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Momentum Building for Hands-On Science Learning

Chemical engineering professor Benjamin Davis of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a college in New York City, shows students a flask of water in which a chemical called Floccin was used to separate solids from water during an experiment at East Side Community High School in the city. The Professor's visit was part of the school's participation in National Lab Day, an effort to promote more hands-on science learning.
—Emile Wamsteker for Education Week

Focus Is on Offering High-Quality Laboratory Learning

By Erik W. Robelen

The postings on the National Lab Day website are akin to something you might find through an online dating service. Only these aren’t from lonely singles looking for a soul mate. They’re from teachers seeking help with hands-on science projects, whether the expertise of a scientist or engineer or money to help pay for a special activity or laboratory equipment.

The titles give a flavor of what teachers are after: “Extreme Science Lab Make Over,” from a teacher in Webster, Texas. The “Butterfly Garden,” from Aurora, Ill. “Cells R Us,” from Port Charlotte, Fla. “ ‘Do’ Science Not ‘View’ Science,” in Summerville, Ga. And “Cadaver Lab,” in Missoula, Mont.

National Lab Day is a public-private initiative (but not a one-day event, despite the name) launched this school year to bring more “authentic, hands-on, discovery-based lab experiences to students,” says a...