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News
09.05.06
Connecticut Science Center Releases Back-to-School Educational Videos and Classroom Activities
HARTFORD, CT – (August 31, 2006) – Before it opens, the Connecticut Science Center is using the construction of its dramatic new building to help teach science and math skills through its web-based AT&T Learning Connection. That's the purpose of The Science of Building, a new series of digital videos that can be viewed on the Center’s website at www.CTScienceCenter.org, which are available to students, teachers and parents just in time for the new school year. The videos use the construction of the new facility to demonstrate how science and math is used in everyday life activities, such as construction, and its lessons are directly tied to the state’s new Connecticut Science Framework. Each video is accompanied by a classroom activity, which can easily be incorporated into a teacher’s lesson plan along with the video.
The first of the series of videos focuses on simple machines, and is illustrated by the actual construction machinery involved in building the Center. Levers and pulleys are used to demonstrate how cranes and shovels, used on the construction site, function and produce output. A classroom activity accompanies the video and is modified for various grade levels.
The second video explains how glaciers and erosion have caused the Connecticut River to meander, effecting lifestyles along the river and dictating how the Science Center’s foundation should be built. Geologist Ralph Lewis and members of Archeological and Historical Services, Inc. (AHS) shared their knowledge and expertise with the Center for the production of this video and construction of the new Science Center. Geologist Ralph Lewis helps explain how nearly 5,000 years ago “As sea level rose, in relation to land, the Connecticut River could no longer flow as fast and sandy sediment began to fill the channel that was previously cut in the old lake bed. The sediment is about 20 feet thick at Adriaen’s Landing.” Based on this information, along with the core samples that were taken and studied by AHS, it was determined that installing piles was the best way to build the foundation of the Science Center.
The scientific process of making concrete, and the chemical reaction it undergoes, is explained in the third video. It was created with the help of the concrete contractor, Tilcon Connecticut, demonstrating the science of concrete from the quarry, where it all begins, to the final product used for building the new Science Center. “Our world would not be the same without concrete as a major construction material for roads, bridges and buildings. This video is a nice opportunity to highlight concrete’s importance in our daily lives,” said Kevin Miller, Tilcon’s Director of Technical Services for Concrete.
These are the first in a series of videos that will be offered by the Connecticut Science Center to help teachers bring real-world science into the classroom. An activity is available to the general public, along with each video, to further strengthen the science concepts being taught and can easily be downloaded from the Science Center’s website at www.CTScienceCenter.org. The Center’s Program Outreach staff is available to provide teachers with additional information at (860) 727-0457.
The videos are part of the Center’s online AT&T Learning Connection, an educational portal designed to increase science literacy among Connecticut’s teachers, students and families. Once the Center opens its doors, the AT&T Learning Connection will remain the central educational portal on the Center’s Web site. It will maximize the educational potential of the Center by supplementing classroom visits made by Connecticut students with pre- and post-visit classroom discussions and activities available online. The AT&T Learning Connection is sponsored by the AT&T Foundation.
Connecticut Science Center
The Connecticut Science Center, now under construction at Adriaen’s Landing in Hartford, will spark creative imagination and an appreciation for science by immersing visitors in fun and educational hands-on, interactive experiences. The Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing science education throughout the state of Connecticut, providing learning opportunities for students and adults of all ages, and engaging the community in scientific exploration. Details, images, news releases and live webcam are available online at www.ctsciencecenter.org.
About the AT&T Foundation
The AT&T Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AT&T Inc., supports programs that build communities and improve access to information technologies, technology training and professional skills development. The new AT&T Foundation will provide more than $60 million in 2006 in charitable contributions, thereby placing it among the top five largest corporate foundations in the country. The new AT&T Foundation combines over forty years and $1.7 billion of philanthropic commitment to communities across the country.
Contacts:
Connecticut Science Center
Michelle Morales – (860) 727-0457 x116
