LABRats

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LABRats

• Linking Empiricism with Virtue
• to Remake Science Education
• in America

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Science Literacy- Five Decades of Failure

• America ranks 17th in proportion of young people
  earning natural science and engineering degrees.
• The number of graduates in fields that are
  critical to maintaining US leadership in
  technology (e.g. electrical engineering) is
  plummeting.
• Thirty eight percent of Ph.D. scientists and
  engineers now working in the United States are
  foreign born.
• Despite significant gains, women still lag far
  behind men.
• For blacks and Hispanics, its still 1965!

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What would such a program look like?

• National in scope
• Target teenagers
• Meet the needs of Americas diverse communities,
  especially in the urban areas and inner cities.
• Meet the needs of young women as well as men
• Year-round for many consecutive years to develop
  skills and habits of mind
• Operate completely outside the schools

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Why outside the schools?

• Local scope
• Science teachers rarely have extensive research
  experience
• Government funding political football
• Schools have largely abandoned the gifted

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What would such a program look like?

• National in scope
• Target teenagers
• Meet the needs of Americas diverse communities,
  especially in the urban areas and inner cities.
• Meet the needs of young women as well as men
• Year-round for many consecutive years to develop
  skills and habits of mind
• Operate completely outside the schools
• Must use other educational resources
• Science and Technology Centers
• Business and private citizens from the community
  with the knowledge and the passion to do
  something about the problem

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What would such a program look like?

• National in scope
• Target teenagers
• Meet the needs of Americas diverse communities,
  especially in the urban areas and inner cities.
• Meet the needs of young women as well as men
• Year-round for many consecutive years to develop
  skills and habits of mind
• Operate completely outside the schools
• Must use other educational resources
• Run by a non-profit for credibility and public
  support
• Self-sustaining to ensure long-term survival
• Modeled after other successful national programs

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Which Model Programs?
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Scouting Organizations

• National scope
• Long term
• Reach teenagers
• 130 million scouts
• Educational

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Secrets to Scouting's Success

• Unshakable commitment to kids
• Family away from family
• Focus on character development
• Parental involvement
• Community involvement
• Evening meetings with weekend activities
• Encourage group bonding
• Fun, fun, fun!

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Problems with Boy Scouts

• Created by a Lieutenant General (Baden-Powell) to
  prepare young men for military service in a circa
  1900 world
• Hyper-nationalism/military
• Discriminatory
• Goody two-shoes image
• Silly-looking uniforms
• Not truly multi-cultural

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To Create a Great Youth Program for the 21st
Century
We must

• Shift educational focus from survival skills to
  hands-on science, engineering and mathematics.
• Keep core emphasis on building character and
  instilling the great virtues.
• Prepare young people for college or advanced
  technical training, and help get them in!
• Be open to absolutely everyone
• Abandon military-style uniforms
• Build in multi-culturalism from ground up
• Place special emphasis on recruiting young women
  and minorities
• Create a new motto - Do the experiment!
• We call this new program LABRats.

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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure like scouting

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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated

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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated
• Program-wide core content
• Parents run individual groups

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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated
• Program-wide core content
• Parents run individual groups
• Mentors service entire community
• Field trips and special instruction

A member from the SAS Western Connecticut Chapter
introduces astronomy to young people from his
community
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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated
• Program-wide core content
• Parents run individual groups
• Mentors service entire community
• Field trips and special instruction
• Coach advanced projects
• Help members make original discoveries!

Lisa Glukhovsky, who received mentoring from
members of SAS Western Connecticut Chapter, took
first place honors at the Junior Intel
International Science and Engineering Fair,
winning more than 75,000 in scholarships and
prize money.
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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated
• Program-wide core content
• Parents run individual groups
• Mentors service entire community
• Weekly evening meetings

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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated
• Program-wide core content
• Parents run individual groups
• Mentors service entire community
• Weekly evening meetings
• Monthly weekend fieldtrips

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LABRats Program Overview

• Grades 6 through 12
• Family structure
• Gender segregated
• Program-wide core content
• Parents run individual groups
• Mentors service entire community
• Weekly evening meetings
• Monthly weekend fieldtrips
• Regional and national-level competitions

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Program Infrastructure
Heather Smith, MS LABRats Director of Program
Development
National Office Society for Amateur Scientists
Regional Officer Nat History Museum
Regional Officer Aquarium
Regional Officer Sci Tech Center
Boys groups and girls groups
Group adult volunteers Community-wide mentors
Community Center
Boys and Girls Club
Community service and research collaborations Loca
l, regional, and national competitions
n
m
Astronomy/Space
Young Biologists
Amateur Radio
Participant leadership
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Program Pillars

• Merit-based advancement program
• Merit badge program
• Advancement through ranks with top rank
  equivalent to Eagle Scout/Gold Award
• Expert certification
• Core program organized and distributed by
  national office via World Wide Web
• Electives to pursue personal interests
• Personal skills training

• Mentors program
• Coaches for STEM and personal skills
• Help kids apply scientific method to open
  questions often posed by participants
• Potential for original discoveries
• Mentor training, screening, certifying

• Community service and great virtues
• Strict rules of conduct
• Member mentoring within the group
• Group science projects
• Element of merit badge program

• College-bound program
• College-bound will be LABRats culture
• Annual seminar on selection and aid
• LABRats will help universities find inner city
  kids who have what it takes to succeed.

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But are teenagers interested?Yes! The vast
majority of respondents like the LABRats concept
and would consider joining the group. Feedback
from SAS's satellite Web site Scifair.org.
Want to be able to make own discoveries n110
Would consider joining this type of group n108
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Like the name LABRats n105
Select Name Suggestions
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• Sizzling Scientists
• Radical Researchers
• Cool Lab
• SciGroup
• SciKids
• Lab Dudes
• Sci-Explorers

• Sci Fies
• Genius Cats
• Wiz Owls
• Power of Science
• Creations
• Invent this!
• Lab Cats

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Program Content Advisory CommitteeWe have
recruited an all-star committee with a broad
range of science and math education expertise.
The first meeting was held at MOS Boston last
April.
Museum of Science, Boston

• Committee Chair Cary Sneider, Ph.D. VP Programs

Harvard University
Northeastern, University of Mass., Boston

• Philip Sadler, Ph.D.
• Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
• Judah Schwartz, Ph.D.
• E. Prof. of Education

• Paul Hickman, Ph.D. Director CESAME
• Christos Zahopoulos, Ph.D. Director SEED and
  RE-SEED
• Carol Smith, Ph.D.
• Cognitive Psychology

Concord Consortium
Princeton University
Boston Public Schools

• Robert Tinker Ph.D. President

• Ingrid Daubechies, Ph.D. MacArthur Fellow and
  Professor of Mathematics

• Pamela Pelletier

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TERC PartnershipDan Barstow, Director of the
Center for Earth and Space Science Education at
TERC and LABRats co-PI, will lead the team to
develop LABRats program materials.

• Merit badges
• Weekly meeting activities
• Program manuals
• Participants
• Adult volunteer leaders
• Adult volunteer mentors

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Major Development PartnersMystic Aquarium and
the Discovery Museum and Planetarium will serve
as pilot Regional Centers and will participate in
program material development and testing.
Mystic, Connecticut LABRats Team Stephen Coan,
Ph.D., EVP Operations and LABRats co-PI Kimberly
Standish, Assoc. Director of Education
Bridgeport, Connecticut LABRats Team Linda
Malkin Acting Director David Mestre, Scheduling
and Customer Relations
Mystic Aquarium Institute for Exploration is so
much more than an aquarium. It's not just a place
to visit ocean life, it's a unique experience in
living marine creatures and the latest
discoveries of our underwater world. In
addition to a beautiful aquarium setting
supported by a team of highly dedicated marine
animal research experts, we have assembled some
of the finest talent in oceanographic and
deep-sea archeological research. In fact, we're
the only aquarium in the world with exhibits
based on work done by Robert Ballard and his
deep-ocean exploration team fascinating
discoveries you will see almost as soon as they
are uncovered. Mystic Aquarium Institute for
Exploration are divisions of Sea Research
Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit institution. The
Foundation's mission is to inspire people
everywhere to care about and protect our oceans
by exploring and sharing their biological,
ecological and cultural treasures.
The Discovery Museum and Planetarium's mission is
to educate, excite, and engage visitors in the
exploration of science, technology, and ideas
through interactive experiences that promote new
insights. The Museum seeks to enhance public
understanding of the science and technology by
providing instructive experiences encouraging
participant interaction with hands-on physical
science exhibits, Planetarium programs, the
Challenger Learning Center and various other
educational programs. The Museum provides a
broad range of educational programs in science
and technology, as well as in the area where the
two disciplines interact. We draw individuals and
school children from across the Tri-State area.
Last year over 68,000 young people enjoyed our
many interactive exhibits and educational
programs. The Museum is accredited by the
American Association of Museums (AAM) and is a
member of the Association of Science and
Technology Centers (ASTC).
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Some other LABRats advisors The LABRats Advisory
Board members are all nationally regarded experts
who bring a variety of youth and programming
expertise.

• Diversity
• Earnestine Baker, Executive Director, Meyerhoff
  Scholarship Program, University of Maryland
• Bruce Jackson, Ph.D. Founder and Director, ROOTS
  and RIMES Projects, University of Maryland
• Rachel Kowalski, Boys and Girls Club of
  Cumberland-Lincoln, Rhode Island
• Young Women
• Dale McCreedy, Ph.D., Director, Gender and Family
  Learning, Franklin Institute
• Laura Watkins, Ph.D., Executive Director,
  Patriot's Trail Girl Scouts Council
• Claudia Morrell, Director, Center for Women
  Information Technology, University of Maryland
• Rural Communities
• Eddie Locklear, Ph.D., Director of After-School,
  National 4-H Council, Chevy Chase, Maryland
• College-bound
• Regina Thomas, Founder, College Coaching Pros.
• Program Development
• Carl Pennypacker, Ph.D., Lawrence Berkeley Labs,
  Principal Investigator, Hands-On Universe

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Regional Center Advisory Consortium We have also
recruited a diverse group of institutions to
advise LABRats development so that LABRats can
fit a variety of regional center models.

• Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, Connecticut Stephen
  Coan, Ph.D., EVP for Operations and Kimberly
  Standish, Assoc. Director of Education.
• Discovery Museum and Planetarium, Bridgeport,
  Connecticut Linda Malkin, Acting Director and
  David Mestre, Scheduling Coordinator and Customer
  Relations.
• New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts
  Geri Unger, Director of Education
• SEE Science Center, Manchester, New Hampshire
  Douglas Heuser, Co-Founder and Executive Director
• California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco,
  California Carol Tang, Ph.D., Outreach Programs

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Timing for Program Development
Program Material Development and Testing
Pilot Program(s), Evaluation, Refinement

• Expansion
• Regionally
• Nationally

Planning/ Fundraising
1 year
1 year
2 years
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BudgetDevelopment of LABRats will require
approximately 6 million over four years.
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Current Status

• Concept development, program design, and team
  building are complete to 1st order
• Raised 400,000 in last 15 months
• We submitted to the National Science Foundation a
  proposal on August 13, 2004 requesting 3
  million. (Available at www.sas.org.) We expect to
  hear from NSF by early 2005.
• In the meantime, we are pursuing other sources of
  funding and spreading the word!

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Do the experiment!