|
Resource Center
To borrow equipment for your classroom contact STEM Coordinator Lisa Provencher 662-5525
Resources for loan to Berkshire County teachers:  Genome: The Secret of How Life Works
The Teacher’s Resource Guide is a vital reference tool on genomics for biotechnology teachers of all levels of experience and expertise!
This guide is full of hands-on activities welcomed by teachers for their simplicity and for using low-cost, easily found equipment and materials. The activities are written at the upper elementary level through high school, but are easily modified for all ages. All the activities in the Teacher’s Resource Guide have been field-tested nationally in elementary, middle, and high schools and science and museum centers
Background material on the related science, as well as pedagogical information, is included, allowing teachers to choose information tailored to their levels of experience and expertise.
The guide is funded through a grant from the Pfizer Foundation to support a five-year professional development initiative for teachers. Shoestring Biotechnology 
Co-published with the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), this laboratory manual provides low-cost, practical, teacher-tested activities for high- schools and two-year colleges to support the integration of biotechnology into the classroom. Shoestring Biotechnology: Budget-Oriented High Quality Biotechnology Laboratories for Two-Year College and High School provides the basis for the teacher professional development that the Institute conducts around the nation.
Sally Ride Books Sets
Bring science to life with the inspiring personal stories of current day scientists and engineers. Each title in the Science Careers Classroom Set includes diverse role models, engaging activities, and relevant content that encourage students to think about their own interests and future career possibilities.
4 each of the following titles: Total Amazing Careers in Evnironmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, Health Sciences and Space sciences.
Each of the four titles in the Solar System Classroom Set brings to life the excitement of exploring our solar system’s fascinating star, planets and moons. Each title tells the story of what we know today and what we hope to learn in the future. 4 each of the following titles: Earth, Sun, Mars, and the Moon.
U.S. EPA's SunWise Tool Kit contains cross-curricular classroom lessons and background information. The Tool Kit consists of a variety of fun, developmentally appropriate activities that combine education about sun protection and the environment with other aspects of learning. The Kit includes activities focusing on the science behind UV radiation and stratospheric ozone; the health risks from overexposure to UV radiation; and the steps you can take to protect yourself. The Kit contains classroom activities for K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 grade levels. In keeping with the intent of making these lessons hands-on and fun, the Kit also includes tools such as a UV-sensitive frisbee, and to reward your students for their participation in the SunWise program, and Certificates of SunWisdom (to be photocopied).
(Link here for sample student activity and companion teacher page.) The Tool Kit contains an additional section targeting school policy, which gives guidance on how to institute sun safety changes outside the classroom. 
5 Student Dissecting Microscopes
10 Student Compound Microscopes
Each includes a How to "Use a Microscope" handout. 6 easy to use Go! Links 
Easy to follow directions are available to connect temperature, light sensor and pH sensors to your Windows or Macintosh computer. Just plug in the Go! Link into your computer, plug in a sensor, start the Logger Lite software, and click "Collect" and see the data collection in real time! Middle School Science with Computers by Donald Volz and Sandy Sapatka
Middle School Science with Computers was written specifically for students in grades 6-8. It contains 37 experiments in earth science, life science, and physical science, making use of ten different Vernier middle school sensors. The complete table of contents by sensor is listed on the right. Your students will really enjoy doing these well-written and well-tested science experiments!
Each Vernier Lab Book includes: - Complete student experiments with materials list, step-by-step instructions, data tables, and questions.
- Teacher Information section for each experiment with complete directions for setting up experiments, helpful hints, and sample graphs and data.
- Word-processing files of the student sections on a CD so that any experiment may be easily edited to your specifications (Microsoft Word for Macintosh and Windows files). Each CD includes both the computer and calculator version of each student experiment!
The Berkshire Museum Living Landscapes Teaching in Nature Curriculum Guide. Teaching in Nature offers educators an alternative to standard classroom practice while keeping the focus on core subjects. The guide facilitates working outside the classroom setting, expanding to the out-of-doors as a living classroom and using real-life applications to help students learn about the world around them.
The newly completed second edition has lessons that cover the Living Berkshires, Earth, Air and Water, and People in Nature. These lessons include ready-to-use lesson plans, activities, assessments, and extension activities designed to make learning outdoors enjoyable for you and your students. At the end of each lesson is a list of the applicable Massachusetts Frameworks. To request a copy, email education@berkshiremuseum.org.
SunSpotter
comes with cover and manual
This wooden, Keplerian telescope provides a safe and convenient way to view the brilliant light of the sun than other more common methods. By using a series of mirrors, the device projects a bright 3.25-inch solar image onto a 5-inch white viewing screen through a powerful 62mm diameter objective lens.
Use the Sunspotter for viewing the sun, eclipses, and for daily record keeping. Track sunspots as they appear, move, and vanish. Useful for group viewing, the Sunspotter allows several observers to simultaneously see the sun's disk and quickly trace the changing positions of sunpots and compare them on a daily basis to each other or the The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) images at:
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ This is a great tool for integration of history, English, art and science!
For more information about SOHO check out this site:
http://www.answers.com/topic/solar-and-heliospheric-observatory For more information about Sunspots check out the San Francisco Exploratorium's website at http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/index.html
|
