Arkansas Discovery Network to Send Bentonville Teacher to World-Renowned Exploratorium in San Francisco for Teacher Institute

Bentonville, AR (June 13, 2007) — Deb Mertz, a teacher at Spring Hill Middle School in Bentonville, has been chosen to attend a four-week Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco this summer. Mertz is one of six Arkansas teachers chosen by the Arkansas Discovery Network to take part in this exciting learning experience. The Arkansas teachers will team with teachers from around the country to share new and intriguing ideas for teaching science.

Mertz teaches sixth grade science and pr-AP science at Spring Hill Middle School. She is looking forward to learning how to make her classroom even more hands-on and exciting for her students. “When I first heard about the Institute I was so excited at this prospect. Although I do not believe science can ever be boring, I have felt that my classes have been lacking that special wow factor that I so believe in. I am looking forward to learning more about how to be a better teacher and facilitator of student’s learning. I also cannot wait to learn how to create all of the wonderful hands-on learning tools that I have seen on the website. One other thing that I am looking forward to is networking with other educators from around the country. Oh, and the fact that it all takes place in San Francisco is pretty awesome as well!”

The Teacher Institute offers a rich mix of hands-on activities based on Exploratorium exhibits, content-based discussions, classroom materials, web-based teaching resources, and machine shop experiences. Each participant spends 110 hours immersed in inquiry education experiences using activities and materials that cost very little, a boon to any school budget. The teachers also compete in the “Iron Science Teacher” competition in which they demonstrate innovative techniques for communicating complex science concepts. Audience members from the San Francisco area determine the winner by voting for their favorite demonstration.

Teacher outreach programs such as this are just one aspect of the Network’s mission. It also tours high-quality exhibits throughout Arkansas through member museums and a mobile museum, “The Race for Planet ‘X’”, that will travel the state, making hands-on, interactive museum experiences more accessible to the state’s 498,000 schoolchildren and their families. In addition, collaboration throughout the Network will enhance the visitor experience at each museum.

About the 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 throughout 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. Visit the website at www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.

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 50 largest private foundations in the United States.

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