April 2004, Vol. 7, issue #3
Hello LTS-Partnership Program volunteers and friends,
As the season changes, the magnolia buds blossom and the sky tentatively dries up (yeah right!), there is lots on the go in the Partnership Program at UBC. In this newsletter you’ll find tons of updates on what volunteers have been doing in classrooms, science fairs and career panels, as well as a few great opportunities that are up-and-coming. Most notably, please check out the first article, written by Beth, regarding “Science Day,” “Earth Day” and “secondary students helping with your research” opportunities at local schools. Additionally, if you don’t yet have a teacher-partner or are ready to take on another one, please peruse the list of unpaired teachers and let us know if there’s a fit. …what a great segue into the usual reminders regarding teacher visits:
- Contact your teachers!
- Visit your classes!
- Let us know! (forms on-line
Having said that, there are loads of great new resources available for your use – check out the books and videos listed and let us know if you would like to access them. There is also the chance to share your experiences as a science educator with the National Office for their new pamphlet (also see below). Remember to check out the website for activity ideas and other links (
Keep up your great work promoting science in engaging, interactive, relevant and exSCiting ways. This year, over 1000 kids have already been reached by our combined efforts – way to go!
All the best,
Beth Simpson Yona Sipos Randor
PhD Candidate, Human Nutrition MSc Candidate, Forest Sciences
Coordinators, UBC Let's Talk Science Partnership Program
University of British Columbia
2205 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Phone: (604) 222-1025
Fax: (604) 822-5143
Email:
In this issue…
- Great opportunities
- Unpaired teachers
- New resources
- LTS-PP brochure
- Funding update
- Congratulations…
- Visit/event updates
- “Wacky” science facts throughout (
1. Great Opportunities
~Beth Simpson
a. I recently met with a teacher from Mount Pleasant Elementary School (an inner city school) who was very enthusiastic about the idea of holding a “Science Day” at his school. What he would like to do is have 10-20 Let’s Talk Science volunteers each run an experiment with the kids. The kids would get a summary of the experiments beforehand and would be able to sign up for 3 of the experiments (the idea being that each volunteer would run their experiment for say 45 minutes, three times with ~20-30 kids each time). The experiments can be in any area of science that you like, and the kids would get a booklet (that the teacher would put together) that would have places for the kids to write their hypothesis, methods, observations, conclusions, etc. (so, there would be a focus on the scientific method).
So, I’m wondering if any volunteers are interested in taking part in this. We were thinking of May 6th and we’d be at the school for the whole morning. If you have an activity that you did with your own partner class that worked really well, you could do it again with a whole new bunch of kids at Mount Pleasant. Let me know if you are interested and if we have enough volunteers who are interested, then we will go ahead with this event!
b. Bayview Community School is looking for volunteers for their Earth Day extravaganza on May 7th, 2004. They are looking for volunteers who would be interested in setting up activity stations for either grade K-3 or grade 4-7 with activities appropriate for the Earth Day theme (e.g., ecology, earth sciences). You would have a small group of kids at your station for 40-60 mins (they haven’t finalized the exact time yet) and would repeat the activity with new groups of kids throughout the day. They are also interested in having some kind of a presentation in the gym for the whole school (grades K-7). If you are interested in running a station (or giving a presentation to the whole school), please let us know!
c. Prince of Wales Secondary School is looking for volunteers who would be willing to have a secondary school student in their lab for a week. These students are part of a co-op-like course where they get experience in an area that they are considering as a possible career choice. Many of the students are interested in getting a taste of scientific research, so their teacher has contacted the Partnership Program to see if any volunteers would be willing to have a secondary student “shadow” them for a week (e.g., the student could help out with your research in the lab or in the field). If this is something that you are interested in, send us an email including (a) your area of research, (b) when would be a good time for the student to be in your lab/field (students may be interested in doing this over the summer, even beyond the end of their school year in June), (c) if you have a specific idea of what the student could do in your lab/field (it’s OK if you don’t have a specific idea at the moment).
2. We still have a few unpaired teachers. If anyone is interested in taking on any of the following classes as an additional partnership, please let us know!
School / Subject Interests / Grade LevelLord Beaconsfield Elementary
3663 Penticton Street / earth science, nutritional science, (rocks & snails) / 2/3
General Gordon Elementary
2896 W 6th Ave / biology, earth science, environment, zoology (anything with an environmental/ecosystem/ organism slant would be great) / 3
St. Jude's
2953 E 15th Ave / chemistry, earth science, environment, forestry, technology / 7
John Oliver Secondary School
530 E 41st Ave / botany (specifically, collecting specimens, demo specimens) / 8, 9, 11
David Thompson Secondary
1755 E. 55th Avenue / chemistry, environment, nutritional sciences / 9, 11, 12
Sir Charles Tupper Secondary
419 East 24th St / chemistry / 11/12
3. New Resources
We have received some new books from the Let’s Talk Science National Office that have some activity ideas in them. If you are interested in checking out any of them (or any of our other resources), please let us know!
STEP into Science - A Guide to Science Beyond the Classroom for children aged 6-11 years
Endangered Science - Hands-on Science Guidebook, Ages 7-11
Drive & Dine Science - Hands-on Science Guidebook, Ages 8-11
Snack Attack Science - Hands-on Science Guidebook, Ages 9-14
Wear and Tear - Hands-on Science Guidebook, Ages 9-14
Wet'n'Wild - A Teacher's Guide to Habitats and Communities
Optics - A Teacher's Guide to Light and Optics
A Class Act - A Teacher's Guide to Classification and Animal Adaptations
Batteries Not Included - A Teacher's Guide to Energy and Where it Comes Fro
Build Your Dream House - A Teacher's Guide to Structural Strength
Full of Energy - A Teacher's Guide to Energy from Wind and Water
Mind Over Matter - A Teacher's Guide to Matter and Materials
Good Vibrations - A Teacher's Guide to Exploring Sound
What Happens When...? - A Teacher's Guide to Primary Science
A previous volunteer has donated Food Science videos that are available for everyone’s use:
"In Good Taste... Careers in Food Science" (Institute of Food
Technologists; 14.5 minutes)
”The Great Food Fight" (A Food Safety video; Institute of Food
Technologists; 13 minutes)
"Still Writing the Story of Chocolate" (8 minutes)
"The Kosher Video: How Products Become Kosher" (Orthodox Union; 16
minutes)
wacky facts
Almost two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by water. If the earth were flat, water would cover everything in a layer two miles deep!
During a solar eclipse, the shadows of leaves make the same crescent shape of the eclipsing sun. The image is made by light passing through tiny holes in the leaves.
4. Have you always wanted your words immortalized? Well, here is your chance! The Let’s Talk Science National Office is revising the LTS Partnership Program brochure and they are looking for quotations from volunteers to include in the brochure. If you can poignantly sum up your experiences as an LTS Partnership Program volunteer in ~3-20 words and would like to see your words in a glossy brochure, give us an email!
5. Funding update:
The UBC LTS Partnership Program received some funding for this year. Thanks go out to the Faculty of Medicine for contributing to our operating budget and the Walter Gage Memorial Fund (UBC Alumni Association) for contributing to the Western Canada Regional LTS Partnership Program Coordinators Conference held here in Vancouver in January.
Have you ever heard the expression, "knock your socks off"? If you are struck by lightning, your socks and shoes may be knocked off. Rapid evaporation and expansion of sweat on your skin blows your clothes off. You may not be hurt if the current does not enter your body.
6. Congratulations to Kirsten MacKenzie and Peter Wong who have been nominated for the Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program National Volunteer Award!
7. Visit Updates
Kirsten MacKenzie explored aquatic ecosystems, food chains and water pollution with her grade 5 class at University Hill Elementary.
Marjorie Colebrook visited her grade 4 to 6 class at General Wolfe Elementary School three times, once where they built parachutes and airbags to protect an egg dropped out the window, relating this process to the landing of the Mars Rover; another time to construct robotic vehicles from LEGO and a third time to explore the basics of pulleys.
Pamela O and Gina Rossi explored animal adaptation & habitats with their grade 3 & 4 class at Sir Matthew Begbie Elementary School.
Tracy Tucker and her grade 2 class at Lord Selkirk Annex on looked at photoplankton under the microscope.
Sharon Bennett and Laura Lapp visited their grade 3 class at University Hill Elementary School and did a variety of activities focusing on the water cycle: "Rain making," "Where in the world is water?" and "Water Droplet Story".
Alfredo Franco visited his grade 5 class at West Point Grey Academy to talk about the Northern Lights: Legends and the reason why they happen.
Alison Halpert visited her grade 9, 11 and 12 classes at St. George's Secondary School with a lesson on neuroanatomy: hands-on demo with brain models and handouts that included informative and interesting facts about the brain parts.
Gerry Kasten visited his grade 5 class at Britania Elementary School twice, in a series of activities on making yoghurt.
David Kent visited his grade 4 class at Ecoles Jules Quesnel to do gummi bear genetics and figure out who could taste (or non-taste) PTC strips.
Erin Drew and her grade 4/5 class at English Bluff Elementary Schoolplayed a game simulating the transportation of oxygen and carbon dioxide between lungs and tissues using kids for tissues and balloons of different colours for O2 and CO2.
Pavel Glaze brought his grade 8-10 class from West Coast Christian Schoolto UBC for a tour of his lab, the Chemistry Lab and the univeristy. The day was concluded by severeal demostrations at the "Chemistry Magic Show"..
Curtis Lam and Alfredo Franco visited their grade 7 class at West Point Grey Academy to explore acids & bases activities.
Catherine Cheung visited her grade 4 class at Shaughnessy Elementary School three times to run a series of activities on electricity (no pun intended), exploring series and parallel circuits and testing materials for conductivity.
Peter Wong visited his grade 6 class at Tyee Elementary School twice: once to determine which foods are acidic, neutral or alkaline sing a red cabbage juice solution and another time to determine the vitamin C content in various foods using a solution of cornstarch and iodine.
Brianna Melnyk and Elisa Yaquian visited their grade 5/6 class at David Livingstone Elementary twice, working on activities from the Irish Sea Fisheries Board and Canfor Forestry
Crystal Cinq-Mars explored the four taste sensations with her grade 2 & 3 class at University Hill Elementary,
Laura Prugh visited her grade 5/6 class at Queen Elizabeth Annex twice: once using microscopy to identify mammal hairs and a second time to play apredator-prey food web game.
Madeline Simpson and Matthew Wiggin visited their grade 6 class at St. Mary's School to conduct some activities on microscopy: looking at pre-made slides, puddle water samples and cheek cells.
Charles Lee visited his grade 12 class at St. George's Secondary School to conduct activities on fluids theory (the Bernoulli equation and the Venturi effect) using a simple paper trick and heat, temperature and phase changes using slush (he came up with this activity idea from an exam question in a thermodynamics course – Isn't that cool?).
Lillian Ting visited her grade 7 class at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School to explore the properties of acids and bases, and how to test for pH. Introduction to pH scale and use of chemical indicators to test the pH of substances.
Alice Li and her grade 2/3 class at Queen Elizabeth Annex explored forensic science.
Science Fair Judging and Other Events!
We’ve had quite a few volunteers involved in a variety of science events in the last few months. In addition to the science fair judges mentioned in the last newsletter, we’d like to recognize the following volunteers’s contributions to community events:
Vancouver District Science Fairjudge: Amy Gemmell
University Hill Secondary School Career Fair Speakers: Alicia Davis, Lih Yeen Tan, Justin Bourne, Samuel Chang
NightQuest Community Event @ Pacific Spirit Park (making star clocks with the kids): Daniel Archambault, Sasha Wilson, Ron Do, Cheri Barta, Cathy Safadi
Judges for the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair being held at UBC on April 1st, 2004: Samuel Chang, Melissa Freisen, Jane Gair, Kim Godard, Patrice Godin, Alison Halpert Nora Houlahan, Karolyn Keir, Aerin Jacob, David Kent, Quak Foo Lee, Willmann Liang, Heather Neufeld, Josh Neufeld, Nan Rezai, Beth Simpson, Elizabeth Slow, Ainsley Sutherland, Vanessa Thompson, Barb Turner, Korine Ung, Tristan Walker, Kaley Wilson
Weather newscast….
The place with the most number of rainy days per year is Mount Wai‘ale’ale on Kauai, Hawaii – up to 350 days. The longest time that a place remained without rain was Arica, Chile – from October, 1903 to January, 1918 – 14 years!
Remember to check the website for activity ideas and other links: