Oct. 19, 2011 at 11:51am
QuestClub - Why science is so important!
Science education sometimes takes a back seat with the push of reading and math being so strong, but science is a part of our daily life. Everything we do and deal with in life is science: cooking, playing ball, growing a garden, understanding how technologies work, watching a rain storm and more. Understanding science helps kids appreciate and relate to the world around them.
Students rarely get to experience science in action (that is, science as a verb) in school. Most of their science is presented as a noun, a body of facts to master in order to pass a test. Science as a noun is important but it is also boring. At the end of these science lessons students are ready to stop and move on to something different. The opposite occurs when they get to DO science. When a student gets to build a car and use different forces to "drive" their car they are engaged in self-directed inquiry. They change things to figure out why it works, how it works, and what they can adjust to make it work better. They begin to learn in their own way and construct their own understanding from personal experiences. This makes students reach a higher level of thinking that will help the rest of their education.
In preparation for Halloween - here are a couple hands-on science experiments you can do with your kids!
7 Layer Density Column
Awesome Dry Ice Experiment
Happy Experimenting!
P.s. KidsQuest offers Science Hour every Friday & Saturday, and QuestClub (an after-school science lab) every other Wednesday. Check them out!
Students rarely get to experience science in action (that is, science as a verb) in school. Most of their science is presented as a noun, a body of facts to master in order to pass a test. Science as a noun is important but it is also boring. At the end of these science lessons students are ready to stop and move on to something different. The opposite occurs when they get to DO science. When a student gets to build a car and use different forces to "drive" their car they are engaged in self-directed inquiry. They change things to figure out why it works, how it works, and what they can adjust to make it work better. They begin to learn in their own way and construct their own understanding from personal experiences. This makes students reach a higher level of thinking that will help the rest of their education.
In preparation for Halloween - here are a couple hands-on science experiments you can do with your kids!
7 Layer Density Column
Awesome Dry Ice Experiment
Happy Experimenting!
P.s. KidsQuest offers Science Hour every Friday & Saturday, and QuestClub (an after-school science lab) every other Wednesday. Check them out!
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