The Arbutus Library this summer will offer students a way to spend their break learning about science.
The GSK-funded Science in the Summer program will take place on July 21 and 23 for rising second- and third-graders and July 28 and 30 for rising fourth- and six-graders.
The two programs, organizers say, allow students to explore science in new ways and use their downtime this summer to get a head start in the classroom..
"It's a really fun opportunity," said Betty Calinger, project director in the education and human resources offices at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the organization that manages GSK's program in the Baltimore/Washington area. "I sort of see it as, I hope, it's a way to build science literacy."
Students typically lose knowledge that they learned during the course of the school year over the summer, according to a report by the National Summer Learning Association. The group, a now-independent organization, began as a project by Johns Hopkins University to study the effects of the so-called "summer slide" on school-aged children. Most students lose the equivalent of about two months' worth of grade-level equivalency in math, the study found, and reading skills loss is not far behind.
The idea of providing kids with free access to science education in the summertime, Calinger said, began in the 1980s with a scientist at GlaxoSmithKline, Virginia Cunningham, who partnered with a teacher and a librarian in Philadelphia to host the first Science in the Summer program. Since then, the program has taken off. It is now sponsored by GSK and is offered in libraries and community centers across the country.
The program was first offered in Arbutus last year, according to library staff. It is usually available to 15 children from each of the two age groups, and instruction is lead by local teachers with strong backgrounds in science.
"It's all hands-on," Calinger said.
This year, students will be invited to use microscopes to observe some of the world's smallest living things, in addition to growing their own bacteria, Calinger said.
Last year's program focused on physical science, said Arbutus Library manager Bob Maranto.
The program did so well with area students and parents, he said, that the library decided to invite it back to the library this summer, he said.
The library always sees an increase in the number of students spending time at the facility during the summer months, he said.
There are already 1,500 kids signed up for the library system's annual summer reading club, he said. The GSK program offers them an equally valuable alternative to a reading-focused summer.
"It's very much like a science class in school," Maranto said. "But it's here."
The hope, he said, is that the library can help prevent the loss of school knowledge over summer break. With an increased focus on STEM education — that being instruction in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math – he said that the program is a perfect fit for Arbutus-area students.
"We're in support of schools," he said of the library's function in the community.
In addition to the extra knowledge and experience in the subject of bioscience, Calinger said students will also receive goggles, a bag and a book of other science-related activities to take home.
Registration for the course began June 20 and will remain open until all spots are filled, according to the library's website.
Classes begin at 1 p.m. and last for two hours.
For information, go to bcpl.info/events/datelines-arbutus.