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Fusion
Project
1996
Awardee
Budget: $9800.00
Project Director: Martha Copeland
Yellow Medicine East High School
450 9th Avenue
Granite Falls, Minnesota 56241
Phone: 612-564-4083
Email: mcopelan@informns.k12.mn.us
Summary
For seven months of the school year, three days per week,
elementary students will come to the high school lab after school
for ninety minutes and have an opportunity to participate in seven
different physical science units designed and taught by high school
students. The Fusion Project has two goals. One goal is to provide
a science-based after school activity for elementary youth, especially
girls and minorities. The second goal is to provide high school
students with a diverse life experience that will include mentoring,
exploring science content, and planning and evaluating a lesson,
as well as providing a needed source of financial support.
Description
November found 4th-6th graders solving
a Crime Scene. In December, the focus was on the Chemistry and
Physics of Toys. January was the Periodic Table and February was
catch-up month. There was a consistent enrollment of the elementary
students (12-16 each month). During the month of January, the
theme was "Elements, Gases, Polymers, and Crystals."
Under this topic, the students spent about two or three days on
each of the topics. For elements and gases, a Periodic Table of
Elements was handed out to each child and described the basic
components that made up the table. For the experimental part of
the class periods, the staff gave the children a bunch of unknowns,
and had them distinguish which ones were metals, metalloids, and
nonmetals.
The
week of studying gases was slightly challenging, but loads of
fun. Before the young scientists were able to produce oxygen,
hydrogen, and carbon, staff gave the children notes on the properties
of gases. They also explained how to test for the gases by using
a wooden splint that was either flaming or glowing. Each child
received three chemicals, each in their own test tube, and three
liquids, which would react with its companion chemical to produce
one of the three gases. The children quickly discovered when using
a glowing splint to test oxygen, the splint reignited; when using
a flaming splint to test hydrogen the splint went out.
Finally,
they were off to Polymers and Crystals. In this category, staff
explained to the children what a polymer was and gave examples
of various polymers in our everyday lives, i.e. balloons, plastics,
and rubber. In the labs, they made slime, gak, putty, and rubber
balls. They also used Polyurethane Foam part A and part B solution
to produce foam. They also produced exquisite crystal gardens
using table salt, water, laundry bluing, ammonia and a chunk of
charcoal. In less than one day, the gardens were almost complete.
Respect
Water - It is Vital to Your Life
 1996
Awardee
Budget:
$10,000
Project
Director: Anne M. Holbrook
Staff:
Carol Freas, Robert Lux, Barbara Riester, Renita Strange
Robert
E. Lucas Intermediate School
3900
Cottingham Drive
Cincinnati,
Ohio 45241
Phone:
513-563-4020
Email:
holbrooa@k12.cnidr.org
Summary
This
project is an integrated study of the basic physical and chemical
principles concerning the properties of water for grades two through
six. Each grade level will have a different concept to explore
that has been developed around the student's local environment
and appropriate instructional level of inquiry. Student-teacher
teams will create five interactive videos and activity kits which:
introduce a question, generate a hypothesis, guide students through
the steps of a cooperative activity/experiment, demonstrate the
safe use of equipment and materials, direct a data gathering session,
and assist in formulating conclusions. These team experiences
will be included within the video as direct application of the
concepts. The video and activity/experiment kits will be evaluated
by the students and teachers.
Description
The
soil covering the Earth acts as a giant sieve. Soil particles
have tiny spaces between them that allow water to trickle down
into the soil layers. When a rain occurs these tiny spaces in
the soil quickly fill with water, and the excess water, called
surface water, runs over the top of the soil. When soil is moved
by surface water it is called erosion. Water that filters through
the soil trickles slowly downward, or percolates, through pores
and cracks in the soil and rock layers. Rock strata and soil capable
of holding water are called aquifers. Second grade students created
a model of soil layers and discovered how water percolates through
the layers.
Fourth
graders explored the power of water by assembling a working water
wheel. Students learned how to assemble a working water wheel,
use water to power the wheel in order to lift an object, use the
scientific process to record observations, write conclusions and
draw a design for another use of a water wheel.
Woah!
Somebody Oughta Fix That Bump!
1997
Awardee
Budget:
$9800.00
Project
Director: Jim Reeves
Staff:
Nathan Nease
Cooper
High School
3639
Sayles Blvd.
Abilene,
TX 79605
Phone:
915-691-1000
Email:
reever@tenet.edu
Summary
This
project involves high school physics students working with city
and state civil engineers to determine which bumps in our city's
streets are most hazardous when traversed at the legal speed limits.
Students equipped with miniature accelerometers connected to calculator
based lab systems and graphing calculators will collect and store
data on the g-forces encountered by various cars as they are driven
over bumps that are nominated in a city-wide survey as the most
dangerous. Differential global positioning by satellite (DGPS)
units will enable the students to locate and store the exact longitude
and latitude of the bump. After locating and ranking the bumps,
students, teachers, and a team of engineers will study the data
and decide what steps should be taken.
Description
The
students conducted a "worst bump" survey using the local
newspaper and prepared drop boxes that were placed around town.
The students used these to solicit nominations from the community
of the most offensive bumps in town when they were negotiated
at the speed limit. After collecting all the nominations, over
100 bumps were nominated for the study.
The
students used Graphing Calculators and CBL systems as well as
GPS in order to locate the position of these bumps and to record
the acceleration when the bumps were traversed at the posted speed
limit. The students then displayed and analyzed all of their data.
By analyzing the acceleration versus time graph for each of the
runs the students selected the ten most offensive bumps in Abilene.
This project was supported by the local Automobile Association
who lent the school the use of various vehicles from small to
mid-size to vans so the students could investigate the impact
of the bumps on each type of vehicle. After the analysis was completed,
the students prepared a presentation for the local city council.
The students presented the city council with data about the most
offensive bumps, and made some suggestions on how these bumps
might be ameliorated.
Marine
Vessel Education
1997
Awardee
Budget:
$9900.00
Project
Director: Glenn Springer
La
Conner Middle School
513
N. 6th Street
La
Conner, WA 98257
Phone:
360-466-4113
Email:
adgr@gte.net
Summary
The
Marine Education Project that is being developed within the LaConner
Middle School will become an integrated community curriculum.
The construction phase will be done by 7th and 8th graders using
physical science (measurement, vectors, ratios, latitude, longitude,
and computer simulations), math, technology, and craftsmanship
to build and race four 10 foot sailboats. These vessels will be
used to teach sailing through the parks and recreation department
during the summer months and provide a means to introduce adolescents
to water safety, marine occupations, and avocations. Working and
racing as teams, students will see the connection between science
in the classroom and application in the shop and on the water.
Description
Participants
in the program have benefited in the following ways:
- Those
students in the Water Safety Class learned all the components
to earn a state certification in lifesaving but since they are
under 15 years of age, they just need to wait a year, review
again and take the test when it’s offered by a certified
pool nearby.
- These
same students also learned enough about navigation to plot a
4-day cruise through the San Juan Islands indicating on an overlay
of chart 18421 their dead reckoned stops, magnetic headings,
speed, time and distances to include three overnight moorages
and facilities available at each.
- Students
involved in building the first 2 Clancy sailboats have spent
4 hours on a computer sailing simulator and have developed the
pride of craftsmanship.
Seventy
students have been impacted by the project. Most of them became
involved by signing up for these classes as electives in the regular
semester class schedule. Sixty percent were male. As word spread
about the success and fun derived from the classes, the project
will touch the lives of all the students.
Archaeology
Research Program
1997
Awardee
Budget:
$10,000.00
Project
Director: James Calaway
Staff:
Mike Haynie, Kyle Smith, Joseph Anderson, Susan Bearden
MacArthur
Junior High School
510
NE 45th Street
Lawton,
OK 73507
Phone:
405-353-5111
Email:
jcalaway@ionet.net
Summary
In
this unique program, archeologists will work with teachers and
students on an actual dig site that includes historical artifacts
from three different time periods. Students will use GPS systems
with the most advanced metal detectors and technology available
to do an Archeological survey and generate computer driven data
for maps and reports that will be turned over to the state Archeological
Society. All materials and processes will be collected in film
and booklet form for replication by other school systems and interested
communities. Students will be involved with every aspect of the
research problem, including collection and identification of artifacts
and making a documentary of the entire process for future use.
Description
About
20 sweating students in hats, tank tops, and T-shirts circle Joe
Anderson to peer into what looks like an ordinary hole he has
just dug. Anderson, an archaeologist, kneels beside it to show
the students how much that ordinary hole on the edge of a grassy
field can tell them. He uses a spade to point out a layer of brown
dirt that drops from the ground about 8 inches. The brown color
shows that farmers have plowed the Tillman County field many times
over the past century. But the charred, black dirt found in the
next layer shows what he and the students really are looking for:
evidence of a military supply post established there 141 years
ago. Anderson speculates he has found the ashes of a fire the
Camp Radziminiski soldiers cooked over as they watched for Comanche
Indian attacks in 1858.
The
Lawton students have learned much about the area’s history
before getting to the site. But they experience it on the first
day of their weeklong excavation. The students will learn more
when they dig a square test pit where a hole is. They’ll
use tools to search for artifacts layer by layer. After the dig
ends, the students will decipher the clues they found. The students
have found square nails from the 1800s, a bullet, a brass clasp,
a strap that may have come from a horse’s tack, buckles,
and pieces of glass.
Horse
Cove Cave Conservation Project
1998
Awardee
Budget:
$9500.00
Project
Director: Randall Blackwood
Staff:
John French, June Kalange, Paul Meyer, Joan I. Morris
Grissom
High School
7901
Bailey Cove Rd.
Huntsville,
AL 35802
Phone: 205-650-4340
Email:
wblackwood@hsv.k12.al.us
Summary
This
is a pilot study to develop community awareness, scientific information,
and materials for "Horse Cove Cave Conservation Project." Students,
a biologist, educators, and landowners will be participating in
a hands-on research project with members of the Huntsville Grotto
of the National Speleological Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. Students will conduct in-class and field studies that
incorporate skills in geophysical and biological sciences, scientific
methodology, etc. Students will report their findings to appropriate
conservation organizations, governmental agencies and the citizens
of Horse Cove.
Description
The
first phase of the project was a fully equipped field trip to
caves in Horse Cove. Water quality monitoring continued throughout
the year on the caves while the main effort of the students shifted
to other objectives of the project.
The
next phase of the project involved the mapping of geological features
in Horse Cove. Geological features like sinkholes, springs, cave
entrances, and other karst features were checked by the students
using GPS devices. The data was collected and digitally recorded
on an updated topographic map. The new map was given to landowners
and developed to promote good stewardship of the land.
The
final phase was the dissemination of information to wildlife biologists
with the various government and nonprofit environmental agencies.
It is believed that by increasing the awareness of the endangered
species and their connections to water quality, careful planning
will take place and preserve the environment.
Arcata
High School Conservation and Alternative Energy
Budget:
$10,000
Project Director: Louis Armin-Hoiland
Staff: Will Bagnall, Earl Peters, Jack Sheppard
Arcata High School
1720 M Street
Arcata, CA 95521
Phone: 707-825-2400
Email: lah@nohum.k12.ca.us
Summary
Four
Arcata High School students in the CEDAR Academy class have
designed and will oversee this Conservation and Solar Energy
Project. The CEDAR Academy students will coordinate the work
of teachers and students in mathematics, physics, chemistry,
global science, and vocational classes. The goals of the project
are to reduce use of nonrenewable energy, implement the use
of solar energy, and involve students in challenging, real-word
projects. Students and teachers will do the following: perform
energy audits of the entire school with the help of volunteers
from the Redwood Community Action Agency Weatherization Program
and PG&E; do research on, make designs for, and install
a photovoltaic power system for Arcata High with the help of
Campus Center for Appropriate Technology at Humboldt State University,
and Six Rivers Solar, a business in Eureka; use the energy monitoring
system installed in the photovoltaic system, the data from energy
audits, and the design lab of the CEDAR Academy to analyze the
energy inputs and outputs, and make recommendations to the school
on ways to conserve energy and increase the use of renewable
energy; educate the school and public about the project; work
to continue and expand the project in the future.
Note:
Some files may be over 10 Megabytes.
Right click on the link and choose "Save Target as"
to download to your hard drive. On a Macintosh hold "control",
click the link and choose "Download link to Disk".
Is
It UVB or Not UVB? That is the Question!
Budget:
$10,000
Project Director: Kandace Glaser
Staff: Dorothy Satriana, Dwenna Holden, Hal Makofske
Lincoln Middle School
2287 Lema Rd SE
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Phone: 505-892-1100 x235
Email: kglaser@lms.rrps.k12.nm.us
Summary
The project
will target 6th and 7th grade students and their families. It
introduces the electromagnetic spectrum focusing upon infrared,
visible, and ultraviolet wavelengths. It teaches the uses, dangers,
and protective measures associated with the focus waves. Nationally,
one out of every twenty-five people is at risk of developing
melanoma. In New Mexico, the risk is one in every seven. The
students will participate in a variety of experiments and activities
that will educate them on the facts and misconceptions associated
with infrared and ultraviolet light, and they will learn procedures
for leading a healthy outdoor life.
Building
Blocks
Budget:
$10,000
Project Director: Bahadir Karuv
Bergen County Academies
200 Hackensack Ave
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Phone: 201-343-6000 x2310
Email: bahkar@bcacademies.bergen.org
Summary
The
Building Blocks Program is planned to be the ultimate toolkit
for young inventors. Once the student conceives a unique idea,
the working model will be achieved by simply attaching the appropriate
blocks and writing a "glue" program, utilizing a pre-written
and tested code library. The Building Block concept was born
out of the countless engineering projects that we have developed
in the Invention Lab over many years, and it will be an ongoing
project. The toolkit will consist many objects (detectors, relays,
actuators, indicators modules) that will be designed to interface
the real world with a simple, well-defined hardware/software
protocol. At the core of the toolkit there will be a C compiler
optimized CPU unit that will control the components. The building
blocks will be supported with well documented C and BASIC language
code libraries.
www.ScienceQuest
- A Literature-Based Inquiry Edventure
Budget:
$10,000
Project Director: Michelle Evans
Staff: Carolyn Hogge, Shirl Weight
Valley Elementary School
7436 E 200 S
Huntsville, UT 84317
Phone: 801-745-3713
Email: dgarner@utah.uswest.net
Summary
The
entire program will begin as teachers introduce students to
the project and teach them some basic skills. Students will
learn how to do research and Internet searches. They will be
taught scientific methods of inquiry and experimentation. They
will receive training in the writing processes required for
the project. They will receive instruction in web site publication.
Student experiments will be written into inquiry based booklets
by the students. Each booklet will be written in terms that
sixth grade students understand, become the basis for inquiry
based study for years to come, and include interviews from each
scientist. Booklets will include use of literary techniques
like graphic organizers, student-made dictionaries, and illustrations.
Booklets and experiments will also be placed on our school web
site. In this way we can explore hypotheses, add to existing
documentation, and add links as we pursue more Science Quest
EDventures. Students will present their findings in three-community
science EDventure Fairs where we explore and teach students,
parents, and community members about each objective.
Website:
www.ve.weber.k12.ut.us/ScienceQuestVES/index.htm
Wilson
Bay: A Study in Plant Propagation, Wetland Restoration and Its
Effects on Habitat Repopulation
Budget:
$10,000
Project Director: Shawn Reintjes
Staff: Pat Donovan-Potts, Dawn Hicks, Julie Baile
New Bridge Middle School
401 New Bridge St
Jacksonville, NC 28540
Phone: 910-346-5144
Email: sreintjes@hotmail.com
Summary
This
project is a cooperative effort linking the City of Jacksonville,
North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine,
and New Bridge Middle School. Its goals are three-fold: students
will 1) recycle one of the drying beds at the City of Jacksonville's
old Wastewater Treatment Facility located on Wilson Bay into
a plant propagation bed for the purpose of wetlands restoration,
2) document the repopulation of the habitat and the differentiation
among the three plant species within the habitat and finally,
3) convert the propagation bed into a living wetland model for
educational purposes. Sampling protocols will be established
to identify and examine phytoplankton, zooplankton, crabs, fish,
birds, and other relevant species. Students will use CBL's and
scientific probes to gather water quality data linking changes
in water quality to species adaptability. Students will create
databases for information gathered and PowerPoint presentations
on their findings. Scientists from NCSU will serve as mentors
for students involved in this project.
Note:
Some files may be over 10 Megabytes.
Right click on the link and choose "Save Target as"
to download to your hard drive. On a Macintosh hold "control",
click the link and choose "Download link to Disk".
Going
Deep!
Budget:
$8,900
Project Director: Wendy Jantzen
Staff: Shane Dent, Carol Wagar, Jim Turner, Melody Scherich
Longfellow Junior High
900 E Broadway
Enid, OK 73701
Phone: 580-234-7022
Email: wdjantzen@hotmail.com
Summary
During
the school year, the 8th grade teachers of Longfellow Jr. High
will integrate a baseball theme in a holistic approach that
includes all academic areas of study. The unit will involve
the core curriculum and elective classes. We will begin our
unit with a general introduction of the components of study
and end by spending a day at the David Allen Memorial Ballpark,
located in Enid, Oklahoma, putting skills to the test. Students
will research many aspects of the game of baseball and tie them
to English, social studies, math and science classes. They will
be involved in group projects designed to promote good social
skills with other students as well as with members of the community.
It is our goal to increase their enjoyment for learning. Ultimately,
we want to see them lay a foundation of skills that will help
them become active, positive members of their own community
tomorrow.
Note:
Some files may be over 10 Megabytes.
Right click on the link and choose "Save Target as"
to download to your hard drive. On a Macintosh hold "control",
click the link and choose "Download link to Disk".
Science
Sleuths
Budget:
$10,000
Project Director: Kimberley Pinto
Staff: Debbie Smith
Burnett Creek Elementary
5700 N 50 W
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Phone: 765-463-2237 x350
Email: kimberleypinto@aol.com
Summary
Our
goal is to prepare students' and teachers' minds for viewing
and thinking about science and literacy in a new light. The
project coordinator will facilitate a group of student Science
Sleuths to "think about how they think." The science
process skills will be their guide. Science-based literature
will be the thread that pulls it altogether. Then they will
take their talents on the road and appear on a weekly school-wide
Science Sleuth TV program. This dynamic program will show the
Sleuths' performing experiments that showcase the science process
skills and connected pieces of science-based literature to the
audience. This motivating tactic will entice and pull-together
"thinkers" on two levels. All the while the teachers
will be enhancing their "thinking" by attending school
book talks, the HASTI conference, workshops with the Sleuths,
and tapping into the wealth of science-based literature that
is presented each week on TV. Another component of this plan
is to create and maintain a Science Sleuth website for the school
and global community to access information on the science process
skills and how to become better "thinkers."
Note:
Some files may be over 10 Megabytes.
Right click on the link and choose "Save Target as"
to download to your hard drive. On a Macintosh hold "control",
click the link and choose "Download link to Disk".
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