MYSCI INVESTIGATION STATION VISITS DUCHESNE ELEMENTARY, INSPIRES SCIENTISTS OF TOMORROW
St. Louis (Sept. 26, 2007) – In its second year of outreach to St. Louis elementary schools, the MySci Investigation Station will visit Duchesne Elementary and allow students to engage in innovative, hands-on science learning. Children from kindergarten through second grade will explore a Missouri limestone cave, enter a woodlands area and interact with live bugs and insects within this state-of-the-art traveling classroom. Highly trained education specialists will be on hand to assist both the teachers and the students as they explore animal, plant and earth sciences.
In an effort to foster the interest and learning of tomorrow’s scientists, MySci’s unique program is offered free to area schools through the generous sponsorship of Monsanto, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis Science Center, Missouri Botanical Garden and Saint Louis Zoo. MySci was made possible with a $3.7 million investment from the Monsanto Fund over three years and the expertise of the prestigious institutions named above.
The program includes professional development for teachers and curriculum for elementary students (K-2) in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan area and kicked off in the fall of 2006 with the introduction of the first Investigation Station, a traveling interactive science experience created with the early elementary student in mind. A second Investigation Station joined the ranks in 2007 due to the great demand from area schools. Each Investigation Station consists of a Missouri woodlands area, a specimen room and a replica of a Missouri limestone cave. One of the 37-foot custom-built trailers will visit Duchesne Elementary School in the Ferguson-Florissant school district Sept. 25 through Sept. 27.
All schools in the St. Louis area are eligible for the free MySci program. As one of MySci’s goals is to improve achievement levels for all students, two-thirds of the year’s visits will be made to schools with underserved and/or low-achieving student populations.
“The students from our eight participating classrooms are thrilled to be receiving a visit from a huge moving science center,” said Principal Katie Sanders. “The MySci curriculum livens up our more traditional classroom science programs.”
“K-2 students are the perfect age for this inquiry-based approach to science learning,” said Ann McMahon, program director for MySci. “Children at this age have a natural curiosity for the world around them, and we tailored the features of the Investigation Station to match their interests. Our hope is that they learn to love science through their sensory exploration of the exhibits and specimens, as they climb, crawl, see, hear and smell.”
The Investigation Stations will travel to two different schools in the St. Louis Metropolitan area each week. For scheduling, educators may contact Diane Pilla, program coordinator, at (314) 289-1448 or dpilla@slsc.org.
About MySci
MySci, funded by Monsanto, is a collaborative effort among the following institutions: Washington University in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo. MySci’s mission is to enhance a sense of wonder and interest in science for children and their teachers. The MySci program gives early elementary students all over St. Louis the chance to study science through inquiry. It provides curriculum books and classroom kits in plants, animals and the earth. It also includes a visit from the newly designed Investigation Station, a roving vehicle of innovative exhibits and specimens which makes learning through climbing, crawling, seeing, hearing and smelling more exciting than ever. MySci is getting an early start on recruiting the next generation of scientists.
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