From the World of the Science/Discovery Learning Center
F. Louise Lansford-Ridgeway, Region VII TASC, Community Development Institute, Lakewood, Colorado
As part of the East Missouri Action Council, the Winegarten Head Start Center provides an amazing variety of activities and items in their Science/Discovery Learning Center.
The Science/Discovery Learning Center is located in one of two classrooms, and a small table with an individual science experiment is located in the other classroom for children to explore at their leisure. The learning center bookcase houses a variety of items which are excellent for a sensory stimulation program: a cow skull complete with teeth, a small animal skull, a large turtle shell, non-pollinating plants, seed pods, driftwood, shells, a bird house, plastic insects, two globes, thermometers, a magnifying glass and magnifying cup, a scale, and habitat cards. These items are supplemented on a rotating basis with other seasonal/educational articles appropriate to the current program, such as:
- In the fall, children collect nuts and persimmons from their nature walks. The nuts are cracked open to count the worms living inside, and persimmon seeds are peeled open. (Local lore says that the shape of the seed predicts the severity of the coming winter.)
- October introduces "spiders." Real specimens contained in clear cups topped with a magnifying lens are available for safe viewing. On the floor, a web is masked out with double-stick tape. Children are then able to get "caught" in the "web."
- During the winter months, the program is supplemented with activities about "Dinosaur Soup." A huge bone for the soup is provided by a local butcher.
- In February, the same butcher provides a beef heart and attached lungs for the "Heart Healthy" month. With plastic gloves and magnifying glasses, the actual structure of the heart is examined, followed by an exercise program that keeps children's hearts healthy.
- Spring brings hands-on examination of buckets of frogs eggs. The eggs are watched to see how they develop into tadpoles and frogs. The movement patterns of night crawlers are documented in "worm paintings." After wards, these worms reside in a "Worm Hotel," a glass enclosure used for in-depth study of their habitat. Dandelions turn into valuable teaching tools. Children pick and wash two batches of this weed. One is batter dipped and fried, and the second is used for paintbrushes.
The Winegarten Head Start Center and staff take full advantage of the multitude of creative resource ideas that exist in their immediate environment.