Recent studies showing American students doing better in math and science studies provide welcomed news. But while that's encouraging after years of declining scores here, our kids still come out with an "average" rating as compared to students in the rest of the world. And as Secretary of Education Robert Riley often notes, placing average overall is not good enough in a high-tech world and workplace, where these skills are becoming increasingly critical.The good news is parents can help their kids become science-hip. It just takes a little effort and thought. Consider these five tips for raising a science smart kid:
Tip 1: Get involved with your school's science education. Talk to your child's teacher and ask how you can reinforce science lessons at home. Organize school visits by members of the community who use science in their jobs, or organize a science fair.
Tip 2: Make science books daily reading at home. Some winners include the Time-Life Books series "A Child's First Library of Learning," Dorling Kindersley's "Eyewitness Books" (colorfully illustrated books on subjects ranging from amphibians to volcanoes, weather and whales), "Discover Science & Nature" from Publications International, Ltd., and specialty books such as David Macaulay's "How Things Work" from Houghton-Mifflin. Check your public library to see if they carry these books.
Tip 3: Relate science to everyday life. One way to stimulate an interest in science is to use your family pets as subjects. Books about dogs, cats, lizards and mice that deal with diet, habitat and anatomy are real eye openers for children.
Tip 4: Use your home PC to explore science: Science programs that we've found children really enjoy: Microsoft's "Magic Bus*" series ("Inside the Earth," "Solar System," and "Human Body"); McGraw-Hill Interactive's "Dr. Sulfur's Night Lab*" (a virtual chemistry lab); "The Ultimate Body 2.0*" by DK Multimedia*, "Super Solvers* Gizmos & Gadgets!" from The Learning Company*, "Big Science Comics*" by Theatrix*, and "Timetables of Technology*" by Byron Preiss Multimedia Company, Inc.* & Simon * Schuster Interactive*.
Tip 5: Explore science on the Internet. Science web sites for children abound in Cyberspace. Examples: Nasa Spacelink (http://spacelink.nasa.gov/.index.html), The Microbe Zoo (http://commtechlab.msu.edu/CTLprojects/dlc-me/zoo), and Elementary Science This Month ( http://www.lme.mankato.msus.edu/ci/elem.sci.html).
With a little effort you may unlock a bit of "Einstein" inside your child. If you have other ideas for raising a science hip kid e-mail them to us at: TheDads@aol.com.
Mark Ivey and Ralph Bond, the PC DadsSM, are technology education managers at Intel Corp. who speak out about computers and the Internet to help families get all they can from their home PCs. Copies of their articles can be found at the PC Dads' forum on America Online, keyword: PCDADS, or their web site: http://www.intel.com/intel/educate/PCDADS/INDEX.HTM. To contact the PC Dads send e-mail to TheDads@aol.com.
* All other brands and names are property of their respective owners. (NAPSI)
