Scientist Ronen Mir, director of SciTech, Science and Technology Interactive Center in Aurora, has huge educational goals, and we do mean huge.
So huge, in fact, that some of the center’s educational materials are bigger than life.
Mir, a high-energy particle physicist and a guest scientist at nearby Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, believes that to teach children science, you first have to get them involved. And what better way to get their attention, he figures, than with giant-sized exhibits that inspire the imagination and encourage experimentation.
Thus was born the center’s new Outdoor Science Park, which was formally dedicated Tuesday afternoon in a ceremony attended by local dignitaries and, of course, a gaggle of school children. The science park was made possible through two grants, a $50,000 museum grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and a $25,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Among the attention-getting devices at the park is a 32-foot lever that allows children to lift something placed in a bench on one end.
The idea is that not only do the kids get to move something, but also they have to figure out the best mathematical ratio for the job. And once they figure it out, they can lift their friends, a teacher, their parents, whatever.
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“This is all hands on,” Mir said. “We want hands on, minds on, brains on. It’s not just look, touch and press a button, but immerse yourself inside the experience.”
Because children like being outside and because the exhibits are fun, they learn by playing.
“The whole idea of being outdoors is to be able to experience science where and when it happens, using natural elements like wind and water,” Mir said.
Mir said although he still maintains ties in the world of particle physics research by collaborating with colleagues at Fermilab, his goal is to bring science alive to schoolchildren.
“I have always been interested in science education and always had volunteered and then I decided that I wanted to make that a major endeavor,” Mir said.
Director of the Aurora center for the last 18 months, Mir most recently worked in Israel and was involved in the creation of a 2-acre outdoor science park there.
Other mind-stretching exhibits include a bicycle on a tightrope that kids can ride (don’t worry, you can’t fall off) and a lithophone, which is a marble xylopohone that kids can play by tapping the “keys” with plastic-coated metal mallets.
SciTech is an 11-year-old museum devoted to teaching children about science and technology. Other projects include traveling exhibits that are donated to area school districts and other educational programs. It is located at 18 W. Benton St. in Aurora. PTA education: More than 150 parents are expected to gather Wednesday for the annual DuPage regional PTA conference. Group members will attend workshops on everything from how to prevent teenage drug use to how to balance an accounting ledger.
Mainly, though, the group will come together to share ideas, offer support and pick up tips for creating more vibrant parent-teacher associations.
“The purpose of these meetings is to educate our members and to help create an environment that is better for kids,” said Tracy Hulett, who heads the Carol Stream Area PTA Council and is helping organize the annual conference. “The better educated the parents are, the better off the kids will be.”
Hulett said DuPage County already has some of the most active PTA groups in the state. Of the statewide PTA membership, DuPage County accounts for 25 percent, she said.
This year’s conference entitled, “Celebrate the Magic of Children,” is one of the most popular in recent years, Hulett said.
Typically, about 100 parents attend, but this year, about 150 have signed up for the event slated for Cloverdale Elementary School in Carol Stream.
Great minds: It’s not every day that you can hear the thoughts of a Nobel Prize winner, but Tuesday you can. Nobel Prize winning physicist Leon Lederman will be giving a public lecture at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora. The lecture, entitled “Science and Anti-Science: Technology and Its Burdens,” is the first in the school’s annual Great Minds lecture series. Lederman is the school’s resident scholar and a specialist in high energy physics. He is the former director of Fermilab and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 for his work on neutrinos.
His talk will look at astrology, UFO sightings, alternative medicines and other so-called anti-science movements, as well as connections of science to technology and social and cultural trends. The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors. To register, call the school’s Office of Institutional Advancement, at 630-907-5033.
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The education column is scheduled to appear Wednesdays during the school year in TribWest. If you have ideas for the column, please submit them by e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected] or by fax to 630-368-4266.