Daily Local - June 17, 2007

Summer class teaches kids a love of science

By Brian McCullough

If you see a group of kids banging on a library door this summer, don’t call the cops.

It’s likely they’re just trying to get in to work on some science experiments.

Science in the summer? Kids scrambling to get in? What is this, China? India?

But Andy Virtue, a 29-year-old teacher from West Chester, swears it’s true.

“They are so entertained by what’s going on, they want to come back,”Virtue said of students involved in the Science in the Summer program, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in partnership with local libraries.

“They’ve pounded on the doors, chanting, ’Let us in, let us in,’” reports Virtue, who has taught in the program for about six years. “It’s amazing what they learn in a short period of time.”

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a lot of concern these days about American children falling behind students in other countries in the areas of math and science. I recently did a series of stories on manufacturers in Chester County and the one unanimous concern expressed by the heads of those companies was the lack of such skills among recent graduates.

So it’s great to hear that for some kids science is still cool.

The Science in the Summer program is comprised of four 60-minute classes given over the course of a week. The courses are taught by certified teachers to groups of 15 students in two age groups: children entering second and third grades and children entering fourth through sixth grades.

Since its inception more than 20 years ago, the program has introduced approximately 86,000 Philadelphia-area students to science via hands-on experimentation.

The free program starts in late June and runs through the beginning of August. It is put on throughout the Philadelphia region, with each class concentrating on a different scientific area.

This summer, genetics, a new course to the series, will debut in Philadelphia. The other courses this year are chemistry, in Bucks County; physical science/electricity in Delaware County; and oceanography in Montgomery County.

In Chester County, children will learn how machines do things such as lift huge boulders, build bridges and pump water. Students also will learn the six basic kinds of machines: lever, inclined plane, screw, wheel, pulley and gear.

The courses will be held at libraries in Atglen, Kennett Square, Avon Grove, Exton, Chester Springs, Uwchlan, Downingtown, Coatesville, West Chester, Honey Brook, Paoli, Parkesburg, Phoenixville and Spring City.

As part of the program, students will build roller coasters, with the cars expected to make at least one loop-around by the last day, Virtue said.

“The great thing with the program is that it turns kids on to science at a young age,” said Virtue, who teaches at Springton Lake Middle School in the Rose Tree School District. “It’s exciting for them to do the experiments, and the hope is (the love of science) sticks in the long term.”

Virtue has no doubt about the short term. When classes are in session, it’s hard to scare up a “how-to” science book at the libraries.

“It’s all around us all of the time,” the teacher said of why he feels it’s important for students to know about science. “It’s important they learn how to think critically about the world around them and that’s what science does.”

“I’m all for spending more time and resources on science,” Virtue said. “This is a good start.”

Just take it easy on the doors.

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