What happens when you put 150 teachers from 23 states and three countries in the same room for three days with a team of instructors who are over-the-top excited about teaching science? Enthusiasm for making science fun spreads like a virus. Concerns about test scores, curriculum changes or the ever-changing pressures of being a teacher seem to vanish. For three days, these teachers put their worries aside and focus on ways to bring wonder, discovery and exploration back into their classrooms. Here’s a glimpse at what happened at Science in the Rockies this year… Not all of the participants who come to Science in the Rockies start out loving science. Hilary Vanderveen admits she was a student who didn’t like science all that much, but this experience taught her how to avoid that attitude in her classroom. Vanderveen believes the key is raising the “I wonder factor” in her students’ minds as they approach various …
It’s great to get your e-mails and photos of your children and students doing the science activities featured in our Experiment of the Week. These photos are from Sheila Allen, just one of a number of great teachers in the Department of Defense Schools at Ramstein AFB in Germany. Sheila writes… “Well today was the big day and boy did the children have fun! I think my favorite was the Expanding Ivory Soap activity, and I picked just the right kid to trick with the Do Not Open Bottle. We were doing an A-Z countdown to the end of school and so for E we did experiments, and we thought your activities really hit the high point for us! There are 9 kindergarten classes at Ramstein Elementary school (K-2) , and it is a good place for science to happen.” Sheila Allen and her team of mad scientists are a great example of how early childhood teachers are having an incredible impact on the science concepts that young children are being exposed to in the early years of their education. Over the last 15 years, I’ve seen countless examples …
Just look at these pictures from Science in the Rockies last year and you’ll see why we don’t consider this your typical summer science workshop for teachers. Do not plan to attend Science in the Rockies 2008 if you are motivated by PowerPoint presentation, like quiet reading time from an outdated science text, hate to get your hands dirty, or have a fear of flying potatoes. One teacher described Science in the Rockies as the science methods class she never had but really needed! Science in the Rockies 2008 is scheduled for July 9-11 in Denver at the Sheraton Denver West conference center. Registration is still open, but as of this morning there are fewer than two dozen spots available. Years ago, teachers who took this workshop called it a “science boot camp” - an intensive experience designed to inspire, motivate and move you into action… and the concept stuck. This boot camp is for K-5 teachers who need creative science integration strategies… who are tired of trying to “squeeze” science into their already packed teaching schedule… and who want to make science even more …
The final step is to drive the cement truck filled with 2,500 pounds of cornstarch and 250 gallons of water to the back lot at the Ellen Show and pour the goo into a giant bathtub - 7 feet long, 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep. It’s also a good idea to have your oobleck mixing experts change their clothes and spend the next 4 hours mixing the goo by hand to ensure the perfect consistency right before the tub gets moved on stage. How do you move a tub that weighs about 6,000 pounds? Using a forklift, of course.
It’s just part of being a speaker… strange things happen while you’re on the road. I recently presented a full-day science training for teachers in the Chicago area when a lady approached me just prior to the start of the workshop. She wanted to know how long I had been speaking for Steve Spangler. I laughed and told her that I was Steve Spangler. Her immediate response was, “Oh, I heard that Steve doesn’t present workshops any more - he just sends someone out in his place.” I’ve been speaking professionally for almost 18 years, and I’ve never been able to find anyone who wants my job! I later learned that this woman had attended a conference where one of our Spangler Science Ambassadors presented a workshop. It dawned on me that I haven’t talked much about our Ambassador program, and I can see where people might be confused. The Spangler Science Ambassador Program started in 2004…
