Stadium Wave

How does standing up in your seat and raising your arms turn into a stadium wave? Activity: The next time you are at the ballpark take notice of a few things about the stadium wave. You can try this with your hand. Lift one finger up at a time and put it down before you […]

Are All Leaves the Same?

Activity: Look for leaves on the way home. Notice, where they are – on a tree, a bush, a plant or maybe they are on the ground? Ask a parent if you can collect some, or take a picture on their phone. See how many different kinds of leaves you can find. Questions to ask: […]

St. Louis area educators attend leadership retreat at Washington University

It’s mid-June and while students are out on summer break, teachers never stop learning. Victorious arms shoot up in the air as towers of playing cards sway precariously on tables. This simple card activity is an example of how teachers can help students develop identities as STEM-capable learners. About 50 educators from school districts throughout […]

ISP's Victoria May honored for work with students

Victoria L. May, assistant dean in Arts & Sciences and executive director of the Institute for School Partnership, has been honored for her work with students. During the University College Recognition Ceremony on May 16, May received University College’s 2018 Dean’s Faculty Award. The honor is presented each year to an outstanding University College faculty member. […]

David Kirk

Evolution should be an important part of a sound K-12 science curriculum For much of his career, Washington University biology professor David Kirk, PhD, focused his research on the spherical, multicellular green alga, Volvox carteri. Kirk, in collaboration with his late wife Marilyn M. Kirk, their students, and other fellow scientists had initially focused on […]

Students test their engineering might at annual Boeing design challenge

“This is stressful,” Emilia Talarski says in between bites of pizza. She’s worried her balsa wood glider will break. Although, it already has a crack. It happened when she fell while holding it. But she describes it as a happy accident. “It actually made the glider fly better,” says the third grader from MOSAIC Elementary […]

Mobile science lab sparks curiosity in Hawthorn students

I see red! I see green! I see purple! Sporting virtual reality headsets, a group of seventh-graders from Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls, are sharing the different colors they see as they take a virtual tour of brain cells. “I haven’t experienced anything like this before,” Cailyn McGraw says. “Seeing the cells and the cells […]

Sally Elgin: Lessons learned in a life of science

Nowadays Sally Elgin would probably be referred to as gifted or talented. But in the 1950s, a really smart girl was obnoxious or a nerd. “I come from a long line of nerds and it’s not always a good social position to be in,” explains Elgin, the Viktor Hamburger Professor of Arts & Sciences at […]

Creating a new generation of educators

Good teachers make for engaged students and stable schools. That’s why Washington University in St. Louis is partnering with St. Louis Teacher Residency to train and support a new generation of educators. “As an institution of higher education and one of the region’s largest employers, Washington University knows that strong K-12 schools are vital to […]

ISP backed science fair workshop a powerful learning experience

(February 21, 2018 by Molly Davis) On a Saturday afternoon, local elementary school students and their families filed into a classroom for the “Getting Started with Science Fair” workshop, ready to spend the next few hours preparing to apply the scientific method to a question that interested the students. The group listened intently to the opening […]