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Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
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This Week's Topics:
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| Science Matters is a free 24-page booklet sponsored by the Medtronic Foundation, that was designed as a tool for parents and educators to help K-6 students unlock the world of science and discovery at home and school. With a blend of ideas, activities, and profiles of scientists and their inventions, Science Matters reinforces the important role of nurturing a child's natural curiosity and demonstrates that "science is everywhere." It also provides families with an understanding of what science is, and what it is not, and explores careers in STEM subjects. It includes a variety of interactive explorations and activities, and offers suggestions for additional science resources. The booklet may be downloaded online. Triangle Coalition member, the Medtronic Foundation supports students from elementary through post-secondary levels in their desires to dream, invent, and shape the world. Medtronic knows that science and technology affect the lives of children and adults every day. As a medical technology company, the Foundation understands the important role of science education in building successful health, science, technology, and engineering careers. Find out more at www.medtronic.com/foundation. . |
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The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) is preparing to shine the national spotlight on science in 2009 and beyond. Established in 2007, COPUS is making plans now to celebrate the Year of Science 2009 (YoS09). The goal of this national, year-long celebration of science is to engage the public and improve public understanding about the nature and process of science. COPUS is a grassroots network -- composed of more than two hundred participating organizations representing universities, scientific societies, science centers and museums, government agencies, advocacy groups, media, educators, businesses, and industry -- formed in response to recent concerns about national scientific literacy. In concert with the formation of the national coalition, regionally based hubs are forming in communities from coast to coast. . |
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| While the landmark passage of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act was a key topic of conversation last year, talk has now turned to the all-important question of funding: how much will the widely-praised programs in the bill receive? The bill, often simply referred to as "COMPETES," won the President's signature in August of last year, becoming Public Law (P.L.) 110-69. It's on the books, but with an important caveat: it is an "authorization" bill, not an "appropriations." The difference is in the dollars -- appropriations bills have them, authorization bills do not. However, programs generally need to be passed into law via an authorization bill (with a suggested dollar amount), before they are funded through a separate appropriations bill. So, the COMPETES Act will need to be funded through separate appropriations bills. A recent House of Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology hearing was held specifically to consider funding levels for COMPETES. During the hearing, Dr. John Marburger III, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy said that "prioritizing within the constraints of budget realities necessarily means that some of the programs and activities authorized in America COMPETES could not be requested in this budget." Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Chairman of the Committee, countered in his opening statement, saying: "The Administration should listen to the businesses and educators and scientists and engineers in this country and support full funding of COMPETES this year." This early stage of the funding cycle, following the President's February budget request, has been rife with calls, such as Rep. Gordon's, for increased funding levels for COMPETES programs. Letters known as "Dear Colleagues" are being sent around Congress to encourage members with important appropriations roles to support higher levels of funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Math and Science Partnerships at the Department of Education, and other areas mentioned in the COMPETES Act. Additionally, in recent budget documents, the House stated their "official opinion," also known as the "Sense of the House," which including the following: "It is the sense of the House that the House should provide sufficient funding so that our Nation may continue to be the world leader in education, innovation and economic growth…because America's greatest resource for innovation resides within classrooms across the country, the increased funding provided in this resolution will support initiatives within the America COMPETES Act to educate tens of thousands of new scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, and place highly qualified teachers in math and science K-12 classrooms." Prior to October, Congress is supposed to set their levels for spending. If the President does not accept these levels however, the process may end in a standoff, as Congressional leadership has stated that they would be willing to wait until the next administration comes into office to set the budget. More coverage on the America COMPETES Act can be found on the Triangle Coalition Legislative News site. . |
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The top performing American high school students in Advanced Placement science and math courses were recently honored at the 10th Annual 2007-08 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. Ninety-seven students in 50 states, including 85 high school seniors and 12 high school juniors were named winners. Students who take AP math and science courses challenge themselves at the highest level and gain an edge for their first year of college. Each student will receive a $2,000 college scholarship from the Siemens Foundation. The Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement also recognize math, science, and technology teachers in each of the 50 states, as well as high schools in each state that have made significant strides in AP. Two additional national student winners, one male and one female, are awarded a $5,000 scholarship. This year's winners are Tianhui Cai, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA and Ashutosh Singhal, a senior at Holmdel High School in Holmdel, NJ. One Siemens National AP Teacher of the Year wins a $5,000 award for dedication to the AP Program both inside and outside the classroom -- this year's recipient is Penny Smeltzer, an AP Statistics teacher at Westwood High School in Austin, TX. The $300,000 program was first established in 1998 and is one of five Siemens Foundation programs that support math and science education from grade school through graduate school. Find out more at www.siemens-foundation.org. . |
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| Featuring a group of animated aliens who travel the Galaxies, exploring and discovering all about science, math, and astronomy, "The Zula Patrol," produced by Zula USA, LLC is a package of entertaining, educational products that are designed to provide early science education and reading literacy for children in pre-school through third grade. "The Zula Patrol" debuted on public television in fall 2005 and Season Three of the award-winning series is scheduled to premiere in summer 2008, treating young viewers to 26 new scientific adventures with their space traveling pals Bula, Zeeter, Multo, Gorga, Wizzy, and Wigg. On March 29th, for one day only, in select theatres, "The Zula Patrol: Animal Adventures in Space!" will take children ages 3 to 8 on an exciting and fun-filled animated ride through the universe -- and teach them about metamorphosis and life cycles along the way. Five never-before-seen episodes from the acclaimed public television series will premiere in this in-theatre special event on Saturday, March 29th at 10:00 a.m. local time, which will include sing-a-longs that enhance children's participation and interest in exploring science, math, and astronomy. "The Zula Patrol: Animal Adventures in Space!" features five brand-new missions. Kids will follow the Zula Patrollers on their ecological adventures as they search for stolen frog eggs, help restore life in the canyon on Zula, solve the mystery of the missing honey, and tunnel through the dirt with their new worm boot camp comrades to save their little ecosystem. Along the way they will discover a little something about the importance of the plants and animals in our environment. More details are at www.zula.com. . |
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| The Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) Digital Classroom Resources provides site visitors with a collection of free online learning materials. Many items in the library are posted with editorial reviews and a link to a moderated discussion group focused on the materials. For example, the Flash Fractal Maker is useful for teaching as well as artistic endeavors. The applet allows the user to build a "seed" for a recursive process that constructs complex and fascinating fractal images. There is also a Simple 3-D Drawing tutorial that not only discusses the programming involved in rendering simple polyhedra in Flash CS3, but it also gives an elementary discussion of the mathematics behind 3D rendering on a 2D computer screen. Triangle Coalition member, MAA, is the world's largest organization devoted to the interests of collegiate mathematics. Through its Publications Office, the MAA stimulates interest in the mathematical sciences through books and articles on contemporary mathematics and on recent developments at the frontiers of mathematical research, and by exchanging information about important events in the mathematical world. Find out more at www.maa.org. . |
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TCEB Sponsors
This issue of the TCEB is made possible by grants from: To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit www.trianglecoalition.org/support.htm __________________________________________________________________________ |
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