News Releases
Science on the Go Mobile Science Lab
The Issue (What's the Problem?)
There are many reasons why science education in this country is failing. Large class sizes, lack of resources, limited teacher science background, and poor curriculum have all been blamed. The need for improvement in science education is compelling. The 2006 International Student Assessment ranked the US 17th out of 30 industrialized nations in science scores of 15-year-olds, and 24th in mathematics scores (NCES, 2007).
Many solutions have been proposed, but the model of the mobile science laboratory is particularly attractive. One of the goals is to stimulate interest in science. By providing quality, age-appropriate, inquiry-based science education the STEM team increased the students' interest and understanding of science in a wide variety of areas.
What We Did
The Science on the Go Mobile Laboratory traveled to public and private schools throughout Cook County (Chicago and suburbs) providing science instruction to students. The Mobile Lab also traveled to preschools, park districts, and churches. The Mobile Science Laboratory provided science demonstrations to the general public at health and back to school fairs, city wide science expeditions, 4-H festivals, science nights and summer camp programs.
The Science on the Go Science and Math Educators designed the curriculum for the lab to be in line with state and national science education standards, and to be age-appropriate. In addition horticulture and health educators provided programs on the lab. Curricula were interactive and inquiry-based, and related to everyday life. Sample topics include xCellent Adventures, Edible Polymers, Happy Hands, Man's Garbage Is a Worm's Meal, and Global Warming.
The Science on the Go teaching process was highly collaborative. Educators and organizations from Cook County logged onto the website and requested certain dates. Once the date was confirmed, the teachers chose a program from the website list and arrangements were made with the Extension educator. Teachers were responsible for distributing and collecting safety contracts, and photo permission forms. The Science on the Go vehicle stayed up to 4 school days at each teaching site. Students were taught in groups of eleven for a 30-90 minute class. There were up to four teaching sessions per day, or approximately 160 students served per week. Many classes featured hands-on, group activities, and state-of-the art teaching methods using video, satellite internet, and PowerPoint presentations.
Impacts
At the end of each teaching session, evaluations as well as student satisfaction and interest surveys were given. These surveys measured students' interest in science and scientific careers after participating in the Science on the Go program. Teacher satisfaction surveys were also distributed and collected. Pre and post surveys were analyzed to recommend improvements to the program as well as to determine what they learned while on the Mobile Lab.
Some of the comments from students:
- Science is a lot more fun than I thought.
- I found out that light is really not white -- it's a rainbow of color
- New interest in global warming
- That we are using clues; I love the science van
- I didn't know how to get DNA out of fruit and vegetables and now I do
- I really liked watching the worms move around, it's sooooo cool!!
Some of the comments from classroom teachers:
- This experience was awesome. The students really had a good time learning. This is definitely an experience they will remember. I hope they come next year too!
- Learning about the microscope was a valuable experience for my students that sparked keen interest in pursuing further studies in science, they loved the lesson!
- This is an excellent program. Our children will be talking about this for a long time.
- An exceptional experience for my students! They were able to be exposed to something they do not do in the classroom. Thank you!!!
In the past year, the mobile science lab has visited over 78 different locations. Over 5,600 students and 1,400 adults from around Chicago have participated in Science on the Go programs. Most of these students were given surveys at the end of their session to track changes in their science interest and overall program satisfaction. Data that was collected on students' interest in science, being a scientist, and understanding and enjoying science all indicated a positive response to the mobile lab programs. This preliminary data seemed to indicate that the mobile science laboratory model was an excellent way of increasing science interest and exposure. Currently there are over 70 schools on the wait list for the coming year.
The skills that students develop during a Science on the Go visit are crucial in the scientific workplace: writing, measuring, calculating, forming hypotheses, testing theories, and working collaboratively. Preliminary data indicates that by providing access to fun, hands-on scientific programming, this program not only increases interest in science in the general student population, but also amongst students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, such as minorities, special needs and physically challenged students. By partnering with K-12 teachers to integrate quality science education with professional development, the Science on the Go Mobile laboratory is helping to ensure the future of the US scientific workforce.Partners
Support of the program was provided by the University of Illinois Extension - 21st Century Initiative.
For More Information
Karen Meyer
Extension Unit Educator, Science and Technology, Cook County, 708-449-4320
John Van Horn
Extension Unit Educator, Science and Technology, Cook County, 773-933-6774
Kenya Thomas
Extension Unit Educator, Science and Technology, Cook County, 708-449-4320
Oye Ajifolokun
Extension Unit Educator, Science and Technology, Cook County, 708-449-4320
