Science
Day
MCC & Adams Elementary School
November 2003
Science Day is a project led by MCC faculty member,
Ron Dinchak, and sponsored by the Environmental Action
Club (EAC). The Fall Science Day exposes fifth-grade
students from Adams Elementary School to the excitement
of life sciences within their southwestern environment.
Their exposure is particularly critical as these students
have little access to science in the classroom – a
result of funding that forces some science activities
to take a back seat to satisfy AIMS scores in such
areas as language and math skills.
The
event also provides an opportunity for future education
majors at MCC to have hands-on activities with students
that supplements their lecture classes.
Other MCC students that volunteered to help host Science
Day came from several of the Life Science classes
and the EAC club members—as well as some returning
volunteers from previous years who have found the
experience rewarding.
The
Adams Elementary students are given prepared booklets
in conjunction with the hands-on activities and displays.
The booklets are then filled out by the students based
on what they observe during the event.
Activities
and displays include such interactions as:
- Deserts
of the southwest
- Climate
- Hands
on interactions with MCC’s collection of snakes,
spiders, rodents, lizards and tortoises
- Ethnobotany
of the southwest
The
EAC sponsors the event to help nurture and foster
awareness of the environment as these students are
the future stewards of the southwest.
Please contact T. Denise Clark, PhD
for comments or corrections email phone: 480-461-7256
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