PHOTO/STORY OPPORTUNITY
WHAT: Parent/preschooler science fair
WHEN: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Monday, June 1
WHERE: Third Presbyterian Church, 4 Meigs St. (at East Ave.) basement (Celebration Hall)
The program serves 36 children, ages four, five and six, in two classrooms of the Third Presbyterian Church Head Start Demonstration Center. Lucia French, associate professor at the Warner Graduate School of Education of the University of Rochester, is co-founder of the TCHS Demonstration Center. Her goal is to create an integrated early childhood curriculum with science activities as the hub of all other components.
"Science is great for this because it is so engaging for children who are eager to learn about the world around them and because it is so easy to make connections to other curriculum areas," French says. "It is ideal for helping children build the essential cognitive foundations for school readiness: language, vocabulary, attention management, coherent knowledge base, and problem-solving skills."
In its third year, the program is the only one using science in this way, French says. At the science fair, children will show their parents how they do "experiments" in Ziploc bags and other exercises with clay and water.
French will be present to answer questions and provide background.