ISP hosts summer institutes to grow mySci educator leader opportunities

As the Institute for School Partnership’s innovative mySci curriculum program nears the 15 year mark, the ISP has started developing and supporting distinct leadership pathways for its mySci educators. Currently, districts and schools who partner with mySci are offered an ample array of professional learning opportunities. They vary from foundational learning opportunities to deeper learning […]

What Makes a Rainbow?

Activity: Using a CD, a flashlight and a piece of white paper create your own rainbow reflec-tion. Start in a dark room and place the CD on the floor blank side of the CD up. Place the white paper on the wall and secure with a bit of tape. Aim the flashlight at the CD […]

What Can We Plant? What Makes It Grow?

Activity: Save a few seeds from some fresh fruits and veggies or use a packet of flower, fruit, or vegetable seeds. Place a few seeds inside a lightly damp paper towel until roots appear. Then move the sprouted seed to a sunny place and bury it just beneath the surface of the soil. Keep watering […]

mySci Unit 21 earns highest award in science curriculum rating system

“It’s like winning a Best Picture Oscar in science curriculum instruction!” That’s how Jeanne Norris, curriculum coordinator for the Institute School Partnership at Washington University, describes a recent accolade for one of the mySci elementary curriculum units. mySci Unit 21: From Sun to Food, has earned the Next Generation Science Standards Design Badge from Achieve […]

New book explores history of ISP’s innovative mySci program

Think back to your elementary and middle school science experiences. What were you taught? How were you taught? Chances are, you may not remember much about science in your elementary school. In middle school, you might remember your textbook and taking turns reading the textbook out loud in class. Maybe you remember the occasional egg-drop […]

Rainbow Snowflakes

Activity: Try this fun activity on a sunny day to explore patterns of how  sun reflects light. Take an old CD and use the shiny side to reflect light onto a blank wall or poster board. Questions to Ask: What do you notice? Do you see a pattern? Are the patterns moving? Do you see […]

Penguin Feathers and Wet Weather

Activity: Print or find a penguin picture to color. Free ones can be printed at: https://www.momjunction.com/articles/penguin-coloring-pages-for-your-little-ones_0089527/#gref. Color in the penguin feathers with crayons. Fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops food coloring. Put the colored picture on a tray and spray the picture of the penguin while noticing what happens to the water […]

Fizzy Ice

Materials: Crushed or cubed pieces of ice in a bowl Vinegar Food coloring Medicine dropper Baking soda Activity: Mix vinegar and food coloring to make colored vinegar. Put this in little cups. Next, fill up a bowl with crushed or cubed ice and build mounds of ice. Add some baking soda on each mound and […]

mySci Do program brings science to life for St. Louis students

A collaboration of Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership, The Little Bit Foundation and other community partners is seeking to provide more equitable access to 21st century STEM in underserved schools. The mySci Do program engages students in learning through making, computing and designing, using tangible materials such as legos, robotics and electric circuits. Modeled after mySci – a […]

mySci's Arch Hour of Code Challenge

In 1933, St. Louis attorney Luther Elly Smith conceived of a monument honoring Thomas Jefferson and his vision for westward expansion. In 1947, a national design competition for a monument was launched. Architect Eero Saarinen’s stainless steel Arch was chosen the winner, and construction of the monument was completed in 1965. The  stainless steel Gateway Arch […]