HOW TO HOST A “DAY OF SCIENCE”

By: Quynh-Anh Dang

Service Unit 151 Girl Scouts Troop 434

7-8 MONTHS BEFORE…

1. Decidewhatyourpurposesandgoalsare.- Whyareyouhostingthisevent?- Whatissuetodohopetoresolve?- Whataudienceareyoutargeting?- Brainstormideasofthingsthatyouwanttheeventtoinclude.Theseideaswillshow

thatyouhavegivensomethoughtinplanningyoureventwhenyoutalktoyoursponsorsandtheschoolthatyouwillhosttheeventat.

2. Contactpossiblesponsorsfortheevent.Thegroupsthatyoupresentaskforsupportfromshouldbenonprofit,andpreferablySTEM(science/technology/engineering/math)-related.Thesecanrangefromschoolclubs,corporateoutreachprograms,sciencemuseums,andsomuchmore.- AskGirlScoutleadersiftheyknowofanyorganizationsthattheyhaveworkedwith

before.- IfyouknowanyfriendsorfamilymemberswhoworkinSTEMfields,askiftheir

companieshavecommunityoutreachprograms.Also,askiftheywouldbewillingtodonatetheirtimetospeaktostudentsabouttheirjobs.

- UsetheInternet,email,andphonetogetintocontactwithlocalmuseums,aquariums,andbotanicalgardens.Manyofthemwillhave“traveling”educationalprogramsthatbringexhibitionstoschools.

Whenspeakingtotheseorganizations,youshouldexpressyourneedfor:- Volunteersfortheevent- Refreshmentstoserveattheevent- Sponsoredbooths(setupandrunbyrepresentativesoftheorganizations)*- Suppliesthatyoumightneedtosetupyourownboothsandexperiments*Havinganorganizationcommittohostingtheirownboothatyoureventisdefinitelythebiggestdonationthatyouwillreceive.Makesuretospeciallythanktheseorganizationsfordonatingasignificantamounttheirtime,supplies,funds,andmanpowertoplanningtheirboothsandattendingyourevent.Thiswillprobablybethemostimportantstepintheentireplanningprocess.Themoreorganizationsyoucontact;thebetterchanceyouhaveofgettingsponsorsandhavingavarietyoffunactivities.Noteveryorganizationwillreply“Yes”orevenreplyatall,butitiscrucialthatyoureachouttoasmanypeopleasyoucan.Don’tgetdiscouragedifyoudon’tsucceedatfirst.Therearelotsofpeopleinthecommunitywhowillwanttohelpout.It’sjustamatterofseekingthemoutandcontactingthem.

6 MONTHS BEFORE…

1. Developavagueideaofhowtheeventwillbesetup.Hereareafewofthemanythingstoconsider:

- Willtheeventbe“students-only”Orwillitbeopentoparentsandfamilymembers?

- Willyouserverefreshments?

- Ifthereareprizes,howwillstudentswinthoseprizes?

- Willtherebeasetschedulethatstudentshavetofollow?Orcantheywalkuptoanybooththeywantto?

2. Contacttheschoolthatyouwanttoholdtheeventat.

Somestaffthatyoumightwanttogetintouchwith:- Principal- Scienceandmathteachersinanygradelevel- Sciencecluborsciencefairsponsors- Parent-TeacherAssociation(PTA)Shareyourideas,butbeflexible.Theschoolmaynotbeabletoaccommodateallofyouroriginalideas.Thestaffmightalsohaveideasandinputonwhattheywouldliketheeventtoinclude.Decideonadatefortheevent.Thisdateshouldgiveyousufficienttimetoorganizetheeventaswellasadvertiseittothestudents.

4-3 MONTHS BEFORE

1. Plantheboothsfortheevent.

- Keepincontactwiththesponsorswhohavepledgedtohostabooth.Letthemknowwhatsuppliesareavailableattheschool(ex.thenumberoftablesandchairsthattheywillbeprovidedandwhethertheywillhavewhiteboardsavailable)

- Foryourownbooths,decidewhatexperimentstohaveateachone.Theseexperimentswilldependonthetypeandnumberofsuppliesthatsponsorsdonate.Therearecountlesswebsites,blogs,andvideosthathaveinstructionsandcurriculumforfunandeducationalexperiments.Hereareafew:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/

http://www.funology.com/science-experiments/

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/science-projects

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/

2. Create“ScienceNotebooks”thatwillbehandedouttothestudentsduringtheevent.It’simportantthatSTEMeducationcontinuesevenaftertheyleavetheevent.Whatbetterwaytodothatthancompilinganotebookoffunexperimentstotryathome?Includeexplanationsforeachexperiment.

*ACCESSTHECOMPLETEPDFVERSIONOFMYSCIENCENOTEBOOKINTHE“HANDBOOK”PAGEOFTHEWEBSITE

PREVIEW:

3. Stayintouchwiththeschool.

- Learnabouttheirsafetyproceduresandguidelines.Makesurethattheywillhavean

administratorandaFirst-Aidkitprovidedonthedayoftheevent.

- Advertisetothestudentsandfamiliesattheschoolbycreatingaflyerthatcanbedistributedbyhandorelectronically.

Theformsaretwo-sided(English/Spanish)andhavea“cut-out”portiontoreturntothestudents’teachers,whowillhelpkeepatentativeheadcount.

2-1 MONTH BEFORE

1. Recruitvolunteers.Possiblevolunteersinclude:

- Classmates.Manyareactivelyseekingforopportunitiestovolunteerforservice

hoursinordertofulfillclubrequirements.

- GirlScouts.Theonesinyourtroopwilldefinitelywanttohelp!Also,girlsandleadersinyourserviceunitaregreatsources.

- Peoplewhoworkforyoursponsors.Contactyoursponsorsandseeifyoucansendanelectronicflyertorequestvolunteersfromthecompany/organization.

- Teachersandadministratorsattheschool.Theywouldbeexcellentvolunteers

becausetheywillknowmostofthestudentsbyname,whichwillmaketheenvironmentfriendlierandmorerelaxed.

- Anyoneandeveryone!Youwillneedplentyofvolunteersfortheevent,soask

anyoneyouknow!Keepinmindthatvolunteersshouldbematureenoughtosuperviseelementary-agekids,though.

2. Testoutyourexperiments.

YoucandotrialrunswithayoungerGirlScouttrooporneighborhoodkids.Identifythingsthatcouldgowrongandworktofixthoseaspects.Forexample,ifachemicalhasthetendencytostainhands/fingers,modifyyourprocedurestoincludegloves.

3. Holdsessionstotrainyourvolunteers.

Youdon’twanttowaituntilthemorningoftheeventtoexplaintheexperimentstothevolunteers.- Findameetingplace(suchasanemptyclassroomafterschool,acommunitycenter,

oryourhouse).Besuretoaskforpermissiontousethatfacilityfirst,andalwaysbringaparent.

- Demonstratehowtoperformeachexperiment.Asyoudotheexperiment,showthevolunteershowtoexplaincertainconcepts,answerquestions,keepthestationclean,anddealwithsafetyhazards.

4. Contacttheschoolforaheadcountofthenumberofstudentsthatwillbeattending.

ThisisNOTanexactnumber.Youshouldprepareforabout30%morestudentsthantheheadcountcallsfor(ex.headcountis100students;preparefor130students).

5. Starttoorganizeyoursuppliesinawaythatwillmakeeventset-upeasy.Youmightneedsomevolunteerstohelp.- Packageallthesuppliesforastationintooneboxandlabelitwiththestationname

- Prepareanymaterialsthatyoucanbeforetheevent(mixsolutions,cutpaper,

sharpenpencils,etc.)

Ready-madekitstohandouttostudents.Thissavesalotoftimeduringtheevent.

- Createsignsforeachboothsothestudentscanclearlyseewhichexperimentisat

eachstation.

6. Createvisualaidsthatwillhelpthevolunteersexplainconceptstothestudents.Make“mini-lessonplans”forthevolunteerstouseattheirbooths.

Makesureyourdiagramsarelaminatedorplacedintoplasticsleeves,sotheycanbeprotectedfromspills.

7. Create“satisfactionsurveys”tohandouttothefamilies.Thesewillhelpyougaugeyoureffectivenessandgaininsightonhowyoureventcouldbeimprovedforthenexttime.

2-1 WEEK BEFORE

1. Contactyoursponsorsandvolunteerswithspecificinstructionsregardingthedayoftheevent.Thebestwaytoreacheveryoneatonceisthroughamassemail.Itshouldanswerquestionssuchas:

- Wherecantheypark?

- Howmanystudentsshouldtheyplanfor?

- Whattimewillset-upbegin?

- Whatshouldtheywear?(Highschoolvolunteersshouldwearshirtstorepresent

theirschools;companyrepresentativesshouldwearshirtstorepresenttheircompanies)

- MAKESURETOTHANKTHEM!

2. Doafinalcountofallthesuppliesandmakesureyouhaveeverythingyouneed.

Nowisthetimetocreateyour“emergencykit.”Youshouldprobablyhave:afewpairsofscissors,maskingorducttape,permanentmarkers,extratablecloths,aclipboard,pens,andanythingelsethatyoumightneed.

1 DAY BEFORE 1. Ifyouwillbeprovidingsnacksattheevent,pickthemupfromthestoreor

fromyoursponsor.

2. Loadallyoursuppliesintoyourcarthenightbefore.Thiswillreducestressonthemorningoftheevent.

EVENT DAY!

1. Arriveearlierthantheset-uptime.Betterbesafethansorry!Makesureyouhaveeverythingyouneedandthatyouarereadytogivethevolunteersinstructions,inordertomakeset-upgoassmoothlyandquicklyaspossible.

2. Setup.Havevolunteersandsponsorssetupboothsbymovingtablesandchairs,postingsigns,layingoutmaterials,andidentifyingemergencyexits.

3. Makesureyouhavevolunteershiftsassigned.It’slikelythatmostvolunteerswillnotbeabletoworkfortheentiredurationoftheevent.- Letthemknowwhoistakingoverforwhowhensomeonehastoleave.- Set-upisagoodtimetoletthevolunteerscross-traineachother.

4. Enjoytheevent!

- Ifyouhaveenoughvolunteers,youwillnotbeconstrainedtooverseeingjustone

booth.Youcancheckinwithvolunteersandsponsorsatallthebooths,askingthemiftheyneedassistance,offeringthemsnacks,orgivingthemfurtherinstructions.

- Talktostudentsandparentsatthebooths.Findouttheirthoughtsontheevent.

- Restocksupplieswhenneeded.Youcanviewpicturesofmyeventunder“Gallery”onthewebsite.

5. Cleanup.- Thiswillbesimilartoset-up,exceptvolunteersandsponsorswillbewipingdown

tables,disposingoftrash,returningtablesandchairs,andpackingupunusedsupplies.

- Makesurethateverythingisputbackthewayyoufounditatthebeginningoftheday.Actually,GirlScoutsshouldalwaysleaveaplacebetterthantheyfoundit!

- Signvolunteers’hourslogs(iftheyarestudents,theyneedtokeeptrackofthecommunityservicehourstheyhavecompleted).

- Collectthesatisfactionsurveystoreviewlateron.

***IMPORTANT***Makesuretopersonallythankeveryonehowcontributedtoyourevent,whethertheyaresponsors,volunteers,administrators,teachers,orparents.Athank-youemailwouldbeanicewaytostayintouchwiththegenerouspeopleinyourcommunity.