Program Details

Why Fourth and Fifth Grade Students?

This is a critical stage in developing innate curiosity about the natural world, nurturing the motivation to pursue further science study, and acquiring basic science knowledge and skills.

Cohorts

Through cohorts, approximately 20 students attend an academy session each year for three consecutive years. Cohorts enable students to become a team that holds each other accountable and models the nature of scientific work. Three years is a length of time necessary for sustaining competence.

Diversity

Each cohort represents the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Grand Rapids. Not only does this address the widely acknowledged under-representation of American ethnic minorities in science and technology, but also the finding that economic diversity in a class narrows the achievement gap among high and low socioeconomic students. We seek to understand how children of all backgrounds learn science so we can better teach and inspire all children.

Cost

Tuition for all children in the inaugural program will be completely underwritten by Van Andel Institute; there is no cost for participants.

Transportation

Transportation will be provided to students who cannot afford it.

Sample Activities

Although there is no "typical" day at the Science Academy, some examples of what students might do while attending the academy are :

• Study specific organisms and perform hypothesis-based investigations related to these organisms (example: students study pill bugs through reading and observation and then create habitats based on their own hypotheses about what kind of environment the pill bugs need to sustain life)
• Students work in teams with the organism of their choice (bearded dragon, tortoise, tarantula, rat, gecko, etc.), deciding what questions they want to ask about the organism and then finding the answers
• Students record details about their experience in lab books, including such items as prior knowledge, predictions, observations, sketches, etc.
• Students report on their research projects to each other and larger audiences

Future Programs

Future plans include programs that will enable middle-school students to be successful in the study of science, enriching the science preparation of high school students, assisting parents in encouraging their children in science, and empowering K-12 science teachers to be more effective in their science instruction.