 Bay Area Women Bring Science to Life for Kids— By Patricia Hall Published: November, 2004  Public radio journalist Rebecca Roberts enjoys sharing her love of science with children. The season's first storm had just begun, and the pitter-patter of rain on Margaret Phillips' second grade classroom window could not have been better timed. There, inside room eight at Vannoy elementary school in Castro Valley, a gaggle of attentive 7-year-olds learned about sound by listening to and making noises. They created their own rain and thunder, marching about the center of the room tapping together plastic water bottles, rectangular pieces of tin foil and a home-made rain stick made from dried red beans. After quieting down and sitting in the center of the bright classroom listening to the sound of the rain outside, they learned how to describe the sound waves it produced. Internationally recognized public radio journalist Rebecca Roberts led the demonstration, wowing the children with her dramatic story-telling, and guiding them to participate in a developmentally appropriate "radio drama" focusing on sound. This inspired dozens of eager little hands to spring up to ask questions and share stories about how they recognize sound in their homes. "My brother sometimes lets me use his guitar," declared one 7-year-old girl proudly, "and I'm learning which strings make the different sounds!" Roberts made her presentation under the auspices of a Berkeley-based organization, Community Resources for Science (CRS), founded by Anne Jennings and Nicki Norman. Both professionals in the science field with 35 years of combined experience, they formed CRS in 1997 after observing that their first and second graders weren't able to take advantage of all the learning opportunities in the science-rich Bay Area. Opportunities for Girls Girls, particularly, tend to miss out on science opportunities. According to "Girls Go Tech," an initiative of the Girl Scouts, studies show that young girls enjoy math, science and technology just as much as boys do, but by eighth grade, twice as many boys as girls show interest in science, engineering and mathematics careers. "As a result," concluded Jackie Barnes of the Girl Scouts, "only 22 percent of engineers and scientists are women — even though women make up nearly half the workforce." To make science more interesting, Jennings and Norman decided to bring together a community of educators to get children excited about learning. As co-directors, Jennings and Norman lead programs, services and research that support hands-on elementary science learning. Norman recalled one presentation she made about animal habitat to a group of first graders. A girl raised her hand and said, "I only have one question: Are you really a scientist your own self or are you married to a scientist?" | ||
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