write-ups and introductory materials are provided in advance to the teachers. Funding for supplies and cqutpmenr is prwidcd by the Nation:~lS~i6,nceFtrundntion, rhr \Vhitt:c;icr Foundation and Occidental ~ o i l e g e . The targeted audience is high school biology a n d chemistry teachers and their students within Los Angeles County. After the first year of operation, we have realized a necessity to further limit the distance "the van Eastern Oregon State CollegG ? Mobile Sciences Lab travels. and we a r e generally aiming i t a 25-mile radius from Occidental. We are serving pubAn additional area of emphasis involves a n organized lic and private high schools in varying socioeconomic and plan to breech harriers existing in inner city schools. In ethnic regions; most classes are college-prep biology or this plan, visitation teams composed of outreach coordinachemistry classes, but also include advanced placement tors. biology professors, chemistry professors andlor indusclasses and i n a few cases life science and physical science trial scientists will visit inner-city classrooms to teach classes. laboratory lessons using the instruments. In addition to Our primary funding is a four-year NSF grant. We plan to the impact the visitation will have on students, developing add teachers and schools each vear while continuing to serve a familiarity with the Van Project will attract their teachthe original 28 teachers. After the first year with theprogram, ers into the network. Experiencing the realities of seconteachers wll assume a larger role in carrying out the experidary school science classrooms will also enlighten science ments with less assistance from the resource teacher. The proprofessors and private sector volunteers as to the need for gram will continue to provide instruments and equipment. reform and draw them into the process. Beginning as a pilot project in early 1991 with 20 chemistry teachers, the Van Project was seed-funded by Eli Lilly Purdue Instrument Van Project and Comnanv. Beckman Instruments. Inc.. and a Dwight D. ~ i s e n < o w &Mathematics and science ducati ion ~ r a k t . Diane Burnett Additional funding and instruments have been donated by Purdue University West Lafayetfe, IN 47907 Bioanalytical Systems, Inc.; American Chemical Society; and the Woodrow Wilson National fellows hi^ Foundation. Participating teachers currently represent all schools: ruAs the methods for exploring scientific phenomena become ral, urban, suburban, private, and parochial. more sophisticated and instrument dependent, high school students' perception of scientific research becomes progressively more naive. How, then, do you teach laboratow techJuniata College's Outreach Program niques dependent upon instrumental analysis to students when neither instruments nor a o ~ r o ~ r i aex~eriments te are Donald J. Mitchell e available in high school lahoratohes?'he ~ u r d u University Juniata College School of Science is actively attem~ting . - to find a solution. Huntingdon PA 16652 The Purdue Instrument Van Project is a curriculum development collaboration of Indiana high school chemistry Juniata College has two vans. One of them serves about and biology teachers and the university. In five weeks of 20 schools in Pittsburgh in the Mon Valley and the central w o r k s h o ~over two summers, teachers will develop experiPennsylvania van serves 25 schools in the six-county area surrounding Juniata College. The vans cost about $20,000 each including foam insulaschool students, to reinforce chemistry and biology contion and shelving for the instruments. One van serves only cepts, and to acquaint students with instrumental techhigh school chemistry teachers in Pittsburgh and the other niques of analysis. Curriculum modules will he written for serves both high school chemistry and biology teachers in the classroom that give students an opportunity central Pennsylvania. Each van is equipped with $60,000 worth of equipment and supplies. Both vans deliver equipto explore concepts by demystifying the instruments through sim~ledemonstrations and activities: ment for use in the high schools. The vans are not mobile laboratories. The equipment is for use by students i n their high school laboratories. To facilitate student use of the computer-assisted instruction; and equipment, several instruments of the same type are proto apply this understanding to actual experiments that use vided to any one classroom. For instance, for chemistry the instruments. classes we have four identical gas chromatographs, nine Spectronic-20 spectrophotometers, 12 pH meters, 30 miFOIIOM lng the summer uwrkshops, the I'urrlw ('hrmthil(. croscale kits, etc. Each high school can he visited several wll dehver to rhr hixh school clnssroom sera ot'im:~llc~r inmutimes during the school year so that students have the opments such as nuclear scalers, pH meters, Spectronic 20's, miportunity to use all the equipment. In cases where special crofuges, and electrophoresis apparatus. Larger instruments projects are done by high school students, equipment can such as infrared spectrophotometers, scanning ultraviole&visbe loaned for extended periods. ible spectrophotometers, gas chromatographs, and high perWhen the equipment is delivered to the classroom it is formance liquid chromatographs are permanently mounted ready for operation. All the necessary chemicals and solutions on rolling carts that also go into the school laboratory. Essenhave been prepared prior to delivery. A cardinal rule of the tially, the Chemobile is a lending library of instruments availproject being "Make life better for the classroom teachers". A able to any teacher participating in the project.
.
166
Journal of Chemical Education
feature of the program is that the van drivers who accompany the equipment are all certified chemistry and biology teachers who work closelv with the classroom teacher who introduces the students tb the use of the equipment. Summer w o r k s h o ~ salso are held a t Juniata College both in biology and chemistry. At these workshops teachers can practice using the instruments and work together to develop experiments for their classes. Although the project originally was designed for high school students, i t was noticed that middle school and junior high students are just as adept a t using the equipment. As time allows, vans are scheduled for visits to schools so that this age group can use the equipment. Besides the director, who devotes half-time to the project, there are three teachers who work full time, two
chemistry teachers and one biology teacher. At any one time, there are several Juniata College undergraduate science education majors working in support of the project. Other than the possibility of adding a biology teacher and biology equipment to the project i n Pittsburgh, there are no plans to begin new projects. The director is anxious to help other institutions begin similar projects in their own geographical areas. Funding is being or has been provided by the National Science Foundation, Juniata College, and various foundations; the major ones being the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Buhl Foundation, the Dow Chemical Company Foundation, the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, and the Whitaker Foundation.
Volume 72 Number 2
February 1995
167
