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Press Room
Media Contact: David Perry, (415) 864-6397
news@davidperry.com
Education Programs Offered
at Chabot Space & Science Center
(Oakland, CA, October 10, 2001) — Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland continues its tradition of offering education programs for students, teachers and visitors that encourage exploration of the worlds of science and technology through entertaining classes, hands-on activities, workshops, teacher training and public programs. As a community-based science center with state-of-the-art facilities, CSSC programs for students, teachers and the public are inquiry-based, presenting interactive learning opportunities that illustrate the connection between scientific principles and daily life. Current education programs include workshops related to the exhibition
Star Wars: Art of the Starfighter; Discovery Club for children ages 5-7; Galaxy Explorers; science and technology programs for girls, and many other activities.
Star Wars: Art Of The Starfighter Weekend Activities *
* (NOTE: this is a change from the Weekend Workshops announced in the Fall Advance Calendar)
Weekend workshops this Fall are designed to complement the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit
Star Wars: Art of the Starfighter, in its West Coast debut at Chabot Space & Science Center. The exhibition's education component will explore aspects of the
Star Wars movies through activities that include a See-Through Laser, Bubble Domes, air pockets, and hands-on projects. Weekend drop-in sessions will offer activities related to the Naboo Starfighter featured in the exhibition, involving both science and imagination. Among the activities, which alternate from weekend to weekend, are: Planet Books, in which participants create a book about a planet of their own design and its inhabitants; Imagination Factory for creating starships, robots, or a planet landscape from re-used materials; X-wing Starfighter Flip Books and Magnets. Demonstrations explore scale modeling as it relates to the Starfighter model and our Earth and Moon, and The Magic of Lasers.
Discovery Club
Discovery Club is an after school workshop where children ages 5–7 can meet new friends, brainstorm, problem-solve, design, create and explore scientific processes. Discovery Club activities focus on astronomy and the theme
"Our Place in the Universe," and pose questions about who we are, why we exist, if other worlds like ours exist, where planets come from, and the nature of space. Discovery Club workshops planned for this year include: Living Together Here On Our Planet Earth; The Sun: Our Closest Star; The Milky Way and Beyond; Cosmic Debris; Wonders of Water, and other themes. Children attending the Discovery Club will take part in activities like Mountain Building, Musical Toys, Designing Homes on Other Planets, Cooking and Gardening.
Discovery Club takes place every other Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:45pm, and continues on the following dates in the academic year 2001-2002:
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October 10 and 24
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November 7 and 21
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December 5 and 19
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January 9 and 23
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February 6 and 20
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March 6 and 20
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April 3 and 17
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May 1 and 15
Galaxy Explorers
Galaxy Explorers is four-part program designed for youth that offers skill-building and leadership training in science, exhibits and laboratory assistance. The program components are Youth Enrichment; Museum Explainer; Community Benefit & Enrichment; and Youth Leadership Development. In the Youth Enrichment Component, participants will perform science demonstrations, participate in science contests, write a newsletter for the families of youth involved at CSSC, develop a science theater show, and other activities. In the Museum Explainer Component, young people are trained to demonstrate science concepts and explain exhibits at the science center. The Community Benefit Enrichment Component will send Galaxy Explorers to community partners that reach under-served youth in low-income communities. The Youth Leadership Development Component presents monthly workshops geared toward skill-building and leadership development with emphasis on life-skill training, career planning, public speaking and job skills.
Science Programs For Girls
Chabot Space & Science Center has worked to design educational programs that encourage girls in the fields of science and technology.
Techbridge is designed to enhance girls' interest and skills in technology through hands-on projects based on their own interests;
FIRST: Female Involvement in Real Science & Technology creates an informal setting for girls to engage in hands-on science at elementary and middle schools. These model programs take an innovative approach to engage teachers, counselors, families, role models, and peer support networks in keeping girls involved and motivated in science and technology, through programs hosted before and after school. Both programs are made possible by grants from the National Science Foundation.
The FIRST program creates after-school science clubs for elementary and middle school girls. FIRST is currently active at the California School for the Blind in Fremont, where hands-on projects have introduced girls to chemistry and biology, and included valuable lessons in measuring, following directions, using scientific equipment, and making careful observations. The school’s FIRST club has also designed and planted its own organic garden for adopted animals that include a desert tortoise, millipede, and dwarf rabbit.
Techbridge is a three-year program offering girls opportunities to explore the Internet, design websites, and use various technology applications while learning about career opportunities. Techbridge operates within the Oakland Unified School District at five middle schools — Edna Brewer, Frick, Bret Harte, Montera and John Swett — and four high schools — Fremont, Oakland Technical, McClymonds and Skyline. Techbridge activities have included studies in aeronautics and geology; introduction to power tools; use of computer programs to design T-shirts, websites, videos and digital yearbooks; assembling radios, cameras and telephones, and many other subjects. Techbridge offers teachers training and support for integrating technology into the curriculum, and learning how to address motivational factors that limit girls' participation in technology, and also includes training and support for counselors who advise girls and their families of academic and career paths.
For more information on these and other educational programs offered by Chabot Space & Science Center, please call (510) 336-7300 or visit the CSSC website at
www.chabotspace.org
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