Happy Halloween to everyone!
Around the country there are numerous science centers and museums, ranging in size from small to really large. All have one thing in common. They are all designed to educate kids and adults alike about science, and inspire our young to find the excitement in science and possibly find their way into careers in science and engineering.
I don’t know if you caught this but it took me by surprise. China recently launched a piece of a future space station into orbit. Coming as it does on the heals of the end of our Space Shuttle program it kind of rocked me back on my heels a little.
With all the hoopla and attention centering on our new Stronger Than a Bully program this Fall, we have somewhat neglected another of our new school assemblies, The Invisible Wonder (All About Air!). That certainly needs to be corrected!
Rolling into the Labor Day weekend here and couldn’t be more ready for a great holiday weekend!
We just came back from Chicago where we had a booth set up for the Centre East School Assembly Performers Showcase in Skokie, Illinois. Everyone had a great time! It was exciting to reconnect with many of our past clients from schools all over the greater Chicago area as well as to meet many new friends.
A lot of scheduling was furiously taking place in the frantic swirl of events, as performers hustled on and off the main stage plying their wares, while representatives of schools hurried back and forth among the different booths visiting with all the myriad types of presenters and picking their shows for the year. We met with school parents and teachers and other reps as well as many library staff also seeking exciting shows for their sites.
I have to say I also love meeting with different performers. It is amazing the variety of talent available to schools and the vast array of different types of school assemblies they offer! In addition to the science, social studies, creative writing and character issue and anti bullying type school assembly programs offered by Mobile Ed Productions, there were musicians, story tellers, multicultural dance groups and a host of others. We met with many old friends and made new friends of many others.
Joining us in our booth were performers Dick Buchholz and Tom Swenson, both long time Mobile Ed alum's. Dick, of course, is well known as one of the foremost naturalists and live animal authorities on the school assembly scene. With twenty five years or more of experience bringing natural science into schools nationwide, Dick, who is the past president of the Chicago Herpetological Society, is now resident in the Chicago area and available to bring his animals to schools and libraries there throughout the year. Tom Swenson also sat in with us for the day. Tom is a great guy who has performed science programs for Mobile Ed in the past. But now he calls on his great acting background to offer midwestern schools a chance to enjoy awesome visits to their school by Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Mark Twain. All three great school assembly programs are also available throughout the year in Illinois, Wisconsin and other midwest states. Tom had a fun time helping out with some of the snakes and other reptiles Dick had on display during the show.
All in all it was a great time for everyone! Now if you missed the event and are still seeking dates for school assembly programs for your school or library, it would be prudent to call soon. Many dates are now filled, but, at least for now, we do still have available dates for most programs. But that won’t last long! So give us a call as soon as you can!
We all know that kids need to learn about science. It is crucial that we train up a new generation of engineers and research scientists who will ensure that this country stay at the forefront in an area that is so important in this new technological world in which we live. But how do we get kids to be interested in science? Obviously, some kids have an innate curiosity about such things but for others... well... take my niece, for example. Start talking about science and her eyes roll back in her head as though I had just suggested we spend an afternoon watching paint dry.
For many years, while my own two children were in elementary school here in Michigan, I was the Dad in charge of scheduling school assemblies. I brought in a lot of different programs. The principal at the time was a really wise man named Jim Felix. Jim had been principal at our school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan for many years. A tall, Gregory Peck kind of fellow, Jim had experience and wisdom to be envied by any young principal. Every year I would meet with him and go over the programs I was suggesting, and listen to him fill me in on anything good he had come across and we would decide which shows to bring in for the school. Jim was always interested in the science programs. He said he believed that part of the reason our school did so well in science scores was that every year we hit the kids with at least one and sometimes two different science assemblies. Good ones. Not glorified “magic” shows, but real science like chemistry, physics, astronomy and so on. And it did, indeed, show up in the science scores every year. The students really liked science and wanted to learn more.
That is the key to science assemblies. It isn’t what facts the kids actually learn in the assembly that is important. What is important is that they see that science is not boring, not dry, not something to be avoided, but rather how exciting it can be to witness chemical reactions, or the effects of Liquid Nitrogen or to ride on a hovercraft. What is important is to give them an enthusiasm for the subject which will allow skilled teachers to then fill their minds through classroom followups. Science assemblies are like can openers for the brain. They open up a young mind so the teachers can then fill it with all the good stuff kids need to learn.
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
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For many years, while my own two children were in elementary school here in Michigan, I was the Dad in charge of scheduling school assemblies. I brought in a lot of different programs. The principal at the time was a really wise man named Jim Felix. Jim had been principal at our school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan for many years. A tall, Gregory Peck kind of fellow, Jim had experience and wisdom to be envied by any young principal. Every year I would meet with him and go over the programs I was suggesting, and listen to him fill me in on anything good he had come across and we would decide which shows to bring in for the school. Jim was always interested in the science programs. He said he believed that part of the reason our school did so well in science scores was that every year we hit the kids with at least one and sometimes two different science assemblies. Good ones. Not glorified “magic” shows, but real science like chemistry, physics, astronomy and so on. And it did, indeed, show up in the science scores every year. The students really liked science and wanted to learn more.
That is the key to science assemblies. It isn’t what facts the kids actually learn in the assembly that is important. What is important is that they see that science is not boring, not dry, not something to be avoided, but rather how exciting it can be to witness chemical reactions, or the effects of Liquid Nitrogen or to ride on a hovercraft. What is important is to give them an enthusiasm for the subject which will allow skilled teachers to then fill their minds through classroom followups. Science assemblies are like can openers for the brain. They open up a young mind so the teachers can then fill it with all the good stuff kids need to learn.
Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
Continuing today in the theme of exploring how school assembly programs augment the learning process in terms of state academic standards, we turn to Indiana.
In Social Studies, along with many other states, Indiana fourth graders are required to learn about Indiana state history. In particular , the very first section, Standard 1, and the very first two bullet points read as follows:
- Identify and compare the major early cultures that existed in the region that became Indiana prior to contact with Europeans
Example - Paleo-Indians such as Hopewell, Adena, and the Mississippian cultures
- Identify and describe historic Native American Indian groups that lived in Indiana at the time of the European exploration, including ways these groups adapted to and interacted with the physical environment. (Individuals,Society and Culture)
Example: Miami,Shawnee, Potawatomi and Lenape (Delaware)
There is more,but you get the point. Grade 4 is expected to learn about the native tribes indigenous to Indiana. Further exploration of the standards shows that grades 3 and 5 also cover this same material, as does Piankeshaw Trails, Mobile Ed’s new program specifically designed to teach kids about the native tribes of the Ohio valley including Indiana. All the points above are covered in this awesome and exciting program and a lot more. And the presentation is so much fun the kids don’t realize they are learning!
Now lets look at Science.
We are rapidly approaching the start of the 2011-2012 school year. In some states classes start as early as next week while in other areas school does not commence until after Labor Day.
