FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 5, 2005

CONTACT: Daniel Finney, (515) 271-2833, daniel.finney@drake.edu

DRAKE STUDENTS AND FACULTY TO LEAD SUMMER SCIENCE CAMP

With the aid of Drake University students and faculty, Des Moines elementary students will develop flying machines, make electricity from fruit and communicate using only flashlights during the Des Moines Science Pioneers Camp from Monday, Aug. 8 through Friday, Aug. 12.

The camp will take place at four Des Moines area elementary schools: Cattell, Hubbell, Jefferson and Park Avenue. Drake students developed the weeklong, interactive inquiry-based lesson this past spring as part of their elementary science methods class at Drake.

About 160 Des Moines elementary students, and 25 elementary teachers will participate in the camp. 12 exceptional science and education student will help facilitate all activities. Drake faculty Rahul Parsa, professor of statistics, and LaRhee Henderson, associate professor of chemistry, along with doctoral student Kris Lilibarda and recent Drake Education graduate Kaitlyn Hood form the heart of the research and implementation team.

The camp is designed to improve student interest in science, improve leadership skills through a peer mentoring program, enhance elementary teachers' abilities to teach inquiry-based science, help participating teachers become mentors and provide learning opportunities for the students.

"We're trying to get the idea across to students that science is as much an inquiry process as it is factual information," said Jack Gerlovich, Drake professor of science education and director of Des Moines Science Pioneers Camp. "It is also a lot more fun to experience in this format. Ideally, the camp will also enable the students to become better consumers of science."

On Monday and Wednesday, students at Cattell Elementary, 3101 E. 12th St., will work with the forces of flight and develop a flying machine. Students will write in journals to predict what will make an object fly and discuss their lessons. The flight activity will be between 10:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Also on Monday and Wednesday, students at Hubbell School, 800 42nd St., will have the "Hubbell Bubble Camp." Students will make bubble wands in a variety of shapes and predict whether the bubbles will form in the same shape. The bubble activity will be between 9:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

On Tuesday and Thursday, students at Jefferson Elementary, 2425 Watrous Ave., will play "Survivor" and pretend they are on a deserted island. They will try to use apples, limes, coconuts and one liter plastic bottles, in order to create electricity. After discovering these hidden items they will develop a bulb to be used for Morse code and flashlights. The electricity activity will be between 10:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Also Tuesday and Thursday, students at Park Avenue School, 3141 SW 9th St., will visit McCray Pond to collect and gather materials from the pond to study the ecosystems. Students will create their own ecosystem on a necklace. The ecosystem activity will be between 9:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The camp concludes Friday, Aug. 13, with a trip to the Des Moines Zoo, where the children will participate in an interactive detective hunt involving animals.

The Drake University School of Education received a $100,000 grant from the state of Iowa, as well as a $10,000 grant from Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. to fund the camp as part of the Des Moines Science Pioneers project. This is the second year of the camp. Last year, approximately 45 elementary students attended the camp at Cattell Elementary supported by a $20,000 grant from Pioneer.

"Our mutually beneficial relationship with the Des Moines schools is growing and improving each year," Gerlovich added. "We anticipate expanding the program in future years to include students in grades 3-12."

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