Dow AgroSciences will sponsor HSEHS science teacher Erin Butzin to attend the 2007 Smithsonian Electricity and Magnetism Academy with teachers from across the country August 5-10 in Washington, DC .
“We will deepen our understanding of the historical background behind the concepts we teach in electricity and magnetism through hands-on labs and activities,” said Butzin.
The course takes place at many of the historical museums in Washington DC, including the National Museum of American History, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Historical Electronics Museum and the Library of Congress.
“Each segment of the course models a hands-on, inquiry approach to teaching and learning, which is how I try to design lessons for the Integrated Chemistry Physics class at HSEHS,” she said. “We will build circuits and a battery, tour a power plant and solar/photovoltaic factory, compare the inventions of several key scientists in electricity and magnetism and build a miniature magnetic-levitation train.”
She hopes to use the information gained and approaches modeled in the academy “to truly integrate Integrated Chemistry Physics (ICP for short) with history, technology and journal-type writing. I hope to be able to conduct some of the same experiments with my ICP classes next year. My goal is to make ICP a course that is very relevant to students’ lives, and I believe that the resources from the Smithsonian academy will help me reach that goal.”
More information about the Smithsonian academies is available at http://www.scienceteachersacademies.si.edu/elec/elec.htm.
