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Jonah,
Let me add two more pieces of copper:
I was asked by a school district's curriculum developer to develop a set of exhibits on "non-linear functions" so that, she argued, they will be ready for pre-calculus when he district's students reached high school. My initial reaction (which I didn't verbalize, but must have shown on my face) was, 'Why would you want to waste these poor kids' time and their parents' tax dollars teaching age-inappropriate math for nine years before getting to high school, so that incoming high school students will be ready for a college prep set of courses toward which they will be poisoned?"
But this curriculum developer showed brilliance I had not expected: She wanted us to find ways to show that a dropping playground ball fell faster as it dropped, and that after it bounced off the pavement rose at slower and slower speeds and stopped before falling back to the pavement; to show that a plant grows quickly after it breaks through the garden soil surface and then grows more slowly as it matures; to show how the town's disaster siren can sound louder standing in one location than it does in another; etc.
She wanted us to help her students become familiar and comfortable with non-linear relationships of some phenomena so that they would not be frightened by and would have an affective understanding of the functions they would be learning in high school math classes.
I just visited the "Books" department of an online book store, and can see that about half of the first twenty FICTION titles for ages 6-9 deal with phenomena that can be described (I would argue, not explained) by math and science concepts.
Based on my experience with that curriculum developer, I don't see how the specific topics you've chosen will be accessible to elementary school students regardless of any books you may find; however, any network or pathway humans have created have the beauty of being biological analogs, any biological building blocks can (with care) be related to K'nex and Lego, and nano-engineering is just really, really small engineering.
Charlie
The views and representations stated in this e-mail are the individual's. They do not bind the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum or its Board, staff or volunteers, and they do not necessarily reflect the Museum's institutionally-held viewpoints, opinions or policies.
Charlie Stout
Director of Exhibits
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
734-995-5439 |(734) 693-1033 (cell) | www.aahom.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonah Cohen
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 9:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Books geared towards elementary school students
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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OK, I shall step in it...
The best advice I can give is: I don't think "non-fiction books about bioinformatics or molecular engineering to improve health" are really suited to elementary school students.
Just my $0.02,
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
The Children's Museum
-----Original Message-----
Hello everyone!
Could anybody recommend some nonfiction books for elementary students (and their teachers) that might serve as good precursors to visiting a science center? Specifically, we are looking for books that would relate to gallery experiences involving 1) biological building blocks, networks, and pathways; 2) bioinformatics (huge numbers, patterns in numbers and data, patterns related to health); and 3) nanomedicine (molecular engineering to improve health).
We have designed workshops around these themes and wanted to give recommendations to teachers to better prepare them for their visit should they reserve these programs for their students. Your advice is greatly appreciated!
Rei Cameron
Jennifer Rei Cameron
Sr. Content Specialist
Arizona Science Center
Phone: 602-716-2000 | Fax: 602-716-2099
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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