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The Free Press - July 21, 2005
Popularity surrounds science in the summer
By Toni Becker
Of The Free Press
It's 2:45 p.m. on a hot summer day and from outside of the James A. Michener Library, Quakertown, children can be seen swimming at the nearby public pool. Stretched out in a line along the library's sidewalk, a group of 15 kids pay no attention to the sounds of splashing water as they carefully place sea shells on pieces of paper.
The kids are part of the Oceanography Class presented through GlaxoSmithKline's Science in the Summer program.
"It's a very popular program," Quakertown Librarian Aileen Johnson said. For four consecutive days from July 11-14, the library offered the free program, which was split into two age groups, grades, second and third and grades fourth to sixth.
"It's really to keep an interest in science as well as in libraries," Science in the Summer teacher Steve Fisher said, who taught the oceanography class. After the students removed the sea shells and finished their solar-genic papers during the class July 13, Fisher led them back into the "lab" (the children's reading room).
The room was split into two sections, one was the classroom where chairs were lined in rows, the other had two long tables with boxes of specimens resting on top.
The once quiet class began making noises of awe and surprise as they passed around star fish, corral and a real-life sponge.
"There's almost always a waiting list," Fisher said, of the Science in the Summer programs.
Both sections of the oceanography program at the Quakertown library were full, with names put on a waiting list.
For the four days of the oceanography, class students learned about relevant science topics, while performing on average three experiments a day.
"I think it's just the experience kids get with hands-on knowledge," Fisher said, of the popularity of the class.
A teacher at Hatboro-Horsham, who will be moving onto the high school level this coming fall, Fisher has been teaching Science in the Summer classes for
the past three years.
While classes are being offered throughout the Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia area, all areas are taught different subjects. The oceanography class was offered in all the participating Bucks County libraries.
Since research is a large part of science, Fisher said the programs are purposely conducted in libraries.
Students in the class were directed to a table full of books about science to learn more.
Johnson said the table was full, but the books have been dwindling since the beginning of the program.
Originally the program began because of a study indicating that females and minorities were least likely to pursue careers in science. Now the classes are offered each summer and are always on a different subject.
As the students gathered at the end of class and readily accepted a homework assignment for the next day, it was apparent that the popularity would not dwindle anytime soon.
Toni Becker is a reporter for The Free Press. She can be reached at tkbecker@berksmontnews.com.
Reprinted with permission from The Free Press.
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