Conference turris::womannotes-v3

409.0. "Science by Mail" by TLE::D_CARROLL (Assume nothing) Fri Sep 28 1990 14:43

Got this mail from my friend Beth Holmberg (aka Tucker) this morning, and
with her permission am posting it here.  If you want to contact Beth,
write her at:

	DECWRL::"[email protected]"

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	I know that I mentioned this last spring, but it's time 
for the new season, and there are new folks on the list, so 
I thought I'd mention it again.  "It" is a program called 
Science-By-Mail.  Participants are small groups and 
individuals of 4-9th graders.  They get 3 'science challenge 
packets' during the school year.  These are filled with neat 
experimental problems and stuff to do the experiments with.  
They each finish with a Big Problem, which is very open 
ended but draws on what they've learned in their 
experimenting.  These are things like designing a machine to 
keep time or inventing a new snack food and it's packaging 
to keep it fresh.  The cool part is that the kids send their 
solutions to pen-pals who are real scientists!  The 
scientists comment on what they've done, etc.
 
 There are lots of girls in the program, and I've heard 
that about half of the volunteer scientist pen-pals are 
women!  Good female role models in science- 'bout time!  I 
was a volunteer scientist last year, and had a blast with 
it.  It was great to see what the kids would come up with, 
and how their abilities developed.  And you get each of the 
packets to play with yourself (OK-- so I'm still part kid 
myself...).  I really like the fact that there are very few 
right answers in it all-- the kids instead learn real 
science by *doing* it, and the experiments are open ended 
and easilly expanded if they come up with new questions.  
Yahoo!  Last year they had something like 8000 students and 
1000 scientist involved in the program!  This year they're 
hoping to expand to something like 15000 kids...
 
 SO-- if you're a scientist/science grad. student of 
some kind (they aren't picky: life sciences, computers, even 
geologists!) and you think you might be interested in being 
a scientist pen-pal to 4 or 5 kids/groups, OR if you know of 
any kids who might be interested in being involved, contact 
Science-By-Mail, Museum of Science, Science Park, Boston, MA 
02114-1099.  (Ph: 800-729-3300).  For kids, the program 
costs $40 per membership for the year (a membership can be 
an individual, a family, or a group of up to 4).  How 'bout 
a back-to-school present for your 
daughter/son/neice/nephew/grandkids/neighbors?
 
 If you have more questions about what it's like, I'd be 
more than happy to answer them.  I just wanted to let y'all 
know about a program which I think is a ton of fun and 
wonderful in getting kids excited about science.  And they 
get a chance to find out that not all scientists are old 
gray haired white men with long white lab coats and flasks 
full of bubbling liquids, reclusive and obsessive and bent 
on remaking the world in their own image....what a 
revelation!