ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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You ask for one "clear, concise article" that makes the case for children 
doing meaningful science. At risk of seeming immodest, I offer one of my own. In 
1987 I gave a talk at an American Association of Physics Teachers conference 
titled "Preschool Science and Science Centers." It was based on my experience 
as a physics teacher and developer of the preschool science exhibition at the 
Museum of Science and Industry, and it addressed three questions: 1) what is 
science for preschoolers, 2) is science appropriate for that age group, and 3) 
how can it be taught — particularly through a museum. The talk was written up 
and is available on my website: www.scienceservs.com. The underlying premise 
was that the process young children use naturally to understand their 
environment is, in broad strokes, the same process that scientists use in its most 
rigorous form—a continuous cycling between experience in the real world and 
generalizations formed about that experience in the mind. i Recognizing this allows 
you to see that teaching science to children means encouraging and enhancing 
the process they are already naturally involved in. (This is very different from 
transmitting information or correcting "misconceptions.") From this point of 
view, anything you do that keeps their curiosity alive, expands their 
experience, or develops their process skills can be considered doing "meaningful 
science." 

Ted Ansbacher
Science Services
29 Byron Ave, White Plains, NY 10606
Tel: 914-328-5407 • Fax: 914-328-5407
[log in to unmask] • www.scienceservs.com



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