Good News - We Will Go On

The state legislature signed the budget Saturday evening, June 29th. In that budget there was a line item for $2 million for science outreach. That is basically the Science in Motion Consortium. There have been no individual contracts yet to the Higher Education Partners. We anticipate funding at around last year’s level. We are hopeful that we will get our contract sooner and the payments will be made sooner. What this means to the secondary education teachers is that the Chemistry van will be ready to go when school starts and the Biology van will be ready after we hire a biology mobile educator. That job search will be started when we have received a contract.

Thank You, Local State Legislators

Representative Merle Phillips was responsible for getting the Science Outreach line item put into the budget. As the Director of the Science in Motion Program at Susquehanna, I had the pleasure of speaking with someone from each of the local state legislator’s offices. Everyone I spoke with was enthusiastic about the Science in Motion Program and pledged their support. Please let these hard-working legislators know what this program will mean to your students. I spoke with Representatives Fairchild, Belfanti, Cappelli, Clark, Gordner, and Feese and also Senator Helfrick and Arnie Kriner, Executive Assistant to Senator Madigan. Their addresses and phone number are available on our webpage at www.susqu.edu/sim.

Mike McDevitt Says

Well, good morning everyone, it’s a beautiful day for chemistry! I borrowed that line from my freshman chemistry professor at Bloomsburg University. Can anyone name that professor? It’s been a very, very busy June thus far. Becoming acclimated to Susquehanna University, the Science in Motion Office and participating in two SIM teacher conferences has certainly filled my summer. I wish to thank everyone who participated. It was inspiring to see all the effort, enthusiasm, and collegiality exhibited by everyone involved in both conferences. I find myself overwhelmed at the amount of equipment and potential storage difficulties we will be facing over the summer. It is truly Christmas in July. I am really not complaining, however, it does remind me of a friend who constantly complains about having to carry two wallets. It’s a wonderful position to find oneself.

I hope to be talking and visiting with everyone during the 2002 - 2003 school year. Any questions, feel free to call or e-mail. I anticipate being at SIM throughout the summer. Thank you and have a great summer.

Mike McDevitt, SIM Mobile Educator

570- 372-4780 or mcdevitt@susqu.edu

Summer Workshops Successful

"The Chemistry in Motion equipment and lessons puts the "WOW" back into science concepts for both the student and the teacher." Tracy Hepner, Danville High School

"One of the most useful, informative and well planned workshops I've been to! I liked being able to have the opportunity to choose what I wanted to work on according to what my needs were." Sheila Furr, Shikellamy High School

"I've been to 15 years of in services and workshops. This has been the most useful experience I've had to date." Brad Deacon, Montoursville High School

"A fantastic opportunity to practice and develop hands-on skills and experience. An offer you can't refuse." Kevin Horton, Selinsgrove High School

Science in Motion sponsored two workshops in June. Eighteen people representing 13 school districts attended the Secondary Science/ Chemistry teacher workshop. Participating teachers spent the week using much of our new equipment, the Vernier LabPro System. I was very impressed with how well many of the experiments worked with the computer interface. We did find a few bugs. The nice thing is that many traditional classroom experiments and exercises seem to be very adaptable to the LabPro System.

The one-day investigative workshop was attended by nine area teachers. We used the LabPro System to do a biology experiment as a cookbook type activity and then as an open ended investigative experiment. We also reviewed the State Science Standards. It was the consensus of the group that since the state testing takes place in 10^th grade, the middle and junior high programs need to be much more intense.

How do I find out more about the Science in Motion Program?

You have many options. You may phone us at Susquehanna University, 570-372-4779, e-mail us at sciencemotion@susqu.edu or check on the Web site at www.susqu.edu/sim. You may also contact one of the teachers who attended our workshops at their respective high schools. They include: Barb Albright and Sheila Furr, Shikellamy; Brad Deacon and Steve Tressler, Montoursville; Deb Slattery and Tracy Hepner, Danville; Ginger Scholl, East Juniata; John Tamblin, Mt. Carmel; Deb Smeltzer, Milton; Kevin Horton, Selinsgrove; Bob Reed, Shamokin; Matthew Eisley, South Williamsport; Ed Kelly, John Eck, and Jim Poechmann, Williamsport; Ralph Smith, Jersey Shore; Brett Criswell, Central Columbia; Alan Hannas, Benton; Geoff Goodenow, Lewisburg; Mark Kramer, Muncy and Mary Dahlmann, Faye Hinson and Colleen Ruths who are currently not teaching.

We do not anticipate any more workshops this summer but we do hope to plan some dinner/evening meetings to continue the networking and interactions that we started this summer.

Are the vans only for students in the classroom?

You may schedule a van visit as part of a teacher inservice day. You may also schedule the use of the van and/or equipment for part of a special program or Science Day. Remember, this program is at no cost to the secondary schools. The more ways these resources are utilized the greater the benefit to the students in the valley.

What equipment is available?

We have added a lot of resources to the Science in Motion Program since our kickoff in May. Equipment will be grouped as belonging to the chemistry van or the biology van. However, this does not mean that a particular piece of equipment is available to only chemistry or biology classrooms. If you have a need to use a resource, it is available to you. Each van will have 9 laptop computers, a printer, and a wireless network system. Each van will have available 8 of the Vernier LoggerPro units. The probes and other equipment may be traded between vans. Those include 8 of each of the following: colorimeters, conductivity probes, dissolved oxygen probes, gas pressure sensors, Carbon dioxide gas sensors, Labpro interface, pH sensors, stainless steel temperature probes, human physiology package, ammonium probes, calcium probes and nitrate probes. We also have 8 Spectronic 20s for visible light. The chemistry van will have available 3 HPLCs, 8 gas chromatographs, Nuclear Radiation Monitors and the equipment needed to use those, 8 ceramic stirring hotplates, 8 digital balances, Eppendorf Pippettes in assorted sizes and one computer projector.

The biology van will have available: 8 Leica binocular compound microscopes, 1 triocular teaching microscope, 8 horizontal gel electrophoresis units, 4 power supplies for gel electrophoresis, 2 benchtop incubators, 1 temperature controlled water bath, 1 dryblock incubator with several blocks of assorted volumes, assorted Eppendorf Pipettes and all the necessary components for water quality testing. The biology van will also have a computer projector available.

Other resources at Science in Motion include lab manuals for the Vernier systems; Chemistry with Computers, Biology with Computers, Physical Science with Computers, Middle School Science with Computers, and Water Quality with Computers. If there is something you really could use, please let me know so we can order it. We are considering IR spectroscopy for the Chemistry van.

When will the van come to my school?

This program is totally teacher driven. There are no pre-scheduled van visits. When you are ready to use a particular piece of equipment or do a series of experiments, call Melanie at (570) 372-4779 to schedule the mobile science teacher and/or the use of the equipment. Mike McDevitt says there will be reservation forms on the Web site by August. Scheduling is on a first-come first-serve basis so schedule early.

Save a tree

If you wish to receive this newsletter in electronic format, please send us your e-mail address sciencemotion@susqu.edu or phone us at 372-4779.

Have a great rest of the summer!

Jan Reichard-Brown

Director, Science in Motion

570-372-4778 or reichardbrown@susqu.edu