Students Experience Hands-On Science

Learning means more than sitting in a classroom and taking notes. That’s why Argonne provides hands-on experiences in a wide array of programs for students and their teachers.

The annual Rube Goldberg Machine contest for Illinois high schools is one fun way to learn science. Combining the principles of physics and engineering, students use common objects such as marbles, mousetraps and stuffed animals to create complex devices that perform simple tasks.

Another important program for Chicago-area high school students is the annual Science Careers in Search of Women conference. Argonne has hosted the day-long meeting for 13 years, providing a scientific “community of women” to interact with young high school women to inspire them to explore careers in scientific and technical fields. In 2000, more than 225 students toured biology, chemistry, materials science and physics laboratories.

STUDYING SOIL
Students receive hands-on experience with the new Argonne Fluorescence X-ray Online Project. Fifth- through eighth-graders in northeastern Illinois are putting their chemistry studies to use by conducting field research on local soil samples. At the same time they are expanding their environmental knowledge. First, students are trained to gather soil samples. Then Argonne tests the samples using a fluorescence X-ray apparatus to determine what elements are present. Students can watch the online test as it is performed. Once the students gather and analyze the data and complete the research, the findings are shared via the Internet with other students, teachers and scientists.

TRAVELING LEARNING LAB
Through the Instructional Van program, Argonne also provides students with access to sophisticated laboratory equipment most schools cannot afford. Junior high and high school teachers attend Argonne workshops to learn to use the equipment and then may borrow it for classroom use. About 10,000 students use the equipment each academic year.

The Northwestern University Institute for Environmental Chemistry and Argonne’s Chemistry Division run the science van program, which is funded through the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs (DEP) runs the science outreach component for Northwestern and the laboratory.

Helping teachers harness the power of the Internet is the Educational Networking Consortium. The consortium gives Internet access to 7,000 teachers in northern Illinois and shows them how to incorporate the Internet into the classroom. The teachers’ Internet service is available at school and in their homes.

NEWTON ANSWERS SCIENCE QUESTIONS
The laboratory’s free, online service, called Newton, lets students ask questions and get answers from research scientists all over the world. For teachers, it provides a variety of discussion areas, ideas for curriculum development and Internet service. The service receives a large number of visitors, averaging nearly one million “hits” per month. The most popular feature of the K-12 Newton service is the “Ask a Scientist” program on the lab’s World Wide Web site at http://newton.dep.anl.gov.

Argonne takes its job of training tomorrow’s scientists seriously. The lab’s undergraduate and graduate internship programs allow students to conduct real-world research using Argonne’s state-of-the art facilities. Interns and graduate students work elbow-to-elbow with researchers in their labs, gaining valuable experience and learning by doing. In 1999, more than 800 students participated in these programs.

NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION
The Nonproliferation Graduate Program takes advantage of Argonne’s leading role in nuclear nonproliferation. DEP and the Technology Development Division administer the graduate program, which is funded and directed by DOE. Interns receive training in the fundamentals of nuclear energy, the technical aspects of nuclear nonproliferation and the programs established to combat proliferation. They then receive a 12-month assignment either at a program office within DOE’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation in Washington, D.C., or at a similar institution in Russia, Ukraine or Kazakhstan.

DEVELOPING NEUTRON AND X-RAY EXPERTISE
Several Argonne divisions have joined forces to provide educational opportunities in neutron and X-ray scattering. The lab’s Intense Pulsed Neutron Source, Advanced Photon Source, Materials Science Division and DEP conduct the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering at Argonne. Argonne is the only laboratory in the country with these advanced materials science tools. Forty-eight students attended the two-week program when it was first held in the summer of 1999. Sixty participated in the 2000 summer program.The school consists of lectures and hands-on experiments at both the APS and IPNS. The goal is to teach participants—graduate students from U.S. universities—the fundamentals of using major neutron and X-ray facilities.

GLOBAL CHANGE PROGRAM
The laboratory’s Environmental Research Division and DEP also play a large role in the Department of Energy’s Global Change Education Program, which trains both undergraduate and graduate students in fields including atmospheric sciences, ecology, climatology and terrestrial processes. The program provides training and assistance to students over a number of years. Students are paired with mentors at Argonne and other national laboratories and universities such as Arizona State University, Duke University and the University of California, Davis. The program also encourages students to continue their studies in global change research by applying for graduate fellowships and postdoctoral study programs. The program is funded by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research.

For more information please contact Donna Jones Pelkie at 630-252-5501

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