Science teaching and learning in the elementary grades continues to face many challenges in the current educational climate. Science is a core instructional program in public schools but is often overlooked in grades K–6. The apparent lack of science programs in elementary schools is a likely indicator of California’s poor performance and ranking in science—a signal that has raised concerns in the scientific community.

Fortunately, several San Diego area school districts have committed to investing in and pursuing high quality elementary science instruction with leadership from the Partnerships for Involving the Scientific Community in Elementary Schools (PISCES) project, a program of the San Diego Science Alliance. The partnership districts currently include Chula Vista, Cajon Valley, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Lakeside, La Mesa-Spring Valley, Lemon Grove, San Diego City, Santee, and Vista. During the five years of National Science Foundation funding, PISCES has deployed approximately 35 “Science Corps”—graduate or undergraduate science majors from local universities (SDSU, CSUSM, UCSD)—into K–6 classrooms in these districts and others. The 140 elementary teachers who have benefited from having an in-depth experience with a teaching partner for science report positive gains in their instructional practices and knowledge of science concepts. The thousands of K–6 students who have worked with the Science Corps have demonstrated their enthusiasm for science learning that has ignited their curiosity and their teacher’s interest in ongoing science learning experiences.

A three-year study to evaluate the impact of having a PISCES Science Corps and inquiry-based science materials on science attitudes and achievement of 5th grade teachers and students is in progress. Teachers participating in the study have been randomly selected to be “treated” or “control.” Treatment teachers are assigned a science graduate or undergraduate student (PISCES Science Corps). The teacher and Science Corps team teach an inquiry- based unit (http://www.sdsa.org/pisces), aligned with the California science standards, for two eight-week cycles in the fall and spring, and attend professional development activities. The teachers who serve as controls teach science as they normally would. By using treatments and controls, the study will collect meaningful data on the effectiveness of teaching partnerships.

There are several other PISCES Project activities also going on at the same time. With support from a Boston Scientific grant, after-school Family Science programs are occurring throughout San Diego County (Otay Elementary, Sweetwater Springs, Lemon Crest, Ada Harris) where teachers, students, Science Corps, and family members are exploring science concepts. PISCES teachers recently boarded a bus for a Fire Ecology Field Study tour with scientists on hand to discuss the implications of the Cedar Fire and connections to science learning in elementary classrooms. PISCES professional development programs are funded with support from a matching grant from Richard D. Winter, the Todd and Mari Gutschow Family Foundation, Anne Prause Blue, and Martin and Marilyn Colby.

Watch for Spring and Summer programs of the PISCES Project at http://www.sdsa.org/pisces.

As I assume the duties and responsibilities of President of the San Diego Science Alliance, I would like to acknowledge the contributions made by our outgoing President, Barbara Abelin. Barbara’s leadership has resulted in a stronger Alliance with the capabilities to reach more students, teachers, scientists, and business leaders than ever before. Thank you, Barbara, for past accomplishments and anticipated guidance in the coming months and years.

Looking forward, I have the privilege of working with a Board of Directors that possesses high integrity, enthusiasm, and capabilities. Board members come from the educational, scientific, and business community to use their skills and resources to enhance science education in San Diego City and County schools. The Alliance will need talented and effective resources as we look to extend the successes of existing projects—BE WiSE, PISCES, the High Tech Fair, and Resource Catalog—and look for new opportunities in the future.

To achieve our goal of increasing exposure for students and teachers to scientists and the business community, the Alliance needs volunteers and financial resources. While many people actively participate in activities for the Alliance, we are always seeking additional help to extend our reach further. Please take a moment to visit our web site (http://www.sdsa.org) and review our programs. Then call (858-455-3335) or e-mail (pat.winter@gat.com) Patricia Winter, Executive Director of the San Diego Science Alliance, to discuss any opportunity to participate or contribute.

With the state budget cuts, concerns over science curriculum in California schools, and the national reliance on foreign scientific resources, the San Diego Science Alliance is working hard to find solutions to these problems. The journey is long, and we look forward to many successes in 2004. Please join us in our pursuit

The BE WiSE Program (Better Education for Women in Science and Engineering) has seen much activity so far in 2004. In mid January, fifteen 9th and 10th grade BE WiSE alumnae spent the better part of a Saturday at the General Atomics Energy Group. Rick Lee and Alex Nagy, both engineers and active members of the General Atomics Fusion Education Program, had the girls working with magnets and metal detectors, and building power supplies. They also had a tour of the tokamak, as did their parents. Thank you to General Atomics Fusion for making this opportunity possible. (See the slide show at http://www.sdsa.org/bewise.)

February was the time for prospective new 7th and 8th grade BE WiSE girls from all over the county to write their essays and submit their applications to attend one of the spring overnights either at SeaWorld or the Birch Aquarium. 159 applications, from 42 different schools and 20 districts, were received by the deadline. For many of the schools represented, this was the first time a student has applied. The BE WiSE Steering Committee met and selected the 80 girls who will attend the spring overnights, 40 to each. The Birch Aquarium overnight will have girls from 33 different schools, while the SeaWorld overnight will have 35 schools represented. At least one girl from every school from which there was an application was accepted. Many of the 12th grade BE WiSE alumnae will be participating in the two overnights as mentors.

In early March, BE WiSE alumnae in the 8th and 9th grades spent the morning in the robotics lab at Legoland. They worked in teams and their enthusiasm was obvious. The girls were most appreciative of this opportunity donated by Legoland Education. One more alumnae program is planned for late March—a field trip with research scientists in a laboratory in Mission Bay. The Science Alliance thanks Aquatic Adventures for making this possible.

The BE WiSE Program is already working on plans for the 2004–2005 school year with thoughts of providing more opportunities for the alumnae as well as for more new girls. This commitment is made possible because of a matching grant to the BE WiSE Program by the Leo S. Guthman Fund at the direction of Lynne Rosenthal, trustee, and Mason Rosenthal, who are enthusiastic about the BE WISE Program for girls. For more information, please contact Patricia Winter (pat.winter@gat.com).

If you are interested in learning more about the BE WiSE Program and how you can help the Science Alliance meet the challenge of the $10,000 matching grant from the Leo S. Guthman Fund, please contact Patricia Winter, BE WiSE Program Director (pat.winter@gat.com or 858-454-7622).

More than 1700 San Diego middle and high school students learned how science is applied to the real world. It was the Seventh Annual High Technology Fair on February 18 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and was organized by the San Diego Science Alliance, a consortium of representatives from schools, industry, and educational resources. It’s difficult to tell who had more fun, the students or the 47 exhibitors. The exhibitors represented various industry sectors in San Diego: BIOCOM/Pharmaceutical /BioTechnology, Telecommunications, Energy/Environmental, Computers/Software, Electronics/ Engineering, Aerospace/ Transportation, and Education/ Professional Organizations.

So what did the students see? John Norman, Research Associate at Air Products/Schumacher, demonstrated that carbon dioxide can be poured from a bucket and will flow downhill through a trough to extinguish fire because it’s heavier than oxygen. Patricia Winter, Executive Director of SDSA, noted that the variety of technologies was improved this year with the addition of several biotechnology companies.

Many of the industry exhibitors have attended most of the seven High Tech Fairs. What keeps them coming back? Tom Candaux from Kyocera says that spreading technical knowledge to students is very rewarding. Brian Gray from SBC Communications observed that the students are very computer savvy and were very interested in learning what is behind the Internet and how to troubleshoot problems. Danielle Whitney from Gen-Probe pointed out that the High Tech Fair helps the students relate to the world outside of school. The students can talk to people already doing the job.

Merck staffed its double-wide booth with nine of employees and all of them were very busy with the students’ questions. Professor Jeff Davis from San Diego State’s Engineering Department said that he has attended three High Tech Fairs. These are his future students and he enjoys engaging them in science as soon as he can.

Besides the local technology companies, other sources of technical information for the students included the Association of Women in Science (AWIS), DEFCOM, and BioCom.

The San Diego Science Alliance is especially grateful for the help it received from the eleven River Valley High School students who assisted in setting up the booths, as well as Carol Brnich, Iomega, and Carol Danielson, General Atomics, for planning and managing the Fair. For the past several years Iomega has generously provided breakfast and lunch for the exhibitors.

Empty cereal boxes, rubber bands, aluminum cans, plastic cups, nickels, popcorn, and scotch tape—these ordinary household items kept more than 100 families entertained for almost two hours at a Family Science event held in Chula Vista last month.

Designed to build interest and skills in science and mathematics, Family Science introduces families to the fascinating world of science in a simple, approachable manner. 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.

Family Science was first introduced to San Diego teachers in October of last year, as part of the PISCES program initiative. In January, the Foundation for Family Science returned to the San Diego area to train teachers in Family Science and to help them foster and encourage authentic parental involvement in their students’ science learning. The workshops were offered as a collaborative initiative between ChevronTexaco, the San Diego County Office of Education, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District.

After completion of an afternoon workshop, the newly trained teachers hosted an evening Family Science event for local families and community members. Generously underwritten and sponsored by ChevronTexaco, the events increased the Family Science community by 50 educators and almost 300 family members in less than 48 hours. Teachers and students alike report that Family Science is a success. In the days following the event, students told their teachers how much they and their parents loved the activities and enjoyed the event.

ChevronTexaco is committed to education and community service and has been a supportive advocate for the Family Science program since its inception. “Family Science reflects ChevronTexaco’s strong commitment to quality education and to building the work force of the future in the communities where we operate,” said Rossana Peniche- Mayorga, a corporate community involvement representative for ChevronTexaco. “The long-term goal of the program is to encourage children of diverse backgrounds to consider careers in science, math and engineering.”

More information on Family Science can be found on the Web at http://www.familyscience.org.

The 2003-2004 Resource Catalog was introduced at the Fall Community Event at the Shiley Center, University of San Diego. Through the support of a grant from Washington Mutual Foundation, a team of science teachers worked during the summer months to contact all of the organizations and update information in the Resource Catalog. Both the printed version, supported by Xerox Corporation, and the online Web version, supported by WestEd, contain updated information on more than 500 resources from 200 organizations across San Diego County. For the first time, the printed catalog contains an index of resources as well as the usual listing by major science topic area.

The Washington Mutual Foundation grant made it possible to revise the online web version of the Resource Catalog by having focus groups with selected science teachers. It also supported an intern from San Diego State University. The focus groups helped identify areas of difficulty that teachers have in finding the resources they need. One critical component of the problem is dealing with the differences between the vocabulary of science topics that science teachers use to describe their interests in teaching the California Science Standards and the vocabulary that organizations and businesses use to describe their resources.

An intern from the Educational Technology program at San Diego State University worked with the focus group report and started a redesign effort for the online Web version of the Resource Catalog. Bob Crosby spent several months interviewing focus group teachers and SDSA experts to prepare an excellent report and preliminary design for improvements to the online catalog.

To implement these changes, the Science Alliance has begun to work more closely with WestEd, the provider of the EdGateway server software that supports the SDSA web site, http://www.sdsa.org. Chris Smith, SDSA Board Member, and Tracy Zhao, both from the San Diego Supercomputer Center, are learning about the underlying software architecture and exploring ways to improve the web site functions, especially the way that teachers can find what they need in the online Resource Catalog.

The College of American Pathologists (CAP), the world’s largest professional association comprised exclusively of board-certified pathologists and the leader in laboratory quality assurance, held its Annual Meeting in San Diego in the fall of 2003. At this meeting, the organization chose to recognize award-winning science students from San Diego. A team of local Biology teachers and a local pathologist selected the six winning students after examining their exhibits at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair in March. The winners were from La Jolla Country Day School, Torrey Pines High School, and La Jolla High School.

The six winners CAP selected were able to display posters of their work at the meeting, discuss their results with practicing pathologists, and be recognized in front the 1,000+ meeting attendees prior to the keynote presentation/entertainment. Their teachers and parents were invited to join each of them for the evening. News releases, highlighting each participant’s special recognition, were sent to San Diego newspapers.

Rolling Readers USA, a California nonprofit organization established in 1992, is dedicated to encouraging the ability to read and a love of reading in all children. Read-Aloud volunteers visit a classroom every week for about half an hour to read aloud to the entire class. Tutor USA volunteers work one-on-one with children in the class who are having the most difficulty with reading.

This year, with generous support from the American Honda Foundation, Rolling Readers USA is launching its Read Science program, an expansion of the Read-Aloud program, to interest fourth- and fifth-grade children in the sciences and to help them understand basic scientific principles. The pilot year of the program involves Los Angeles schoolrooms, but Rolling Readers has plans to launch the program in San Diego.

Recent reports indicate that California children are among the least science-literate in the country. The goal of the program is to make science accessible and fun, and to encourage fourth and fifth grade children to pursue a career in science or technology. To accomplish this, the volunteer may choose to talk about his/her career and how basic scientific principles are used in everyday work experience. Read Science invites working or retired science professionals to volunteer to visit a classroom once a month beginning in Fall 2004. The volunteer will read aloud from a science-related book, perform a simple experiment demonstrating the scientific principle presented in the book, and, if possible, discuss how this could be applied or observed in everyday life. Rolling Readers will provide all books and materials for the program.

If you are a science professional and have a few hours a month to donate to this program, please contact Rolling Readers USA’s Program Managers, David Durante or Roo Heins, at 619-516-4095 ext 16.

Effective partnerships are the only hope for lasting systemic change in pre-college science education.
—Bruce Alberts, National Academy of Science

What better way to reactivate science and engineering concepts for science teachers than by having scientists and engineers be a part of a professional development program? That is just what happened in San Diego County during National Engineering Week, February 23–28, 2004. A collaborative effort, led by the San Diego County Office of Education, the San Diego Science Alliance, San Diego City Schools, Chula Vista Elementary School District, Lemon Grove School District, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, and the University of San Diego, brought scientists and engineers into 4th and 5th grade classrooms.

San Diego County has been teaming up with local scientists in K–12 professional development programs for more than seven years as a result of San Diego Science Alliance programs. Alliances and partnerships have been formed with the most recent example being the INScience program.

In the 2002–03 school year, the INScience collaborative was a national “Journey through the Universe” site. The program provided professional development to more than 200 teachers, hosted three community science nights for more than 500 participants, and completed classroom visits and school assemblies to 12,100 students with seven visiting space scientist researchers.

An exciting 2004 with InScience is in progress. This year’s program features an engineering and design experience with resources from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and its “World in Motion” program. The plan to roll out this new partnership program included:

• professional development for more than 100 4th and 5th grade teachers;
• implementation of the “World in Motion” design challenge consonant with national and California science standards;
• a Community Science workshop for local scientists
• scientists and engineers visiting more than 100 classrooms to assist with the “World in Motion” curriculum or share their design and engineering experiences;
• a Family Science Event at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center for students and families.

Sound ambitious? You bet! That’s why partnerships are vital to the success of the program. Without alliances, this could not be possible.

Teachers walked away from the University of San Diego on January 31, led by the Society of Automotive Engineers, with plenty of knowledge, practical advice, and inspiration to implement a new science learning opportunity for their students. They also had a curriculum in hand—“A World in Motion: Jet Toy Design Challenge”—that aligned with the Investigation and Experimentation strand of the California Science Standards.

On February 5, approximately 100 local scientists and engineers participated in a workshop that informed them about current science learning strategies. Many local scientific research institutes and businesses were represented at this event. The workshop also prepared them to interact with teachers and students and explained how teacher/ scientists partnerships can enhance science teaching and learning—for everyone. Hosted by Genomics Institute of the Novartis Foundation at its facility, the Community Science Teacher-Scientist workshop was led by Ramon Lopez from the University of Texas, El Paso, formerly Education Outreach Director at the American Physical Society. The result of this workshop was an enthusiastic enrollment of scientists and engineers to visit the classrooms of teachers who attended the World in Motion workshop.

The “World in Motion: Jet Toy Design Challenge” has provided the opportunity for teachers, students, and scientists to collaborate. From schools in Chula Vista to San Diego City Schools and into Lemon Grove, 4th and 5th grade students have experienced the delight of an engineering challenge and a visit from a local scientist to share in the experience. The time is right to engage scientists and engineers in the process of enhancing science education.

For more information about INScience, visit http://www.sdsa.org/INScience.

The San Diego Science Alliance was pleased to present our annual Partnership Awards. This program is our opportunity to recognize exemplary partnering by teachers, administrators, businesses, and individuals. Each year the selection committee has more nominations of merit, making it more difficult to determine the winners.

• The Business Award in 2004 is presented to the Bose Corporation for developing and producing the Bose in Harmony with Education Program for middle school students. They equipped the Balboa Park Facility which means that all fifth grade students in San Diego City Schools take advantage of this program. The program is also in numerous other schools and school districts throughout the county.
• The Teacher of the Year is Debra Brice, San Marcos Middle School. Debra is a human dynamo with a passion for the ocean as a tool for teaching.
• The Administrator of the Year is William Berggren, School to Career office, San Diego City Schools. Bill is recognized for his herculean efforts, inspirational leadership, and outspoken advocacy for the Project Lead the Way Program and the annual Botball Competition.
• The Partner (individual) of the Year Award is presented to Larry Woolf, Ph.D., solid state physicist at General Atomics. Larry is recognized for sharing the understanding of scientific phenomena and his ability to take a complex concept and make it accessible to all students.

The Board of the Science Alliance thanks Dr. Thomas Dillon, SAIC, for his continued leadership in this Award Program. Tom started this program while on the Board of the Science Alliance and continues as its chair. Thank you to SAIC, SeaWorld San Diego and BioMedica Inc. for their contributions to this 9th Annual Partnership Award Program.

With hands-on science education such an important part of the mission of the San Diego Science Alliance and many of its collaborators, it is wonderful when we get to experience first-hand one of the success stories that remind us that the hard work we are doing is all worthwhile. When many school districts are being directed away from firsthand experiences into more textbook-based approaches, it is very rewarding when we get to directly observe the moment a student’s eyes light up, and we realize that not only have they “got it,” but they will probably never forget it.

Here at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, we teach hands-on science workshops to students from Kindergarten through sixth grade. The other week I was teaching a group of fourth graders who had limited English skills and also had had few prior experiences in field trips. Their excitement at undertaking the hands-on science activities was contagious, and with every step I could see them not only gaining new science knowledge, but also losing their fear of science. Each experiment, using materials found in most homes, was showing them that science did not have to be a high-tech, overcomplex, difficult subject—it was a way of understanding the experiences that happen around them every day.

The best moment for me was when I was discussing how rockets work, using nothing more complicated than a balloon. We had a whole-class discussion about how rockets move, discussing and dismissing commonly-held myths such as rockets moving by “pushing against the ground” or “pushing against the air.” As we worked through the various possibilities, one child “got it.”

“A rocket pushes against the inside of itself!” he exclaimed. As I explained that now the entire class were not only scientists, but also rocket scientists, and now knew something most adults get wrong, the child spontaneously stood up and took a bow, while the rest of the class applauded. All of a sudden, one of the more prestigious avenues of science seemed accessible to them, and I knew that they would go away feeling that science was understandable, accessible, and often fun.

The middle school science standards, with emphasis on the disciplines at each grade level, are intended to raise the bar substantially for students. Many teachers, schools, and districts will need to restructure their curriculum to meet these standards.
—California Science Framework, 2002

Instructional Leadership This call to restructure has been met by the development of the San Diego Middle School Science Education Leadership Initiative (MSSELI). The concept of building a science leadership program that will significantly impact a sector of K–12 science education began in Fall 2002 with the leadership of The San Diego Foundation and the two key science education leaders in San Diego public schools: Kim Bess, Director of Science and Technology, San Diego City Schools, and Nancy Taylor, K–12 Science Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Education. As the concept for MSSELI developed it became clear that a leadershipdriven reform program designed to raise the level of expectation for middle school teachers was needed in the region. The San Diego Foundation took the lead in identifying required resources to move this innovation forward. Recently, a generous $150,000 grant from the national Pfizer Foundation was received by the San Diego Foundation. Pfizer, La Jolla indicated their interest in the San Diego Foundation initiative and will have a role in the start-up of MSSELI. The San Diego Foundation Science and Technology Working Group has also identified funding to begin the program from funders including the McCarthy Family Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Hervey Family Fund at The San Diego Foundation, and the Engel Fund at The San Diego Foundation.

The goal of MSSELI is to identify up to 30 new and lead science teachers from area middle schools to participate in an intensive summer professional development program focused on science content, leadership strategies, and collaborations with area public and private scientific institutions. The leadership cadre that MSSELI identifies will also participate in ongoing academic year programs that support their teaching practice and leverage their expertise in local middle schools. The comprehensive design of MSSELI strategically plans for standards-based instructional programs across the grades and teaching focused on developing student understanding of concepts and skills that prepares students for further study in science. Importantly, a component to provide mentors and collaborators for MSSELI participants from the scientific business community provides a feature that will excite and engage middle school students and their teachers in the relevance of their science learning.

This new initiative will be led by Co-Directors Bess and Taylor in collaboration with the National Science Foundation supported National Academy for Curriculum Leadership (NACL), at Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), a leading national science education non-profit corporation. The model to be used in San Diego is based on NACL protocols currently supporting district teams from throughout the country. The San Diego initiative will be the largest countywide project of its kind in the country. The integrated plan for MSSELI is built on four interdependent, research-based components: 1) implementation of exemplary curriculum materials; 2) quality instruction supported by ongoing professional development; 3) responsibility for instructional leadership throughout the system; and 4) collaboration and support from public and private scientific community partners— something that San Diego is well prepared to accomplish.

Teacher leaders at MSSELI will be chosen to represent the diversity of students in our county in middle school (from high performing and low performing schools as well as from all grade levels, 6–8). They will also be chosen based on their active involvement and the district’s commitment to middle school science reform. The synergy developed at MSSELI between the teacher leader participants will, in turn, foster the development of a professional learning community among middle school science teachers and the scientific community in San Diego County. It is anticipated that the MSSELI teacher leaders will be prepared to contribute leadership to other science initiatives in the region. By beginning in the middle, MSSELI will set the pace for ongoing improvements in science education, K–12.

For additional information on MSSELI, contact Kim Bess, kbess@mail.sandi.net, or Nancy Taylor, ntaylor@ sdcoe.net.

From Mike Sixtus, Bonita Vista High

I have found numerous uses for the great information distributed via the Announcement System of the Science Alliance, from summer workshops to student opportunities.

I was able to attend the Earthwatch program out of the University of Colorado, Boulder, last summer because of such an announcement. I spent a wonderful week at 7000 feet in the Colorado Rockies studying Earth System Science with world-class professionals and fellow teachers from across the country. We conducted field studies as well as learning new techniques and establishing new contacts and networks. One of these contacts provided an exciting field trip to the Research Vessel Roger Revelle for my AP Environmental Science students to meet a group of atmospheric scientists preparing for a research voyage.

The notification of the annual Nobel Laureate Essay competition led to a winning entry by one of my students and our participation in the Biocom black-tie gala at the Hotel Del Coronado, where we were honored. The invitation to participate in the American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference led to a field trip to their educational symposium for 15 of my AP Biology students, with expenses paid by the ASH. Several of my students chose to enter the poster competition offered as part of the Symposium, and won not only the $1000 prize for the class but the unqualified praise of the researchers and organizers for their case study of one of their peers with Sickle-Cell Disease.

While not all of SDSA’s Announcements are of interest to me, I never fail to read the San Diego Science Alliance teacher updates because you never know what gem there might be within.

From Ann Marie Wellhouse, River Valley Charter High

The San Diego Science Alliance sends out interesting e-mails with great opportunities every month. Last month’s installment included a scholarship contest for students interested in engineering and related fields: The Bridges Contest (http://bridgecontest.usma.edu).

As usual, I made copies of the information and gave them out to students. As a full time teacher I rarely have the time to carefully read all the contests so it is mostly up to the students if they want to participate. When they find something interesting, I help them to find a mentor in that area. This time two students really took off running with the Bridges Contest. Last time I checked they were in fourth place out of 300 teams in the Western Region.

Not only must students design a great bridge using the software on the Bridges web site but they must do it at the lowest cost including man-hours and materials. The design must support a giant virtual truck driving across it. If the bridge is not strong enough the results are dramatic! Patrick and Lucas have a beautiful bridge and we wish them lots of luck.

River Valley High has an API of 405 but we are a small school—115 very diverse high school students —and it is not often that we can compete as well with large schools in contests so this is really turning out to be fun.

Keep it coming, SDSA. What you are doing makes it easier to offer the extras to my students. Thanks.

The Southern California Regional Botball Robotics Competition is scheduled for Saturday, April 3, 2004 at Poway High School. The competition will be held from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. in the school’s Gymnasium. 22 teams from San Diego County will be competing. For a list of local teams and other information about the Botball Competition, see the web site: http://www.sdsa.org/botball.

On Saturday, January 17, San Diego County middle school teachers, children, and parents descended upon the Joe Rindone Regional Technology Center (JRRTC) at the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) in response to a San Diego Science Alliance announcement “Mission To Mars” to find out more about the amazing events that are happening on Mars.

Dr. Ken Berry of U.C. Northridge presented an interesting and lively interactive talk about space missions past, present, and future, and responded to excellent questions from students and adults who were eager to learn more about these historic occurrences. Participants watched a video demonstrating Spirit’s rickety landing that was made more fun with a sports-style play-by-play commentary. The upcoming January 25 landing of the second rover, Opportunity, was also previewed.

Jana Stockham, an astronomy graduate student from SDSU, exhibited a Lego model of the Spirit Rover that she had constructed. Students were fascinated, since they were able to closely examine the model and had many insightful questions.

The young visitors and their families had the opportunity to utilize the technology of the JRRTC to interact live with mission scientists about the latest pictures and information. Participants were encouraged to send questions via e-mail, and receive instant answers from NASA researchers and Mars experts.

The event was documented by a SDCOE ITV video crew and will air on the ITV network soon.

SDSA Newsletter Volunteers

Newsletter Editor:
Janet Trentacosta

SDSA Executive Director:
Patricia Winter, General Atomics
Sciences Education Foundation

Contributors:
Cathy Akin, Viasat Corporation
Rick Beach, Ph.D., Classroom of the Future Foundation
Kim Bess, San Diego City Schools
Sarah Carlson, Family Science
Gary Devan, Mission Federal Credit Union
Francis French, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
Dave Massey, Chet Harritt School, Santee
Michael Sixtus, Bonita Vista High School
Nancy Taylor, San Diego County Office of Education
Ann Marie Wellhouse, River Valley Charter High School
Patricia Winter, General Atomics
Eric Wise, Rolling Readers

San Diego Science Alliance,
a non-profit organization
6449 Caminito Sinnecock
San Diego, CA 92037
(858) 454-7622
Fax: (858) 454-4548
e-mail: pat.winter@gat.com

SDSA web site: http://www.sdsa.org