That’s so cool!” a student from Valley Center High School was overheard saying after visiting Kaiser Electro-Optics exhibit that showcased a head-mounted display. “It’s amazing to see things that the [military] can actually use,” she said.

More than 2000 students attended the San Diego Science Alliance’s sixth San Diego County Educational Technology Fair on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Students from 38 regional middle and high schools connected with High-tech-, Science- and Spacerelated exhibitors from 46 regional companies and organizations as they showcased current and future technologies through interactive displays. In addition to educational and corporate exhibitors, students had the opportunity to meet Congressional Representative Susan Davis to discuss their interests in high-tech careers and their educational goals to support those aspirations.

Over the past year, the PISCES Project has continued its mission to improve science teaching and learning in San Diego by partnering university science majors, the “Science Corps,” with K–6 teachers for hands-on science instruction. Nearly 60 teachers from 20 schools in 10 local school districts worked with a Science Corps partner. In addition, teachers and Science Corps attended several hands-on professional development institutes, in venues such as the Maritime Museum to understand the physics of seafaring, the San Diego Natural History Museum where participants explored available resources aligned with grade level science programs, and a training session on the use of HOBO dataloggers in the classroom. The use of the HOBO dataloggers has enhanced the understanding of the use and value of accessing near real-time data in science learning experiences.

New program features continue to develop in the PISCES Project. First, PISCES welcomes the first Alaskan Science Corps Fellow, Matthew Gho. Matt is an undergraduate student majoring in physics and computer science at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He has been active in non-formal science education, and is facilitating a visit of Science Corps and PISCES administrators to several village schools outside of Fairbanks. He will be observing the San Diego PISCES project activities during March, and will travel to Barrow, Alaska with several San Diego Science Corps this summer. All Science Corps Fellow profiles can be viewed online at www.sdsa.org/pisces.

Second, PISCES has begun an in depth study of program effectiveness targeted at the 5th grade level. In the fall of 2002, 15 pairs of treatment and control 5th grade teachers were selected from several San Diego area school districts. The Science Corps have been team-teaching hands-on science with the study teachers since the fall semester; with plans to wrap up science lessons before spring standardized testing begins. Both control and treatment teachers complete pre- and post-surveys about their attitudes toward science, the amount of science that they teach, and their preferred method of science instruction. In addition, 5th grade students in both control and treatment classrooms take a pre- and post-survey about their science attitudes. Fifth grade is the target of the study since California will administer a standardized test in science at grade 5 beginning in Spring 2003, and the results of these tests, in combination with the PISCES attitude assessments, will provide a rigorous program evaluation tool.

Third, Dr. Donna Ross, PISCES Co-Principal Investigator from SDSU, and Shawna Payton- Edmonds, Science Corps, traveled to La Paz, Mexico in January to provide science kit training to the La Paz Science Corps and to visit and team-teach hands-on lessons in K–6 classrooms. The visit was a success and there is great enthusiasm for hands-on science teaching south of the border.

Finally, the PISCES web site (www.sdsa.org/pisces) has a new look. An automated database is in place to increase communication between all project members, and to ensure that information is accurate and up to date. Visit the PISCES web site to find out more about program features, access to near real-time data sources and curriculum connections.

Botball Tournament Scheduled for March 22, 2003

How does Botball—a game that requires sixth through twelfth grade girls and boys to construct a small vehicle from Lego blocks, program a robot computer board to detect sensors and execute various programs that scatter black and white ping pong balls across a playing board within a 90-second time limit— compete with youth sports, television, or hanging out at the mall? Very well, one would respond when one sees that 31 teams consisting of 6 to 12 students each are meeting for six hours a week or better to prepare their robots for the Southern California Regional Botball Tournament that will be held at West Hills High School in Santee on March 22, 2003.

Botball provides students with a host of real world challenges. Participants must exhibit teamwork and problem-solving skills while maintaining their focus on achieving a goal to succeed. Teams work together to analyze the game challenge presented them and plan a strategy to gain the most points. Students learn how best to construct the Lego vehicles to be sturdy and hold the computer boards and needed sensors. They learn the fundamentals of “C” computer language to develop the 90-second programs that may earn their team a trophy. The task is complex and, in the end, students are usually more focused on and satisfied with the performance of their team robot than they are with tournament results. All in all Botball offers a unique and rewarding experience in crucial real life training to hundreds of forward thinking middle and high school students.

This is the third year that teams from San Diego have competed in the Southern California Regional Botball Competition and the first time the competition will be held in San Diego. The teams have just less than six weeks to practice, build their robots according to the competition rules, and be ready to compete. We invite you to join the teams on Saturday, March 22 at West Hills High School, Santee, starting at 9 A.M. Of the 31 teams participating, 19 are from the San Diego area: Bell Jr. High, Chula Vista High, High Tech High (2 teams), La Jolla Country Day, MAST Academy (a SDCOE Program—3 teams), Madison High, Oceanside High, Montgomery Middle School, Poway High (2 teams), Preuss School at UCSD (2 teams), San Diego High, West Hills High, and Wilson Middle School.

Thank you to the many sponsors who have made it possible for these teams to participate: Cubic Corporation, General Atomics, IEEE, John Follin, Gutschow Family Foundation, KISS Institute Financial Aid, Lockheed Martin, Jim McNair, Preuss Foundation, Mr and Mrs. Mason Rosenthal, SAIC, School to Career at San Diego City Schools, and Dr. and Mrs. Paul Zorner. Thank you also to the many mentors who have volunteered their time to work with the students: Ed Chambers, Cubic Corp.; Adam Conway (and others), Jacobs School of Engineering at UCSD; George Hellman, Hughes Network Systems; Jeff Krichmar, The Neurosciences Institute; Jim Montgomery, Lockheed Martin; Rene Nielsen, Hughes Network Systems.

My dream has long been to teach outdoor science to Native American reservation children. I am now doing this as a volunteer, having retired after 34 years with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, VA.

Through my long career as a well-traveled geologist, I puzzled over the scarcity of Native American geologists. Finally, I met Mona Osborne, a social worker at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She explained that role models are required—surprise. When she was a child on the Pawnee reservation in Oklahoma, she met social workers and lawyers, never scientists. That’s when I decided that someday I would be a scientist on a reservation and a role model for children there.

When we retired and moved to San Diego in July 2001, I searched out the Native American community, with the help of colleague Dr. Eric Riggs at SDSU. His program is called the Indigenous Earth Science Project; its purpose is to attract Native American teenagers to SDSU. Through his extensive network, I was able to begin “Explorer’s Club” on the La Jolla Reservation in October 2001. Elder Henry Rodriguez there helped us get started. He told me, “you turn these children into hydrologists; if you live on a reservation, you have to understand and protect your precious water resources.”

We now have monthly Explorer’s Clubs on four reservations: La Jolla, Pala, Campo, and Jamul. This means we are attracting Kumeyaay, Luiseno, Cupa, and Cahuilla Indian children. Education Directors on each reservation structure their programs individually: some feed lunch or snacks, and some provide a van and driver for transportation. Their funding is through MESA, JOM, Head Start, or Boys and Girls Clubs. Some request 1-hour after school programs and some reserve a longer block of time on Saturdays.

The free activities are designed to attract students who are 6–12 years old and include: panning for gold and minerals, exploring the four directions, collecting rocks, discovering what people add to the streams, digging to learn about soil and underground water, learning outdoors photography skills, and hunting for lizards. The children are free to roam, get wet and dirty, and make observations; they vote with their feet if they don’t think they are having fun.

Other scientists and college students participate from SDSU, USGS, Santa Ana Water Quality Review Board, and Palomar College. We need more volunteer scientists, especially biologists. Contact me at norrierobbins@cox.net if you fill these roles and want to get wet and dirty too.

For the 8th year, the San Diego Science Alliance is pleased to recognize outstanding efforts towards the improvement of science education in San Diego county. Each year we honor educators, administrators, businesses, and partners/volunteers for exemplary “partnering.” Each winner receives an engraved plaque. In addition, educators and administrators receive a check and/or science related materials for their classrooms. This is made possible by the generosity of underwriters for this event. In addition to the San Diego Science Alliance, the 2003 underwriters are SAIC, SeaWorld San Diego, PASCO Scientific, and BioMedica, Inc.

The 2003 winners are:

Educator Awards—

Maryann Cook, Dingeman Elementary School
Bill Pearson, Bell Junior High

  Administrator Awards—

Jere McInerney, Lemon Grove School District
Lee Woldt, Chula Vista Elementary School District

Dr. Eleanora “Norrie” Robbins, Explorer’s Club
Werner Heid, Iomega

Xerox
Fisher Scientific International and BIOCOM SanDiego

Kathleen Hamilton, Museum of Man
Nancy Taylor and Dave Massey, SDCOE for Footsteps Through Time Project

On October 17 and 18, a Family Science Teacher Workshop and Family Event are being offered through a collaborative initiative between ChevronTexaco, the Foundation for Family Science, San Diego Office of Education and the San Diego Science Alliance. Family Science is an exciting program that introduces families to the fascinating world of science in a simple, approachable manner. It complements the emerging national initiative No Child Left Behind, as it offers educators an accessible method for authentic parental involvement. Inspired by the Family Math program from the Lawrence Hall of Science, Family Science encourages families to share the excitement of science learning, particularly those from groups typically underrepresented in science and technology careers. The workshop will be led by David Heil, the author and editor of Family Science. Heil was the former host of the Emmy Award winning PBS series Newton’s Apple.

Workshop participants who complete the two-day training and help host the Family Science event on October 18 will be eligible to receive a mini-grant from the ChevronTexaco Corporation to help support implementation of the Family Science program in their school or community. The fully sponsored workshop includes complimentary dinner, breakfast, lunch, and two copies of Family Science (English and Spanish editions).

The San Diego Science Alliance is pleased to welcome ChevronTexaco to the growing list of businesses and corporations who are committed to science education outreach in San Diego. ChevronTexaco has offered their generous support to sponsor and underwrite these two fall Family Science events in Chula Vista. Chevron has been a supportive advocate for the Family Science program since its inception. With the publication of the popular Family Science book and the new ChevronTexaco merger, the corporation has partnered with the Foundation for Family Science based in Portland, Oregon to launch a Family Science community education initiative.

• Promote family learning and family involvement with science, mathematics, and technology education across the U.S. and worldwide;
• Reach out to underrepresented populations to help better equip them for active engagement in the scientific and technological future economy;
• Improve the quality of science education resources available globally and build stable and sustainable bridges between educational organizations and the communities they serve;
• De-mystify science, mathematics, and technology topics and make them accessible for all populations;
• Actively engage ChevronTexaco employees and strategic partners in building community relationships and keeping the international pipeline full of future Chevron employees with science, mathematics, and technology skills.

Unambiguous confirmation. Experimental success. Timely results. These are to scientists what touchdowns are to football teams—positive outcomes resulting from well planned and adroitly executed work, mixed with the occasional dash of serendipity. Such “pure scores” are also what students typically experience in the high school laboratory due to constraints of time and resources. However, the work performed by local high school students as part of the Summer Research Internship Program at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) provides an enlightening look at what occurs in a working scientific research lab—the field goals, fumbles, and interceptions, if you will, faced by working scientists.

The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla has made a commitment to the local science education community to use its intellectual and material resources to expose high school students, middle/high school science teachers, and undergraduates to contemporary issues in biomedical research, to provide intensive, hands-on laboratory experiences, and to encourage students to pursue scholarship and careers in the biological and chemical sciences.

To a greater degree than others, students from ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences often lack the role models, information, and guidance needed to consider the possibility of a career in science. To this end, TSRI has worked closely with the San Diego Workforce Partnership to bring high school students from throughout the community to a scientific arena where possibilities abound.

Beginning in 1997, the San Diego Workforce Partnership has annually funded up to 15 high school interns at The Scripps Research Institute, including salaries and transportation. In the early spring of each year, project managers from the Neighborhood House Association (which administers programs through the Workforce Partnership) assist the TSRI Office of Communications in selecting and certifying qualified high school juniors and seniors in the early spring. Acceptance is determined based on students’ academic record, statement of interest, letters of recommendation from teachers, and on economic need.

Those who are accepted into the program attend the eight-week Spring Enrichment Tutorials before starting work in a lab for the summer. At the conclusion of the tutorials, each student is assigned to work in a research laboratory for eight weeks, 40 hours per week, and is paid $6.75/hour. The faculty member or designated supervisor assigns the student a research project, provides stringent instruction on the necessary research techniques, and provides access to reagents and equipment. Each student is considered part of the research team and is given meaningful responsibilities based on his/her scholastic aptitude, maturity and previous experience.

Additionally, a number of supplemental enrichment activities are planned for high school students throughout the summer program. Several lunch seminars are held at which TSRI research scientists not only discuss their primary research activities, but also the paths they took to become members of the scientific community. Various lectures are scheduled, as are tours to such organizations as The Salk Institute, or local biotechnology companies.

Students are expected to keep a weekly journal and, at the conclusion of the summer, submit a written report and attend a final program during which the student interns present a synopsis of their research results and offer personal reflections on the program experience. Mentors, parents, teachers and school principals are invited to this event, along with program sponsors, including representatives from the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the Neighborhood House Association. Presentations at this event are a wonderful reflection of the experience these young scientists have had at TSRI. Interns glowingly express their appreciation for what is often described as a “lifechanging” experience.

The collaborative effort between the San Diego Workforce Partnership and The Scripps Research Institute continues to ensure the vitality of TSRI’s High School Student Research Education Program, offering local high school students much more than a glimpse of what it means to work in the biomedical research field.

To learn more about TSRI’s Research Education Programs go to www.scripps.edu/community/. To read more about TSRI’s Summer Research Internship Program, go to: www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/ i_20020506/spring.html, and www.scripps.edu/ newsandviews/i_20020826/interns.html.

San Diego Journey through the Universe Week

Extraordinary events characterized the inaugural San Diego Journey through the Universe Week. The centerpiece of 2002–2003: San Diego’s Year of Space Science, with its Honorary Chair Captain Wally Schirra, San Diego Journey through the Universe project was developed by Challenger Center in collaboration with five San Diego partners: San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego City Schools, San Diego Science Alliance, the University of San Diego, and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. San Diego is the ninth site for this program nation-wide.

The week began at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center with a professional development workshop for teachers conducted by Dr. Jeff Goldstein, Vice President of Space Science

Research, Challenger Center, and Mr. Jason Smith, National Co-Team Leader. Three Community Science Nights were held at Rancho Del Rey Middle School (Chula Vista), the University of San Diego (including a VIP reception), and Mission Trails Regional Park.

But the bottom line excitement came from more than 120 classroom visits in 110 schools by the seven Visiting Researchers. These space scientists and educators—high-powered individuals from Jet Propulsion Lab, Goddard Space Flight Center, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, and the University of Kentucky, as well as Challenger Center—reached more than 12,000 students in Chula Vista, Lemon Grove, San Diego City, and South Bay Union school districts.

“Science Alert” E-Mail Gets the Word Out Fast

Want to know about all of the exciting local science events for students? How about teacher workshops on dozens of interesting topics? Or perhaps you would like to peruse summer internships and part-time jobs at high-tech businesses.

More than 1300 county teachers have signed up to receive information on these topics. The “Science Alert” e-mail service was inaugurated in 2001. Since then it has grown into a highly effective tool for informing teachers.

Announcements are tailored to the types of science courses taught. For elementary teachers, messages are specific to the grade level taught. Ten or more announcements are sent each month.

Signing up for the service is easy. Send an e-mail to pat.winter@gat.com with your name, school, subjects/grade level taught, and e-mail address. The announcements are also available on the Science Alliance web site (www.sdsa.org). Click on “announcements.”