September 21, 2001

Middle School Students Experience Hands-On Education At WKU Community College's Science Resource Center

Bowling Green, Ky. - "That is awesome!"

"Ooh, his looks like a little tornado."

"You've got a full-fledged tornado going in that thing."

If the reactions from seventh-graders are any indication, an innovative science education program is achieving its first goal: to make science fun and exciting.

On Friday, about 30 students from Moss Middle School in Bowling Green were the first participants in the Regional Science Resource Center at Western Kentucky University's Bowling Green Community College.

Under the watchful eye of Dr. Karen Powell and other instructors, the seventh-grade students conducted a college-level chemistry experiment to produce aspirin.

The students, wearing lab coats and goggles, watched intently as beakers of water were heated and then they gathered and mixed the ingredients.

Along the way they learned the real name of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), the chemical composition of aspirin, the history of aspirin, its benefits and side effects, and the number Americans take per day (50 million). The students also learned that seventh-grade isn't too early to start thinking about college or about scholarships, like the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship that is based on academic performance.

"We're trying to plant some seeds that will grow as they go through high school," Dr. Powell said after answering a student's question. "Most students don't think science is fun simply because they don't get a chance to do it and live it."

The Regional Science Resource Center aims to increase student interest in science, impact the science curriculum, boost science scores on standardized tests, improve teacher education programs in science, reduce dropout rates and increase access to postsecondary education. The program is being funded through a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).

"This program is very important because it reaches out to pre-college students and gives them a taste of what real science is like and a sense of what it is like to be on a college campus," said Dr. Joan Straumanis, a program officer for FIPSE who was at the Community College for a site visit.

"The goal is to improve attitudes toward science and achievements in science for kids by demonstrating the excitement of being a scientist so they can set their goals high," she said.

The Regional Science Resource Center will have an impact at the local, state and national level by increasing student interest in science through hands-on learning, boosting the number of people seeking postsecondary training and serving as a model to enhance science education.

"All of these students won't grow up to be scientists, but if they grow up to like science they'll benefit," said Dr. Powell, project director.

FIPSE funds about 5 percent of the 1,500 to 2,000 proposals it receives each year and is interested in projects that have nationwide potential to improve education, Dr. Straumanis said.

"This is a very exciting project that we hope will become common practice everywhere. This is the test site," she said.

As part of the FIPSE project, Western will write a how-to manual that will help launch similar programs.

"This isn't just for Western, this is for the nation," Dr. Straumanis said. "Western is just the first step."

Other school groups, teachers and parents from the region will participate in activities at the center this year.

Dr. Powell and Dr. Straumanis are excited about seeing more students become excited about science.

"I'm looking forward to the time when instead of saying 'Let's go the mall' that kids will say 'Let's meet at the science lab,'" Dr. Straumanis said.

For more information, contact Karen Powell at (270) 780-2565. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.