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Science made fun By Melissa W. Kaye
“We provide young people with contemporary themes and context for scientific investigation, as well as unique access to state-of-the-art science laboratories that provide a fun and stimulating learning environment.” —Dr. Rebecca Moore Peterson Assistant Professor and Director of Outreach Eberly College of Science	“Children have often learned science in a vacuum, pouring through graphs and photos in a book. When young people view science as just a vocabulary list to define, it is difficult for them to relate the material to the real world,” said Dr. Rebecca Moore Peterson, assistant professor and director of outreach in Penn State’s Eberly College of Science. Instead, Peterson aims to put science in an everyday context for children with her Action Potential Science Experience summer programs—such as Crime Scene Investigators, Another Wizard’s World: Potions, and Where Science and a Wizard’s World Collide—making it a fun subject to learn.   That concept can be applied to nearly all of the college’s outreach activities directed toward youth—which include the camps, workshops for science teachers, the annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, sundry astronomy activities and field trips for local school-children to the college. All the activities are aimed at making science more accessible and exciting to what could be the next generation of scientists.   “We at the college see it as our duty to do whatever we can to help the K–12 science infrastructure,” said Dr. Chris Palma, the Eberly College of Science’s outreach fellow. Palma, a former research fellow in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, is the first fellow engaged primarily in the development, offering and facilitation of college outreach programs.   If increasing enrollment is any indication, Action Potential programs are indeed already having an impact on science education. The registrations for the programs this past summer nearly doubled from the previous year, with nearly every spot filled.   The Crime Scene Investigators program immerses children in the world of forensic science: participants solve a simulated mystery by performing such tasks as lifting and examining fingerprints and analyzing DNA, hair, fiber and other materials.   “With the popularity of television shows like Law and Order, CSI and Crossing Jordan, kids have become accustomed to the idea of science as entertainment,” Peterson explained. “Children learn that unlike on TV, crimes are not solved in an hour. Yet they have the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of scientific investigation and the satisfaction of getting an exciting scientific result.”   In the two Wizard’s World offerings, Harry Potter fans learn more about making potions, levitation and the science behind the popular stories. “Concepts typically thought of as ‘magical’ and ‘mysterious’ can often be readily explained through modern science,” Peterson said.   She added, “We provide young people with contemporary themes and context for scientific investigation, as well as unique access to state-of-the-art science laboratories that provide a fun and stimulating learning environment.”   The annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science is another avenue through which future scientists have access to Penn State researchers and faculty. The University has been hosting the event for more than a decade. The academy brings together 4,000 seventh- through 12th-grade students in one place to discuss their work in a statewide competition.   The competition serves to identify and prepare the next generation of scientists, said Hank McCoullum, the college’s diversity officer and adviser to the academy board. “It’s important to work with students early to make them feel comfortable with scientific inquiry,” he added.   The students who attend have won regional science fairs and compete for first-, second- and third-place prizes by describing their research projects before a panel of judges. Those who win a first-place award have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to Penn State.   The judging team was comprised of about 300 Penn State faculty members and students and about 300 secondary school teachers.   The projects are wide ranging—from the fun (“Which of Three Popular Brands of Sour Candy is the Sourest?” by Laura Plitt of Bethlehem Center Middle School, for example) to the practical (“Which Detergent Cleans Better?” by James Martin of John F. Kennedy Middle School, for example) to the more ambitious (“A Method to Prevent Anthrax Spread Through the Mail” by Pamela Vockeroth of Central High School, for example).   “Often it’s the student’s first time coming to Penn State,” McCoullum said. “The fact that they’re here with their projects is most important.”   The Workshops for Science Educators bring similar excitement to campus—although in this case, it’s secondary school teachers who reap the benefits. Teachers from around the country, although primarily from Pennsylvania, are updated here with the latest research methods in biotechnology, astronomy and weather detection and become equipped with exciting ideas for scientific experiments in the classroom.   Astronomy is a popular choice for the workshops, with three of this past year’s seven workshops focused on this subject: Stars and Planets, Galaxies and Cosmology, and Space-based Astronomy.   “Astronomy is one of the more popular sciences in the public’s view,” noted Palma, who teaches several of the workshops. “It captures their imagination.”   Allison Evrard, a sixth-grade science teacher at St. Thomas More primary school in Allentown, enrolled in the Stars and Planets and Galaxies and Cosmology workshops this past summer to “enrich our curriculum,” she said.   “Astronomy is definitely a favorite topic for sixth graders, and they are full of endless questions that go beyond the boundaries set by the curriculum,” she said. “When they ask a question, they want the answer at that moment—not tomorrow or next week. I need to keep learning and understanding new material in order to answer those many questions.”   Evrard added the subject is “magical” for her students, and the workshop was a “Wow!” experience for her. “Teachers need to be amazed by their subject matter to keep it amazing for the students.”   Plenty of materials are provided for teachers, including informative posters, bookmarks and space trading cards. For example, Penn State disperses resources on NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, which was launched by Space Shuttle Columbia to observe X-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as the remnants of exploded stars.   “It’s an effective form of outreach,” said Kathy Lestition of the Chandra X-Ray Center based at Harvard University. “Because many of these teachers are coming from an area where there isn’t a big science museum or city center, we can reach people we normally can’t.”   To further satisfy the public’s curiosity about astronomy, the college offers Astrofest for everyone from toddlers to retirees during the annual July Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. In addition to stargazing activities, children can make glitter galaxies and little home-made rockets (with Alka-Seltzer® and empty film canisters).   In addition, each year about 2,000 schoolchildren pass through the college’s small planetarium, where they learn how to identify the North Star Polaris and use it for navigation.   It’s not just astronomy that brings local classes to campus; kids also take field trips to the college’s chemistry and biology labs to participate in hands-on experiments.   “It takes time to encourage these audiences,” Peterson explained. “So we’re happy to give children access to Penn State researchers who love science.”   While the Eberly College of Science generates much effort on reaching young people, it’s often young people themselves who become involved and come up with their own service activities. Alpha Chi Sigma, a campus chemistry fraternity, and the Nittany Chemical Society, a student affiliate of the American Chemical Society, are two organizations that aim to show children how fun science can be.   “We recognize that not every young person who passes through our college as participants in our outreach programs—or even as Penn State undergraduates—will be a professional scientist,” noted Associate Dean Dr. Norman Freed. “Yet through outreach we strive to raise scientific literacy and instill the critical thinking skills that will help these young people reach their full potential in whichever career they ultimately select.”
Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science
Omar Calzada (seated) provides information to Mark Farrell (third from left), father of Ryan Farrell (second from left), and friend Kyle Yebernetsky. They participated in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science at Penn State.	More than 4,000 students in grades seven to 12 came to University Park campus in the spring to compete in this year’s Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, hosted by the Eberly College of Science. The students competed for prizes by describing their research projects before a panel of judges. The judging team was comprised of about 300 Penn State faculty members and graduate and undergraduate students and some 300 junior and senior high school science teachers. The Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium at Penn State provided graphic calculators as prizes. An outreach program of the Eberly College of Science, Penn State Continuing Education’s Conferences and Institutes and Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium
Students from Seton Catholic School in Meadsville, Pa., gather in Findlay/Johnston Commons before competing in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. From left are Sara McDeavitt, Katie Steider and Christopher Cullen. From left, Amanda Hoffman, Maida Skaljic and Bethany Holmes from Harding School in Erie, Pa., meet to talk about their research projects prior to competing in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. Junior and high school students prepare to board a shuttle bus on Bigler Road to go to classrooms across University Park campus where they will compete in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. Photos by Dick Ackley—Campus Photography
Action Potential Science Experience camps
During the Crime Scene Investigators camp, Paul Malpiedi (right) and Shannon Sheridan coat wires with the chemical mixture they made to create sparklers.	More than 300 children in fifth- to eighth-grade attended this summer’s Action Potential Science Experience camps, sponsored by the Eberly College of Science. Dr. Rebecca Moore Peterson, director of the Action Potential Science Experience and a scientist, developed three camps around themes that interest children: Penn State Crime Scene Investigators, Another Wizard’s World: Potions, and Where Science and a Wizard’s World Collide. An outreach program of the Eberly College of Science
Corinna Munn examines cloth fibers under the microscope. The fibers were left behind by one of the “suspects” in the case the Crime Scene Investigators’ participants are trying to solve. Heather Agnew (left), a chemistry and biomedical biology major at Penn State, shows children how to identify blood types by adding certain chemicals to the samples during the Crime Scene Investigators camp. Natasha Eckert (right), a graduate student in chemistry at Penn State, demonstrates density using two balls with different floating properties during Another Wizard’s World: Potions camp. Photos by Greg Grieco—Penn State
Workshops train science teachers
	Every summer, Penn State hosts a series of Workshops for Science Educators. This year’s workshops addressed National Science Education Standards and provided teachers with hands-on activities and innovative ideas they can use in their classrooms.   Sponsors for the seven workshops included the Eberly College of Science, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center, Huck Institute for Life Sciences, Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium and Penn State Outreach. Penn State Continuing Education’s Conferences and Institutes provided planning and logistical support.   Ninety-one K–12 teachers participated in the workshops, which enabled all teachers to earn 2 graduate credits. Pennsylvania teachers also earned Act 48 contact hours.   Each workshop featured presentations and discussions with senior Penn State faculty members, leading researchers and educators, as well as visits to University laboratories and research facilities. There were hands-on activities designed to meet National Science Education Standards. Teachers also received NASA educational resources, including CD-ROMs, educator guides, posters and Web resources.   The photos here and below illustrate some of the learning activities Penn State offered to science teachers. An outreach program of the Eberly College of Science, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center, Huck Institute for Life Sciences, Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium and Penn State Outreach
Astrobiology: The Origins and Early Evolution of Life Science teachers work on a class project during the Astrobiology: The Origins and Early Evolution of Life workshop. Dr. Jim Kasting, professor in the departments of Geosciences and Meteorology, leads a session on “The Origin of Life: How and Where Did It Occur” during the Astrobiology: The Origins and Early Evolution of Life workshop. Dr. Darren Williams, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Penn State Erie, leads a session titled “Big Bang to Planets: The Origin of Everything” during the Astrobiology: The Origins and Early Evolution of Life workshop. Photos by Dick Ackley—Campus Photography The Mechanics of Materials Series: Biological and Smart Sensors Stars and Planets Instructor Marguerite Ciolkosz (second from right) assists science teachers with a hands-on introduction to biosensors and how they operate during the Mechanics of Materials Series: Biological Sensors Workshop for Science Educators. Andrew Greenberg (standing), instructor for the biosensor lab of the Mechanics of Materials Series: Biological Sensors workshop, watches as two science teachers examine a biosensor. Science teachers learn how to make a comet during the Stars and Planets workshop, conducted by Dr. Chris Palma (right), lead instructor for the workshop. He is pouring ingredients for making a small comet into a plastic bag for, from left, Patty Rifkin, Allison Evrard and Chris Noel. Photos by Dick Ackley—Campus Photography Biotechnology: From Laboratory to Classroom Galaxies and Cosmology Dr. Loida Escote-Carlson (center), director of the Instructional Laboratory in Molecular Biology in the Biotechnology Institute, leads the DNA Fingerprinting hands-on session of the Biotechnology: From Laboratory to Classroom workshop. She is explaining the activity of restriction enzymes on two variant DNA sequences to a group of science teachers. Science teachers Tim Connors (left) and David Cullen (in photo at right) and Rhonda Pray (center) and Betty Rowlands (right) (in photo at left) work on extracting plasmid DNA from bacteria during a laboratory session of the Biotechnology: From Laboratory to Classroom workshop. Dr. Stefan Immler, research associate in the Eberly College of Science, leads a research talk on “High-energy Activities in Galaxies” during the Galaxies and Cosmology workshop. Photos by Dick Ackley—Campus Photography Penn State Weather Camp Space-based Astronomy Photo by Department of Meteorology Dave Shelly—Campus Photography Dr. Dennis Lamb (second from right), professor of meteorology, presents a session on cloud physics for science teachers attending the Weather Camp for Educators workshop. Dr. Ann Hornschemeier, Chandra Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and Ph.D. graduate of Penn State, illustrates her talk about NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory with an experiment during the Space-based Astronomy workshop.