The first National Lab Day will be in the first week of May 2010. National Lab Day is designed to be more than just a day to celebrate science. It is a nationwide initiative to build hubs of support for hands-on learning that will create strong partnerships and collaborations among students, teachers, scientists, and volunteers.
The National Lab Day site contains a “match making” mechanism where educators can sign up to request project resources and scientists can sign up to be connected with a project. It’s kind of like Match.com … but completely different.
There is a Resources page with links to two great science education resources:
- ACS Chemistry Activities with links to upper elementary and middle school chemistry demonstrations
- Hands On Projects with links to projects like making a blimp, boomerang, or a compressed air rocket
The Projects page provides information on school projects looking for a partner/volunteer.
One of my favorite parts of the site is the definition of a lab:
What is a lab?
It’s a place where you can explore, experiment, test, and maybe even get your hands dirty. We’re not just talking about test tubes and beakers. A lab could be a laptop to a software designer, a mountaintop to a geologist, a computer link to a distant particle accelerator to a physicist, or a factory floor to an industrial engineer. It’s a place where hands-on lessons in science and engineering and technology can be designed to happen, or where math can come alive, and it could be anywhere in the physical or virtual world.
Applications for Science Teachers: Science educators will find resources for forging collaborative partnerships in support of hands-on science. Keep an eye on this site as I’m sure it will be growing in the coming weeks.
Science for All 