Keystone Weekly
volume 1, issue 10       December 6, 1999

This week's Key Points: *From the Director's Desk,* *Site Visits,* *PSTA Update,* and *Science Sizzlers*

From the Director's Desk

Colloquia Information Posted:
Plans for the upcoming Winter and Spring Colloquia are moving along. Information concerning date, location, time and focus can now be found on Keystone Online ( http://www.keystone.fi.edu/events/). The Winter Colloquium, Wednesday, January 26 at the Montgomery County IU, will focus on classroom inquiry practice. We will probe the whats, whys, and whatifs within science learning and teaching. We will also utilize the computer lab at the IU. A more specific mailing for the Winter Colloquium will be going out shortly, with map/directions and a confirmation form. Please work with your principal and Keystone Site Liaison in arranging coverage for your class if this is not already in place. We hope all charter Keystone members will be able to attend and join in sharing what's been happening, exploring the topic focus with colleagues, and hearing about and helping shape upcoming Keystone activities (including the April 7 Spring Colloquium at The Franklin Institute on alternative/performance assessment).

The project will cover travel expenses, including Tuesday night lodging for those who will need to travel in the evening before (mailing will give details).

Keystone Summer Institute 2000:
We are currently engaged in finalizing dates and site for this coming summer's institute for the Year 2 Keystone group. I am conducting a site visit later this week and we expect to make a decision between sites shortly thereafter so we can get information out to all in early January.

Ongoing Site Visits:
Keystone staff is finding their visits to teachers' classrooms most rewarding. It's wonderful to see participants again, especially in the classroom setting, and to experience firsthand additional opportunities for Keystone to expand ways the project can support teachers. Good conversations are ensuing, insights gleaned, and possibilities noted which can contribute to project planning. I will be visiting site liaisons and teachers in the Northeastern and Lancaster school districts later this week. Other project staff will be here too, as well as in Upper Dublin, Wissahickon and Pennsbury districts. We plan to visit each Keystone site as schedules allow.

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Site Visits

This report is from Shelby Jackson, Technology Learning Specialist at The Franklin Institute:

This past week Barbara and I had the privilege of visiting two exciting and dynamic Keystone sites. On Tuesday we visited Pat Hagen at Shady Grove Elementary in the Wissahickon School District. Her class was exploring the mechanics of sound. The students collected data from their exploration and used the data to create wonderful charts and graphs. The class seemed to enjoy the activity very much, and it was wonderful to see kids so involved in inquiry. Pat has invited us back to watch her class enjoy another exploration, and personally, I can't wait to go.

On Friday Barbara and I visited Sara Smith, Director of Robbins Park for Environmental Studies in the Upper Dublin School District. Neither Barbara nor I had heard of this facility, so naturally when we arrived we were completely blown away! This is an amazing facility that undoubtedly provides a valuable resource to schools in the area. Sara allowed us to accompany her and a group of students on a nature walk through the park. After learning about fungi and spotting animal tracks in the mud, the students performed an experiment using thermometers to measure the temperature of different areas of the park. The walk culminated at the Robbins Park Bird Blind, where the students first learned how to watch for birds and then helped put food in the bird feeders. Sara has also invited us back to observe the kinds of activities students are able to do in the spring, and that is an opportunity I certainly won't pass up!

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PSTA Update

The International Space Station is the most ambitious and expensive space project ever attempted within or beyond the earth's atmosphere. But how and why even build a Space Station? This December, PBS will take viewers behind-the-scenes to share in the surprises, challenges, the human ingenuity, tough decisions, and even the disappointments of this massive endeavor. SPACE STATION, a two-part documentary airing on consecutive Tuesdays, December 14 and 21, 1999, from 8:00 to 9:00PM ET (check local listing), follows engineers, scientists, managers and astronauts from sixteen nations, led by NASA, as they navigate the financial, technical and political challenges of creating the International Space Station (ISS). Viewers will discover through their eyes what it takes to build a project of this immense size and complexity. For more information, visit the SPACE STATION web site at http://www.pbs.org/spacestation beginning December 7, 1999.

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Science Sizzlers

Joyce forwarded us this email from Susie Brobston about the following website:

The site should work well in the classroom to support "Microworlds" or any Human Body or Microbiology content.

...I first used this material in booklet form; sent to me as a special edition of a weekly student newspaper. The kids loved it and learned a great deal. The website contains additional information and includes the following intermediate elementary-level articles and activities:

• Meet the Microbes; Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoa
• Bacteria in the Cafeteria, a look at harmful and beneficial bacteria
• Infection!, a discussion of germs and the immune system
• How Lou got the Flu; tracing the flu virus from a duck farm in China to a child in the USA
• The Amazing Microbe Hunters; a game that teaches kids about six scientists who have contributed to our knowledge of disease and its prevention
• Can you solve the Mixed-up Microbe Mystery? The kids put events of a CDCP case in order after reading about epidemiologists' jobs
• The Prevention Convention; a printable poster that reminds kids how to combat infection

Each of these sections is visually appealing to kids and includes an activity to help students learn health/science information. Most also include links to related sites for further research.

Here's the link: http://www.amnh.org/explore/infection/index.html

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9819641.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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