INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Administration Building, Suite 136 355 N. Lansing Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-2896 317-274-7711 Fax: 317-274-5457

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY KITS AVAILABLE AT IUPUI
GET STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING

INDIANAPOLIS - A hands-on learning kit provided by IUPUI showed one class of first-grade gardeners that a little bit of water goes a long way.

Students in Mrs. Wright's first grade class at Lew Wallace Elementary School in IPS almost killed their seedlings during the class science project using the kit, because they were so anxious to water them. But what they lacked in gardening skills, they made up for in excitement, which to Mrs. Wright is what learning is all about.

Thanks to free science and math activity kits available through the IUPUI Community Learning Network, K-12 teachers all across Central Indiana are having similar experiences.

The Teacher's Resource Center, a partnership between IUPUI and Raytheon, offers teachers in Marion and surrounding counties complete kits for hands-on learning on a variety of topics. Program coordinator Deb Robertson hand-delivers the kits which may be checked out for several weeks.

"We've tried to make it easy for teachers to incorporate hands-on learning into their current curriculum," said Robertson.

And to Wright, she's succeeded. "I don't have to spend a lot of time collecting materials. It makes teaching science much more teacher-friendly," she said.

The kits also help teachers meet the new standards for teaching science and math developed by the Department of Education last year.

More than 40 kits are available on topics such as the effects of acid rain, bubbles, the behavior of bees, crime labs, the food chain, the planets and more. Each of the kits includes hands-on activities and come complete with all necessary materials. Most kits are based on the Great Explorations in Math and Science guides and the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies from the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley.

"You start at a young age learning observation skills, how to work with a group, and problem solving and these are all skills which you don't get out of a textbook," said Robertson. "They are all hands-on learning activities. It's such a wonderful opportunity for students to learn."

The kits are not just for teachers, they are also available to scout troops, home schoolers, and mentoring programs. For more information, please log on to www.cln.iupui.edu/Raytheon/splash1.htm or call Robertson at (317) 278-0758.

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