Science Centers that Work

02/13/2008

May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire, That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe. May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease, To discover the new direction your longing wants you to take.
John O’Donohue

In the Exchange book, The Wonder of It: Exploring How the World Works, which is included in our Curriculum Tool Kit, Karen Miller describes how to make your science center engaging to children...

"In a typical science center, we might see some sleeping gerbils or hamsters buried in cedar shavings, and perhaps an aquarium with some goldfish in it. On the table might be some dusty pine cones, some shells, a few rocks, a balance scale, a large magnifying glass, and maybe a color paddle. There are only things to look at, but nothing to hold the child there more than a minute or two. Each interest center in the classroom should have some involving activity to hold the child there....

"Give the children some specific challenges using the balance scale [for example]. First of all, let them play with the scale without directions, and then ask them some questions about it. 'What makes this side go down?' 'Why doesn't it go down when I place this rock on the other side?' When they seem to understand how it works, you could pick one object to be used as a standard, an apple, for instance. Let the children guess which objects in a random collection...are heavier than the apple and which are lighter, and put them into two piles in front of the scale. Then let them test their guesses. Children must first use their senses for this activity. To keep the activity interesting, you could select a different object each day to be the standard. Lining things up from the lightest to heaviest is a more complex activity, because children have to compare objects to each other rather than just to one specific object. It takes considerable flexibility in thinking and is quite difficult for pre-operational children...."

Check out the Exchange Curriculum Tool Kit

Exchange has bundled some of its most popular curriculum resources into a "Curriculum Kit" and has put a highly discounted price tag on the collection. The Curriculum Kit includes:

Beginnings Workshop Book #5 — Curriculum: Art, Music, Movement, Drama
Beginnings Workshop Book #4 — Curriculum: Brain Research, Math, Science
Hearing Everyone's Voice: Educating Young Children for Peace and Democratic Community
Connecting: Friendship in the Lives of Young Children
The Wonder of It: Exploring How the World Works
Out of the Box Training Kit: Recognizing the Essentials of Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum

GOOGLE HIRING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS: Google has expanded its employee child development program by opening a world-class children's center in Mountain View, California and is now hiring teachers.

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.