From the NIH Director - National Lab Day Posted By: David Kennedy - Mar 19, 2010Tool/Resource: NITRC Community Dear Colleagues, I know we share a commitment to making sure that the kids in our communities get a solid science education and experience the excitement of what it means to be a scientist. That is why I am going to spend some time this April in a Washington, D.C., school doing hands-on science and talking about what makes science and discovery so cool to me. I ask you to do the same. National Lab Day is a new program that will make it easy for you to spend some time with a local middle or high school science teacher and her or his classroom. It’s a bit weird that it’s called a “day,” since it really helps you link up with teachers who are asking for help at any time during the year. But that is good, because it gives you plenty of flexibility, and maybe you will want to build a continuing relationship with the school. Most of us spend our days thinking about experiments and writing papers and may not realize that our 15-year-olds in the U.S. rank a disappointing 29th out of 57 countries in science achievement. Because of this, President Obama has said, “…make no mistake: Our future is on the line. The nation that out-educates us today is going to outcompete us tomorrow.” While we aspire to ignite a flame in the next generation of scientists, we may not have known where to start–until now. We have created the NIH Science Education Nation Web site, where you can learn more about today’s schools, teachers, and students and how to establish effective partnerships: http://science.education.nih.gov/NIHSciE... When you are ready to join me in volunteering, sign up at http://www.nationallabday.org. (Please note that if the Web browser on your computer is Internet Explorer, it must be version 7 or higher for you to access the National Lab Day Web site.) Every day, teachers are requesting a scientist’s advice or help. Let’s work to ensure that none of them are disappointed. Sincerely yours, Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Director, National Institutes of Health [Reposted from NIH-Alert] |
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