Children from 12 elementary and middle schools in New Haven will be better equipped to share in the wonder of scientific observation with new microscopes and video cameras donated by the Peabody Museum of Natural History.
As part of its science education initiative with New Haven schools, the museum donated four Mantis microscopes and 13 video cameras to each of the schools that have been participating in its Biodiversity Program. The program, now in its fourth year, teaches children new ways to view their environment, strengthens their observational investigative skills and instills in them a respect for biodiversity.
The schools receiving the science equipment from the Peabody Museum are the Isadore Wexler, Helene Grant, Clinton Avenue, Timothy Dwight, Lincoln-Bassett, Vincent Mauro, Edgewood, Truman, Katherine Brennan and Bishop Woods elementary schools; the Worthington Hooker School (which received equipment for both its elementary and middle schools) and the Jackie Robinson Middle School.
The Kodak video cameras attach to monocular microscopes, already in use in the schools, and feed the image into a personal computer. This both allows examination of a specimen and makes it possible for a group of teachers and students to view it simultaneously. Individual students can take turns looking through the microscope while the specimen is displayed on the monitor, thereby gaining valuable skills in using a previously unfamiliar scientific instrument.
The Mantis microscopes donated by the museum are child-friendly dissecting scopes designed by Vision Engineering in New Milford, Connecticut, which is the sole distributor of the unique equipment. The microscopes were received by the Peabody Museum through grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health.
Marc Blosveren, the science supervisor for the New Haven Public Schools, says the schoolchildren are "mesmerized" by the new microscopes.
"As we look for high interest components to make science exciting and fun, the Mantis microscope is like a magnet in accomplishing that goal," he notes.
In addition to the four microscopes donated by the Peabody Museum, the schools were also provided with two more from Blosveren. The six microscopes will be shared by the schools on a rotating basis during the aca-demic year.
As part its collaboration with New Haven schools, the Peabody Museum works closely with selected teachers to develop science curriculum units aligned with district, state and national science standards. The teachers, who are designated Peabody Fellows, have access to the educational resources of the museum to enhance the learning experience in their classrooms. Peabody Fellows attend a week-long summer institute at the museum and, with technical support from museum staff, develop and implement science units in coordination with school visits by the Peabody Museum's mobile BioAction Lab, a series of eight carts with over 300 hands-on natural history specimens, plus a computer and a Mantis microscope. To date, 34 teachers have been trained and over 3,000 New Haven school students have participated in hands-on science sessions with the BioAction Lab.
Laura Fawcett, science education coordinator for the Peabody Museum, says the generosity of Kodak in making the videocameras available allows the museum to "expand our science education initiative by including new technology to the educational mix."
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