Science teaching colleagues,
Most adult education programs lack science labs. Hands-on science is sometimes difficult to do. There are some good science videos, and some experiments are possible in the classroom and at home, and the web has brought us some useful web sites such as NASA's Earth Observatory http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/, Powers of 10 http://htwins.net/scale2/ Visible Human Project, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_gallery.html and the frog, squid, starfish, fetal pig (etc.) dissection site http://www.froguts.com/demo/ , among others. However, there is nothing as compelling as feet-on-the-ground, hands-on, face-in-the-thick of the natural environment to whet an appetite for science.
Have you considered science field trips to national parks? Check out the National Park Service web site [http://www.nps.gov/teachers/index.htm?_tmc=kRIUeMgNBIFJn1lJiRreDuk1WKuaCfsyqd5t_3RnaKk] They have lots of biology, ecology and environment field trips, perhaps at a park near you. If you cannot organize this for your students, you could let your students know about them so that they, perhaps, could take their families there this summer. There may even be organizations where you live that organize affordable field trips for low-income families.
Have you taken adult learners on science field trips? Or guided them to ways to do family science field trips? Tell us about it.
David J. Rosen
djrosen123@gmail.com
Comments
David, these are great suggestions. I might add that National Historic Landmarks are often more accessible and easier to visit, especially for people in urban areas. http://www.nps.gov/nhl/
Here is a link to a webpage for educators , which provides suggestions for using/visiting sites and includes a state-by-state listing of such places. http://www.nps.gov/nhl/learn/educators.htm
There is also a great list of "theme studies" using historic landmarks, and many of the themes are related to science topics, or at least integrate science into the theme. http://www.nps.gov/nhl/learn/themestudieslist.htm
Has anyone used these resources in adult education? If so, please let us know!!!
Susan