Hands-On Science

Charlotte Crane | 9/1/2006

Volunteers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties' 235 fifth-grade classrooms will be guiding students in building telescopes, discovering kinetic energy and removing pollution from water (and more), as part of a plan to make science more exciting. Some 135 signed up by late summer to spend an hour helping out each month. "Elementary students are very inquisitive about science ... and they need to be engaged in hands-on activities," says Santa Rosa County district science coordinator Mary Johnson. FCAT science testing of fifth-graders now is also a factor along with the need to "grow our own knowledge workers," says state Rep. Holly Benson (R-Pensacola), prime initiator of the program, called I LOVE Science (which stands for Increasing Local Opportunities for Volunteers Enthusiastic about Science).

Tags: Education, Northwest