Seattle Children’s mobile science lab engages and inspires students
Science education in North Central Washington is taking a giant leap forward with the arrival of Seattle Children’s Science Inspiration Lab, a state–of-the-art 45-foot mobile laboratory that visited the Wenatchee Valley last week.
I had the opportunity to see the lab in action Tuesday afternoon, when Lewis and Clark 5th-grade teacher Juan Sanchez brought his class to do a science experiment. His students, wearing white lab coats, gloves and eyeglasses, learned how to test the sugar content of a soft drink under the guidance of Seattle Children’s scientists. Sanchez said it was “really cool” experience for the students.. It was a lively and engaged group.
The Science Inspiration Lab, which is based in Seattle, is on a tour through Central Washington, visiting elementary schools. Seattle Children’s has a second mobile facility, called the Science Adventure Lab, that will be based in Wenatchee and serve Eastern Washington, once they have enough contributions to fund it.
Dr. Sue Kane, the chief executive officer of the North Central Washington Tech Alliance, said having a mobile science lab for the region would be an important milestone.
“Research shows that by age ten, students begin eliminating career possibilities, often opting out of paths they believe aren’t for them. Experiential learning can make a huge impact, and engaging with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) in such an immersive way can inspire students to imagine futures they may not have considered for themselves,” she added.
Seattle Children’s, which has a permanent clinic in Wenatchee providing specialty care for kids, has a robust science education program serving elementary school students up to post-doctoral scholars.
Dr. Amanda Jones, Director of the Science Education Department at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, said the organization is committed to fostering and supporting science education. “We want to inspire students when they’re young and make them feel like science and medicine are fields that they can and should go into,” she told me
Tuesday’s visit to Lewis and Clark Elementary was a homecoming for Whitney Alton, a program manager in the Science Education Department. She grew up a few blocks from the school and attended classes through fifth grade.
She went on to get a bachelor’s degree at Eastern Washington University in therapeutic recreation and worked in that field before switching to science education at Seattle Children’s.
Returning to Wenatchee to be part of the launch of the mobile Science Inspiration Lab was life coming full circle, Alton told me.
“I jumped on the opportunity to be able to, you know, go back and visit and see the school, and where I made a ton of friendships, and where my schooling started,” she said.
The work supporting the educational programs of Seattle Children’s is right up her alley. She appreciates the fact that the mobile science lab was designed to be accessible for those with different abilities.
Seattle Children’s provides the mobile lab for free to schools. Schools can apply to have the lab visit their schools. During a typical school visit, multiple classes will get to participate in an experiment.The curriculum is designed to fit state standards.
For Alton, her favorite moment is when students who come in with some skepticism have that “a-ha” moment because they are doing something pretty cool.
“There are lots of schools that have limited resources that they don’t necessarily have an opportunity to interact with research-grade equipment or do some of these hands-on experiments that we’re able to offer,” said Jones.
To fund the operations of the lab to be based in Wenatchee, Seattle Children’s is raising $325,000, Of that, they’re raising $100,000 to operate in Central Washington. To contribute, access seattlechildrens.org, choose “other” from the “Direct my donation” menu and type Science Bus Fund in the “other area of support” box.
