Tag - Science Education

Weather and Science Day with 9News, Steve Spangler Science and the Colorado Rockies Reaches All Time High

Our annual Weather and Science Day reached a new height this year with the launch of a weather balloon during the event. The weather balloon was launched with help from The Edge of Space. During it’s flight, it reached the edge of space at a height of 93,000 feet. That’s higher than Mount Everest and higher than what a military jet can fly (50,000 feet). The balloon drifted northeast and landed hours later near Synder, Colorado.

The underlying lesson was to work with The Edge of Space people who love flying balloons as hobbyists. Their dedication and passion to ballooning was inspiring.

Launching a balloon from Coors
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President Obama… Please Let Me Help You Make Science Cool

President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting at Facebook headquarters on Wednesday… and his comment about making science cool caught my attention.

“I’m frustrated by stories about how we can’t find enough engineers and computer programmers. That means our education system is not working. That’s why we are emphasizing math and science,” Obama said, noting efforts to “make science cool” for minorities and women.

Here’s my open letter to President Obama…

Mr. President, the comment you made at yesterday’s town hall meeting about “making science cool” kept me awake last night because I realized that I actually have something to offer you in the way of a solution to achieve your goal. I was reminded of Don Herbert (the original Mr. Wizard) who made science come alive for millions of kids during the 1950s and 60s. That was exactly what our country needed during the time that followed Sputnik – inspirational people like Don Herbert who made science fun for kids.

Today, we’re faced with a different set of problems that require creative solutions targeted not at the
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Tougher Science Requirements Do Not Guarantee Higher Science Knowledge

More Does Not Mean Better

A new report from the Consortium on Chicago School Research shows the act of increasing graduation requirements in science for high school students does not necessarily help them grow their science knowledge.

In 1997, the Chicago Public School District increased the science requirement to graduate from one year of science to three.

The policy change was in response to CPS graduates not taking enough courses to prepare them for college and to respond to the overall concern in America that students fall behind other nations in math and science.

The new policy did increase students’ science coursework. Before the change, less than half passed three or more college-prep science courses.  After the change, almost all graduates passed at least three full-year science classes.

Students headed to college and earning B averages or higher, were more likely to take three years of science and succeed in them, but only 19 percent of students were in this category.  That left 5 out of 6 students earning C’s or lower and graduation rates also declined after the new policy went into effect.

Although more science classes were
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Science “Left Behind” in American Schools

You may have seen the recent commercials showing a child raising flags representing America’s standing in school ranking world-wide. I came across an article for the same campaign that shared some striking, but unfortunately not surprising, statistics. According to the “One Nation Left Behind” program, 20 countries outscore the US in science education and 93% of US middle school teachers have little or no science training.

As standardized testing becomes key in schools nation-wide, the decline in science education becomes widely apparent. The Strong American Schools Website offers more staggering statistics and eye-opening quizzes that help drive home the point that our children are not receiving enough science education. Check it out and be prepared for some shocking results.

However, the One Nation Left Behind campaign is committed to creating awareness about the growing education problem in America… from science, to math, to English.. and offers opportunities to get involved in your community.

A Look Inside Our Lab on Modern Marvels

The crew from Modern Marvels on the History Channel visited our science lab back in July to play with some really cold science experiments. In other words, the liquid nitrogen was flowing and the onions were exploding! Mark your calendars… Modern Marvels: Deep Freeze will officially be airing on the History Channel on Tuesday, September 25th at 8pm EST.