For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane LaFollette
500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 150
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 396-7050, ext. 119
dlafollette@amod.org

Science Teachers Learn Hands-On Science at Summer Institute
Arkansas Discovery Network Looking for Middle and High School Science Teachers to Attend World-Class Inquiry Science Institute

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 7, 2007) – The Secret Science Ingredient was fruit. By the time the 2006 Exploratorium Summer Teacher Institute was over, eight select teachers from Arkansas had witnessed some unconventional, yet effective ways to use fruit to teach science. During the Iron Science Teacher competition at the Institute, oranges became conductors for electricity, berries were used to tie-dye t-shirts, and a lemon cake was baked in a glass cup using electrified spoons. This year, six more Arkansas’ teachers will have the opportunity to attend the Institute and learn more unique and intriguing ways to teach inquiry science, thanks to the Arkansas Discovery Network and a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

The Summer Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California, is a four-week professional development experience that gives science teachers techniques to inspire students to ask questions and become excited about learning. The professors show innovative ways to introduce true inquiry learning into the classroom with cheap, everyday materials. Teachers who have attended the Institute in the past have called it a “life-changing experience.”

Thanks to the grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Arkansas’ teachers again have this incredible opportunity to learn and share these inquiry teaching methods with other teachers. The 2007 Institute will be held from June 25 through July 20. The Institute provides four different sessions during the four weeks on life science, physics, general science and math.  To find out more about the Institute, visit http://www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org/grown-ups/ti/summer_teacher.html.

Each teacher who is accepted by the Arkansas Discovery Network will receive free tuition to the Institute and an allowance for one round-trip airline ticket, housing and food. Upon completion of the Institute, the teachers will receive a $1,100 stipend from the Exploratorium, as well as 110 professional development credit hours through the University of Arkansas.

Applicants must be middle school or high school science teachers certified to teach in Arkansas. The deadline for submission is Thursday, March 15, 2007.  For an application and submission information, go to http://www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org/grown-ups/ti/summer_teacher.html.  The Arkansas Discovery Network will review the applications and those accepted will be notified by April 15.

2006 Teacher Institute alum and Pinkston Middle School science teacher Lynn Kelsh thought that the Institute was invaluable. She said, “The professors were constantly challenging me to think more, learn more, and express what I'd learned in other ways. This is an experience that is worth a summer's month away from home.  It is an on-going experience that will permeate my teaching for the rest of my career.”

Arkansas teachers who attended the 2006 Summer Institute experienced a rich mix of hands-on activities to invigorate their classroom lessons. They have brought back to Arkansas new ways to make science more involving for students using activities and materials that cost very little – certainly a boon to any school budget. In all, the teachers spent a total of 110 hours over the four weeks immersed in inquiry learning techniques.

Another 2006 Summer Institute graduate, Cutter Morning Star High School teacher James Arce said, “I feel that the experience of the Teacher Institute was invaluable for Arkansas teachers. Students retain 85-plus-percent when they can have their hands on what is being taught. I could go years without having this much information. I hope the connection between the network, Arkansas teachers and the Exploratorium can continue for a long while.”

Teacher outreach programs such as this are just one aspect of the Arkansas Discovery Network’s mission. The first program of its kind in the nation, the Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, will tour innovative teaching exhibits among seven local member museums, making hands-on, interactive museum experiences more accessible to all the state’s 498,000 school children and their families. In the fall of 2006, the network brought Grossology to Arkansas for a three-year tour of its museum partners. This January, The Race for Planet ‘X’ took the concept of a "museum on wheels" to a whole new level. The 40-foot vehicle will travel to schools in rural areas bringing interactive exhibits to engage girls and boys in engineering skills. These and other high-quality exhibits are bringing world-class museum experiences to Arkansas.

About The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, headquartered in Las Vegas, is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. The Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

About Arkansas Discovery Network
The Arkansas Discovery Network, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, works to strengthen partner museums by sharing resources and expanding discovery learning opportunities across the state. Member museums include the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Texarkana Museum System in Texarkana, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro and the University of Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education in Fayetteville. For more information, visit www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.

 

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