Burlington Science Center

Although I have been retired for a few years, I still belong to a local educators group that has helped me stay aware of current educational trends for 40 years.

The NSSSA (North Shore Science Supervisors Association) is an organization that helps local educators (teachers and supervisors) stay abreast of new trends in education. Each month the group meets to discuss the latest educational topics and practices as well as network with colleagues. The monthly meetings are sponsored by a book publisher or educational supplier and held at a local school, business or restaurant.

The meeting this month took place at the Burlington Science Center which is next door to Burlington High School, Burlington, MA. The meeting was opened by our president Dave Lyons who then introduced the sponsor from Flinn Scientific who welcomed the group and spoke about a new educational video series offered by Flinn.

Our host John Papadonis then took the podium and talked about the Burlington Science Center and how it served the Burlington school system with science kits and materials. Along with his colleague Wendy Pavlicek, they provide teacher workshops, classroom presentations and science materials that teachers can borrow. In addition, they house a variety of live animals that are used in classroom presentations which include a variety of reptiles and birds.

At the meeting they showed a live two foot long alligator, a tortoise, a hawk, and a hedgehog as well as several smaller animal species. In season, they also supply the elementary schools with live plants, sprouting tulip bulbs and chick eggs ready for hatching.

John and Wendy made their presentations with enthusiasm and a love for their chosen career. John said he adheres to the 20/20 rule for classroom presentation time. That includes 20 minutes to discuss theory and 20 minutes of hands on student activity.

The meeting was concluded with a demonstration of an inexpensive seismograph and a homemade Vander graph generator.

You can see photos of the meeting at the link …..
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/NSSSAMtg1809

Comments are always welcome. Email to markryan82@comcast.net