School science teachers live for “aha moments,” those brilliant periods when a student understands and, more importantly, grows excited about connecting an electrical current, identifying an anemone species, or watching a chemical reaction come to life. As any science teacher will tell you, this exhilaration rarely arises from reading a science textbook or listening to a lecture.
A University of Chicago study states, “Learning by doing helps students forge a deeper understanding of scientific concepts taught in a class.” Students who “do rather than listen or read” also demonstrate increased factual retention, experience greater self-confidence, and reduce many learning barriers. They also have, if we’re honest, a lot more fun.
Most cities across the U.S. feature science centers that offer mobile labs, programs, and resources to introduce inquiry-based STEM learning to educators and students. These institutions develop teacher workshops that explain how to create a physics lesson with pendulums, expand molecular ideas when connecting bubbles and investigate light using shadows.
Regionally, Pacific Science Center’s STEM outreach programs, “Science on Wheels” and “Digital Discovery Workshops,” will serve more than 100,000 students in their classrooms this year. PacSci is a leader in providing accessible STEM education; 63% of its programs served low-income schools for free last year.
“The joy and excitement the [PacSci’s] educators brought into our students’ classrooms was incredible,” says Jes Bertrand, PTA leader at Lake City’s Olympic Hills Elementary. “While our school does have a science curriculum, it tends to be relatively small, especially since we don’t have a dedicated science teacher. Having our students learn with hands-on materials that most students haven’t seen or experienced before was invaluable.”
The inequality in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education remains among the greatest challenges in our national educational system. In Washington, PacSci’s “Access to Science Pipeline” was introduced in 2016 to address this disparity. This integrated set of programs, such as low- or no-cost memberships, need-based financial aid for summer camps, a high school youth development program, and more, work together to ignite curiosity, increase enthusiasm for science, and build pathways to STEM careers for typically underserved student groups.
The National Science Teachers Association recognizes that effective science education during elementary school is “essential for establishing a sound foundation of learning in later grades, instilling a wonder of and enthusiasm for science that lasts a lifetime, and in addressing the critical need for a well-informed citizenry and society.”
Many immersive science disciplines give rise to learning techniques that can be applied across a student’s education. For example, a student who follows the engineering design process learns to ask questions, imagine solutions, plan processes, create projects and construct hypothesis-based conclusions. The EDP may sound sophisticated, but teachers from primary care to high school can adapt this methodology to work with all grades.
For many students, whether they embrace engineering or learn to use marshmallows and a plastic syringe to replicate deep-sea pressure, engaged science learning fosters educational excitement. And it isn’t just the children. Andriana Chávez, technology specialist at Fuerza Elementary in Kennewick, is always thrilled when PacSci instructors visit her classrooms in person or virtually.
“Our populations at Fuerza [Elementary] have a lot of students in poverty who do not leave Kennewick,” she says. I think it’s amazing that we were able to bring something to eastern Washington that we do not have local access to. [PacSci’s] instructors were so engaging and age-appropriate that you felt like they were in the room with you.”
As a parent, Jes Bertrand shares Chávez’s enthusiasm for hands-on STEM education. “Watching students learn and explore and seeing them persevere through challenges and their exuberance at their success – there aren’t even words to describe what I’m feeling.”
Most of us remember the first time a teacher made science come alive with a hands-on experiment. Perhaps, wearing safety glasses for the first time, we hammered rocks to determine whether they were sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous. Or we released salmon fry into a local creek, shouting with glee as the fry wriggled free and then disappeared downstream. Today’s students experience the same excitement, thanks to hands-on science opportunities.
Pacific Science Center ignites curiosity in every child and fuels a passion for discovery, experimentation and critical thinking. PacSci is an independent, not-for-profit institution that has served tens of millions of learners since its founding more than 60 years ago.