December 2007
In 1997, NESM members Mary McCann and Lynne Garone proposed that the Society sponsor Project MICRO. Several members gathered at the home of Changmo Sung, NESM’s President at the time, to put together 3 kits for distribution. The Board decided to dedicate the Project to Paul Burnett, a colleague of Mary and Lynne’s at Polaroid and a NESM board member for years. It is the tenth anniversary of our undertaking and the program is flourishing. All 3 kits are in active use, providing excitement and education for the children that take part in the festivals.
Under the
leadership of Janet Schwarz, a former NESM board member, in Burlington, Vermont, the
local school systems have embraced the program. Since getting the kit at the NESM
meeting in May 1999, Janet has been running festivals continuously, and should reach over
4,000 students by the end of the 2007-2008 academic year. “A few of
our earlier students who are now in college (some are even seniors) have mentioned
that their experiences with Project MICRO encouraged them to major in the
sciences. Also, a few Project MICRO "graduates" (now in high school) have
come back to help us out as facilitators when we come to their middle
schools. Through the Champlain Valley Area Health Education Consortium (CVAHEC), we
have partnered up with the 7th graders at Missisquoi Valley Union Middle School, a
rural 7-12 school up near the Canadian border. There are many students at this
school who qualify for the free federal lunch program and they have the highest dropout
rate in Vermont. Otherwise, the schools that we've "hit" are a mix of
urban and rural, some middle schools, others elementary, some schools that have
dedicated science labs, and others where we've set-up in the library or even the band
room. A few summers we've been asked to participate in Science camps and in one town
library we are THE Summer Science Enrichment program where we tailor the
microscope experiences to "mesh" with the theme selected by
the Vermont State libraries.
Since she got her
first Project MICRO kit in 2004 and held a festival in the combined 5th/6th grade in
Penobscot, Maine, Lesley Bechtold of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine has been
kept busy ever since! “(She) organized three microscopy fairs in 2007.
The first one was in April. It was held here at The Jackson Laboratory during
“Turn Off your TV” week to provide families with an alternative activity during
that week. It was advertised here at my place of work as well as the local
elementary school. We had over 50 participants ages 6-12 with possibly a few younger
children plus parents. This is the second year that we have participated in the
community events that are organized for the local school children during “Turn off
your TV” week. My volunteers are all Jackson employees who donate their time in
the evening to do this.
The second Fair
was held at the Ellsworth Middle School. I worked with the 6th grade science teacher
there to organize this fair. We had over 100 sixth graders who participated.
This was a full day event with all five sixth grade classes rotating through the
fair during the day as their science lesson for the day. This is the third year that
I have organized a fair for this school. I bring volunteers from work and the
teachers get parent volunteers as well as we need a lot of volunteers to make this fair
work.
The third fair was again held here at The Jackson Laboratory during the evening. This one was advertised here at work as well as in the local newspapers. Every summer, The Jackson Laboratory sponsors a “Summer Visitor Program” due to the high volume of tourists and summer residents we have here in the Bar Harbor area. This program includes weekly tours, scientific talks, etc. We designed this Fair for families to attend and we got a mix of local people and visitors. This time, we supplemented the Project Micro activities with some additional local exhibits. We had over 70 people attend. Again, my volunteers were Jackson employees who gave up their evening to do this. Providing microscope fairs during the summer has been an annual event for some time now.
All the fairs are
well received by the children and their teachers and parents. The activities really
engage their interest. The use of easily identifiable items really helps them learn
how to operate a microscope and understand what they are looking at. I have been
approached by another local elementary school and I can see that I will be adding them to
our annual roster of Project MICRO fairs.
A 3rd kit is in
use around the Boston area. Mary McCann, NESM’s contact person for Project
MICRO and former Recording Secretary, has continued to draw interest in the program.
“Last June (2007), I ran the program again at Learning Prep School in Newton.
This was the seventh year I think. It’s become a tradition. Joe
Comer, one of NESM’s original members, suggested that we have the program there.
Eben Oldmixon, another member, ran the first one, and I have been doing it ever
since. The program is for about 40 seventh graders with some learning or emotional
disabilities. The staff is very familiar with the program and is very enthusiastic.
Some teachers like to have the same station every year, while others like to try a
new one. Joe Comer also suggested that I contact Dearborn Academy in Arlington.
We ran the program there in June on two successive days for fifth and sixth
graders. A “festival” was also held in the Beverly Memorial Middle School.
June seems to be a good time for this program. The regular curriculum is
winding down, the schedules on some days are disrupted with activities for specific
grades, and teachers are looking for special activities for others. ”
Peggy Sherwood,
former NESM Corresponding Secretary/Newsletter Editor, was involved with Mary at several
“festivals”, including the Baker After School Program under Sharon Corliss in
Brookline, Massachusetts. Peggy also participated in the Cambridge (MA) City Science
Fair, in April 2007. “Project MICRO at the Cambridge City Science Fair was a
huge success! The turnout was great, considering that, since we were housed in the
MIT Museum, people had to pay the $5.00 entrance fee. Not only was Project MICRO
represented with 2 tables and 3 activities (I had the brine shrimp which is always fun!),
but Rick Rogers of the Harvard School of Public Health and former NESM President, and his
graduate student Rosalinda, had an exhibit of normal and diseased lung slides and models
of dessicated lungs and alveoli. We all helped out with each other’s exhibits.
We had people from Maine, upstate NY, Connecticut, as well as all around the Boston
area (Waltham, West Roxbury, Cambridge, etc.) wander through
Rick Rogers has also held “festivals”
in the past at the Harvard School of Public Health as part of their outreach activities.
Project MICRO still needs volunteers!
It is a program that introduces grade school children to the exciting world of
Microscopy. Please consider taking part in running a festival—you will be
rewarded many times over.
Peggy
Sherwood
NESM
Mary McCann (mccanns@tiac.net) 617-484-7865
Department of Pathology/Microscopy Imaging Center
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405
802-656-0813
janet.Schwarz@uvm.edu
Lesley S. Bechtold
Manager-Histopathology & Microscopy Sciences
The Jackson Laboratory
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
207-288-6322
lesley.bechtold@jax.org