Our table at the Family Science Night at Jhule Middle School

On Thursday, September 10, 2009, the Cal-IPC Student Chapter had the opportunity to team up with the University of California – Riverside’s Copernicus Project of the Graduate School of Education at a Family Science Night at Jhule Middle School in Colton, CA. The purpose of the event was to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics educational and career opportunities to local families, focusing on middle school students. We were one of many booths set up with interactive activities that gave kids a hands on look at the sciences.

Our booth was manned by Lynn Sweet and myself. We attempted to educate our visitors on the difference between native and exotic invasive plants. We made buttons, stickers, and native seed packets as giveaways, and also had trays of dirt set up where were showed everyone how to plant seeds. We had 59 students plant seeds of Encelia farinosa in our makeshift garden. Photos of the trays are now available online here, where the students can follow the progress of their seeds and see if they germinate.

Overall, Lynn and i had a great time interacting with all of the parents and students and hopefully planted some seeds in their mind about new ways to enjoy science and use it in their future.

Mike Bell
Location: Southern California 
Tags: Copernicus Project, encelia seedlings, Family Science Night, Outreach
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