What's black with a brass lock and contains all the ingredients to make science fun? This is a riddle that students throughout Nevada will soon be able to answer. Give up? It's a DRI Science Box! And the Institute currently has 15 of the mystery boxes in its library, just waiting to be loaned to teachers throughout the state.

DRI's Science Boxes are the final product of a summer workshop offered to teachers from all corners of Nevada. The Science Boxes deal with topics ranging from chemical reactions to earth history. Depending on the theme, the boxes hold such treasures as a coupon to receive earthworms and an earthworm habitat, a genes game, an example of a nuclear reaction using ping pong balls, and an array of fuses.

The Science Box concept is not a new one. According to Dr. Susan Moore, DRI's Distance Education and K-12 Coordinator, "Since the 1930s, the University of Washington's Burke Museum has been creating wonderful boxes of de-accessioned artifacts with related resource material plans developed by the museum?s staff and making them available throughout the state of Washington. At DRI, we adapted their concept into a project involving K-12 educators from throughout Nevada, rather than museum specialists."

To make certain the program's concept and results would be responsive to teachers' needs and interests, Moore worked with a number of educational leaders in Nevada: "Dr. John Cannon of the University of Nevada, Reno; George Ochs, Washoe County School District K-12 science program coordinator; Dr. Gene Butler, Clark County School District secondary science specialist; Dr. Bob Scott, executive director of the Rural Alliance; and Deborah Bazar of the Nevada Regional Teacher Resource Center all gave freely of their time and expertise."

In the DRI program, teachers were charged with developing their boxes and lesson plans for use by their peers. To give the teachers insights into hands-on science and its use in the classroom as well as to set common goals and standards for their boxes, a workshop was planned last spring and offered during the summer. Seventy five teachers applied to participate, and 15 were selected. Eleven of the teachers were sponsored by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program, and four of the participants were sponsored by the Nevada Space Grant Program.
Teacher Sylvia Gutierrez hands out earthworms from her Science Box to second graders John Kaelin and Sowsana Gola at Dorothy Eisenberg Elementary School in Las Vegas. DRI Distance Education and K-12 Coordinator Susan Moore, center, examines John's plate of worms.
In developing the Science Boxes, each teacher selected a content area from the Nevada State Science Education Framework, purchased or designed supplies to illustrate the content areas, and wrote an accompanying "activity guide." Emphasis was on hands-on activities for the students in addition to the illustrative materials. The hands-on activities were chosen with an eye to easily re-stocking the materials as the boxes are lent.

The content themes selected by the teachers were broken down into performance standards applicable to different grade levels. Chemical reactions Science Boxes were developed for grades 1-3 and grades 9-12, for example. As a result, the contents and accompanying activity guides were designed to be useful to teachers in specified grade levels.

On the last day of the workshop, participating teachers shared their boxes with one another to receive feedback and suggestions. For many of the participants, this was the high point of the program. One noted, "As the saying goes, 'You learn more by teaching.' This was an experience that basically put me in the teacher role for other teachers. I learned a huge amount." Another participant noted, the process "refreshed my scientific background, and it will also help my colleagues greatly."

Science Boxes are now available on loan from the DRI Library to teachers throughout Nevada. The boxes may be requested for use in classrooms or for special events like science fairs. The boxes will also be on display at the National Science Teachers Association Convention which will take place in Las Vegas in April, 1998. DRI will share a convention booth with the Nevada Department of Education.

Because of the popularity of both the concept and the workshop, the program will be presented again in the summer of 1998. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, using one of the Science Boxes, or even beginning a similar program in another state, contact Susan Moore at (702)895-0409.