(house construction, food chain, weather)
-Mysteries of Harris Burdick(creative writing, one line story starters)
-Ice Cream (making ice cream in a zip lock bag)
-Who Killed Cock Robin (charts of contributing factors, questionnaires, etc.)
-
 Story of Little Mole who Went In Search of Who Dunnit (mystery box, Haloween
idea of identifying object by feeling it. Could use a camera change box as the
mystery box.)

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Museum of Science Staff, Part Two
Henry Robinson: Science Kits Program

Mr. Robinson discussed the Museum's own kit program, kinds of kits, and
directions to teachers for making their own kits.

Three kinds of kits:
.............           ..............           ...............
I've got a              Hands on                 Empty
secret                  activities
.............           ..............           ...............
/                   /                    /
facts, ie. books        realia                   lets students create


MUSEUM KIT RENTALS: CALL  1-800-722-5487
There are 16 topics for grades k-6. These are for 5-6 week thematic units in
the following areas:
Ancient Egypt           Birds               Clues to the Past
Dinosaurs               Microscopes              Insect Investigation
Just Add Water          Plants and Seeds        Rocks and Minerals
Si gr## k-6. These are for 5-6 week thematic units in the following areas:
Ancient Egypt           Birds               Clues to the Past
Dinosaurs                         Insect Investigation
Just Add Water          Plants and Seeds        Rocks and Minerals

Simple Machines         Solar System             Tremendous Trees
Sound                   Weather                  Wolves and Humans
Electricity and Magnets

Each kit has an accompanying inventory list and table of contents

DISCOVERY CENTER KITS: these are smaller kits with a single activity that
children can do alone (kits, magic baskets, etc.)

DESIGNING A KIT: (SEE HANDOUT)

-Primary consideration is safety first. You then need to consider budget, and
to involve the clerical staff as part of the design team.

-Your next considerations are the purpose of your kit, and the selection of a
topic related to the purpose.

-Develop the concepts you want students to learn, and research for possible
materials and activities.

-Select activities, and then, select the most durable materials you can find.

-Piloting the kit, evaluating the results, and training follow.

-Maintaining materials (Best not to use consumable materials in your kits, as
you will have to budget to replace these consumables.)

Our Institute group then was given a list of fifty items, and asked to choose
the ten most useful items to save if they were shipwrecked, and had to teach
science to people on a remote island. Food and housing, Etc., would be taken
care of by the native inhabitants. We were separated into groups of five or six
people to do this activity. We then narrowed down our choices to five items,
and explained why we selected those items. It was interesting to see why people
chose their final list, and what they thought was important to teach. (If I
have time to scan this material, I'll upload it at a future date.
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SCIENCE MUSEUM LIBRARY PRESENTATION BY Janet Hamilton, Librarian and Director
of the Lyman Library at the Boston Science Museum

We received the following  useful handouts, some of which I hope to scan at a
later date and upload to LM_NET. Those who want these items sooner might
contact Janet Hamilton at the Lyman Library: tel.: 617-589-0170

-Science by Mail brochure ( for Grades 4-9 :scientist pen pal. Fee is $56.00
per year for a group of four students.)
-Science Kit Rental Program brochure
-Teaching Science and Math: Annotated bibliography of resources available at
the Lyman Library
-Science Projects: Annotated bibliography of books available in the Lyman
Library
-Address list of suppliers for many of the resources on the above lists
-VHS Science Videos  Annotated subject listing of over 200 free loan science
videos, primarily for grades 7-12/adult. These can be loaned by telephone,
mail, or by the OCLC network.

-Flyer outlining all the services of the Lyman Library, which is open to
anyone, including New England teachers and librarians. Books go out for four
weeks, and videos for 2 weeks. They also have 100 science magazines with
General Science Index on CD. They also have the Nexus service with online
access to hundreds of newspapers and magazines.
Library staff accept mail requests from teachers and librarians. They are open
seven days a week from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Materials  may be returned 24
hours a day in the blue book drop near the Museum of Science Garage.

-Copies of articles from Science and Children magazine and from Science Books
and Films magazine with sample reviews of science books and films for children.
Some of the reviewing and selecting tools shown to us are listed below. We also
received an address list for many of these suppliers:
..Ames Education Foundation catalog
..AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) bibliographies in
Science Books and Films magazines
..American Chemical Society's publication: Wonder Science  ($6.00 for 8 issues)
..Appraisal, a quarterly review of science children's books produced
cooperatively by librarians and scientists.
..Exploring  by Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco
..GEMS (Great Explorations in Science) by the Lawrence Hall of Science in
Berkeley, CA (Pre K--Grade 10)

...GPN  distributor for the Children's Television Workshop series:  3-2-1
Contact;  3-2-1 Contact Extra; and Reading Rainbow videocassettes

..National Geographic Services Catalog. They offer a 10% discount on videos for
schools and libraries.

The National Science Teachers Association also publishes Science Teacher
magazine. Other selection tools are: Ranger Rick; Connect k-8 (science and math
activities); Science Signals
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MUSEUM SCIENCE THEATER: THE BOGMAN'S DAUGHTER   performed by Catherine Hughes.

Enjoyable and instructive half hour dramatic presentation at  the Mysteries of
the Bog exhibit. Catherine Hughes artfully interweaves the story of how peat is
formed, how it is dug, and its importance to the lives of people living in the
bog with  background music and local folklore. Catherine Hughes also does
presentations about other topics such as the Human Genome, and can tailor the
presentations to suit the audience.
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COMPUTER DISCOVERY SPACE with guide Leianna Oliver

 Half-hour  hands-on opportunity to try science computer software. Much of the
software is for K-8 age level.Sorry I didn't  write down all the titles. Many
were from the MECC collection.  They had the Tom Snyder interactive videodisks:
The Great Ocean Rescue and The Great Solar System Rescue,(great programs)  and
various math and science computer programs. If you are in an elementary or
middle school library media center, you will probably want to try some of them
when you visit this area.
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Omni Theater Presentation on THE GREAT SHARKS. Excellent underwater photography
of missions to experiment with various shark repellent materials.
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OTHER MATERIALS RECEIVED IN PACKAGE OF HANDOUTS FROM SCIENCE MUSEUM:
-Children's Discovery Museum Book List
-Fact Sheet about Massachusetts Water Resource Authority tours of the sludge
processing plant
-Excerpt from the following: Guidebook to Excellence:1994, a directory of
federal resources for mathematics and science  education improvement
-Lloyd Center Newsletter for Environmental Studies
-United States Environmental Protection Agency publication: Programs for Youth
and Youth Educators: 1994 Update
-Excerpts from:  EPA-The Directory of Environmental Groups
-flyer: Junior Solar Sprint-a model solar car competition for middle school
science students
- bibliography from Paul Pelletier, Science Reference Librarian at Worcester
Public Library:  A Sampling of Some Basic Science References:
-sample newsletter from: Northeast Utilities Teacher Line
-Catalog of materials from Boston Edison
-ALF (Agricultural Library Forum) online bulletin board of the National
Agricultural Library in Beltsville, MD (descriptive flyer)
-Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education
(descriptive flyer)
-Environmental Education in Massachusetts, a resource guide (a directory of
organizations and contacts)
- Biorap  a new newsletter about biomedical research for middle school
students.
-PALMS  handouts about the PALMS program (Partnerships Advancing the Learning
of Mathematics and Science), a federally funded five year grant for a statewide
systemic initiative to improve the teaching of science and math.
-Sharing Science: Linking Students with Scientists and Engineers, a survival
guide for teachers (handout)
-Selections from: Getting Started, a Guide to Bringing        Environmental
Education Into Your Classroom
-Whale Watching Guidelines (handout)
-sample issue of Appraisal, Science Books for Young People (by Children's
Science Book Review Committee, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the
Science Education Dept. of the Boston University School of Education and the
New England Roundtable of Children's Librarians)
-sample issue of Booklinks, Connecting Books, Libraries and Classrooms (a
booklist publication of the American Library Association. Excellent resource
for elementary and middle school library media centers.)
-excerpts from  Checklist of Reference Sources for Libraries  by Virginia L.
Dietrich, Oklahoma Department of Education.) This book is in the collection of
the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Library in Boston.
-Discovery Museums Book List (handout)

Many of these are probably available on request from the museum.
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