AEROSPACE

SciFair, the unique after school, science-based program developed and implemented by staff at the Cornell Theory Center (CTC), began with one school in upstate New York. With the 2003-04 academic year, the program has expanded across the country, helping students at seven schools to understand and enjoy learning about science. SciFair is an extension of CTC's SciCentr, an online museum that fosters interest in science and technology. The program will be demonstrated at SC'03, with the opportunity to arrange times to speak online with students, mentors, and coaches. CTC, Cornell's interdisciplinary and high-performance computing center, creates online science exhibits that feature the research conducted at Cornell University and computed with its high-performance computing resources. The virtual exhibits are found only at www.scicentr.org . Students use the Web-based content and online virtual worlds as resources to enhance their curriculum-based education. "Like all museums, SciCentr develops and hosts exhibits and programs," said Education Outreach Manager Margaret Corbit. "Our exhibits explain research done at Cornell and are used as supplemental activities for students in K-12." Corbit enlisted creative Cornell undergraduates from a wide variety of disciplines to program the interactive exhibits and create custom, 3-dimensional objects used to help illustrate scientific concepts in SciCentr. She launched SciFair, which engages Cornell University undergraduates as online mentors for teams of middle and high school students creating virtual science fair exhibits in 2000. This year, 17 undergraduates are working with more than 75 students who are actively involved in creating online science fair exhibits. Half of the Cornell undergraduates serve as mentors, while the rest work to develop content for both SciCentr and SciFair. "The model upon which SciFair is based has a unique twist," said Corbit. "In the after school program, students create science fair exhibits based on current scientific research with undergraduate peer role models. They build their own content and share what they've done with the world using innovative technology." SciFair was piloted with high school students in the Spencer-Van Etten Central School District in 2001. During the current academic year, with support from the GE Foundation, SciFair has extended its reach to inner city teens in Richmond, Va., and the Manhattan Center for Mathematics and Science. In addition, teams have joined from the suburban area of Island Park, N.Y., and the rural areas of Spencer-Van Etten, in Spencer, N.Y., and the Quinault Indian Reservation in Taholah, Wash. Teachers at Spencer-Van Etten and two schools from Ithaca, N.Y., the Turning Point School and Ithaca High School, are working on supplemental curriculum-based worlds as well. Discussions are currently underway to bring the program to students at Schenectady Central School in Schenectady, N.Y. Five of the 7 schools are currently online. * Students at the Quinault Indian Reservation are in the homesteading stage, during which time they become familiar with the software and its possibilities. They are expected to focus their virtual exhibit on tsunamis, a real threat to their village and a research focus for Cornell computational scientist Dr. Philip Liu. * With help from their coach, Luis Ormaechea, and mentors Oluwole Tairu and Edgar Cabrera, Spencer-Van Etten has chosen 3 scientific topics (chemistry of candy, physics of flight, and biology of dinosaurs, with the latter leading to a discussion of evolution and genomics) and will begin building their exhibit early in November. * One group of students at the Manhattan Center for Mathematics and Science are completing an Authentic Science Research (ARS) program and will be using SciFair as one component of their 3-year project. Students in the Manhattan program meet before school 3 times a week and after school once a week. After intense research, the students must create a virtual poster session and do so using SciFair. A second group of students at the Manhattan Center for Mathematics and Science are extending their computer-aided design club activities to include live, 3-dimensional work and will help create the virtual space for the ARS program. "SciFair offers these students the opportunity to make their research fun-for themselves and for others," said Charlene Chan, director of ARS. "These virtual poster sessions are the light side of what can become some very complex work. It is extremely healthy for these students to explore a fun aspect, given all of the serious research involved." * Lincoln Orens Middle School in Island Park, NY, has committed their after school computer club to the SciFair program. Teachers Christine Chu and Sheryl Waxberg are coaching this team, which is in the homesteading stage. * Chandler Middle School in Richmond, Va., came online at the end of October and is completing the orientation program. The schools participating in this year's SciFair program met Cornell's objectives for educational outreach. "As the Land Grant University for the State of New York, Cornell strives to apply the results of its endeavors in service to the community," said Cornell University Vice Provost for Land Grant Affairs Francille Firebaugh. "The students at the participating schools will benefit from this initiative in several ways. SciFair gives all students the opportunity to succeed in science and technology. Their participation empowers them with knowledge and strengthens self-confidence. We hope that through this experience, more students will see the possibilities for a career in science or technology." With support from Microsoft, CTC is extending the Taholah program to include Windows conferencing. "The students at Taholah cannot wait to log on each day to work in the worlds and are very excited about the chance to conference with the mentors," said Phil Braaten, a mathematics teacher and coach for students at the Quinault Indian Reservation in Taholah, Wash. "The positive behaviors seen daily are demonstrated in their interaction with the mentors and the buildings that they have created." To prepare for launching the program in their home schools, representatives from each of the new school districts participated in a 3-day Educators' Institute conducted at CTC in July 2003. The Institute, funded by the GE Foundation, helped the educators become familiar with the capabilities of the multi-user, 3-dimensional, Internet technology of Activeworlds software and, in hands-on sessions, demonstrated the model used to engage youth in fun, constructivist, learning activities focused on scientific research. In addition, 2 high school students from Spencer-Van Etten participated in the Institute to receive training to support their program. SciCentr/SciFair programs have received funding and donations of software and other peripherals from several organizations, including CTC, the GE Foundation, The National Science Foundation, Microsoft, Intel, the Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Program, USDA, Autodesk, and the Office of the Provost at Cornell University. For more information, visit www.scicentr.org or contact Margaret Corbit at corbitm@tc.cornell.edu.