Sisters Science Club is off and running

The U.S. is losing its edge in the sciences. The new Sisters Science Club (SSC) aims to tackle that problem in our corner of the world, helping teachers and students of the Sisters community achieve excellence in science and math.

The club launched Tuesday evening, May 31, at the FivePine Conference Center.

There were over 70 interested residents of the Sisters Country in attendance, all milling about, enjoying exhibits that ranged from the Sisters Middle School Greenhouse-Seed-To-Table exhibit, Sisters High School biology teacher Rima Givot's students' work from the Trout Creek Conservation Area, SMS's rockets and bridges and Cosby's Corner featuringSHS's woodshop guitars.

The spirited conversation in the exhibit room covered all areas of science and engineering and provided a tentative look at what a Sisters Science Fair may look like in February of 2012.

Bob Collins is chair of the SSC. He is a passionate believer in science education who spent his working career in academic neurology, the last 15 as a department chairman at UCLA. Collins kicked off the meeting by regretfully pointing out how low down on the achievement ladder the U.S. is in science and mathematics.

Collins referred to statements published in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times noting that Shanghai, China, has the top students in science, whereas the U.S. ranked 23rd out of 34 in some areas, and tied with Ireland in last place in math. That sobering news got the attention of the science-minded people attending the SSC kickoff.

Each member of the SSC board stated their objectives in helping to form this action group.

Jon Renner, Sisters science teacher with a long history of computer sciences in Sisters schools, is the Webmaster of the Sisters Science Club website and co-author of the club's mission statement:

"The Sisters Science Club is a communitywide effort to support and enhance science and math in our schools and community. Its founding premise is that we all must pursue scientific education to become and remain participating citizens in our expanding world."

SSC will work with the school superintendent and science teachers to support science projects through mentoring, field trips, science fairs, special projects and financial support. The club will support communitywide education through discussion groups, visiting lectures, the astronomy club, Wolftree's educational outreach and the Sisters Ranger District.

Sisters School Superintendent Jim Golden said, "The science programs are strong and could join the arts and athletic programs that provide the current identity for the schools. The science programs don't need to 'catch up,' rather they need to eventually 'lead the way.'" 

Rima Givot described using the Trout Creek Conservation Area behind the high school and IEE (Interdepartmental Environmental Education) for teaching science, language, and the arts. The focus of her work is to use the environment to teach the scientific method: hypothesis, data gathering and analysis; proof vs. disproof and presentation of results. Givot's work also enjoys partnerships with the Deschutes Land Trust, Wolftree and the Forest Service.

Givot also shared the exciting news that the high school has the opportunity to purchase a Star Lab inflatable planetarium for $5,000. New, the price for this teaching lab is over $16,000.

"The planetarium is a great tool for teaching students basics of astronomy, and can be used across the school district in a variety of science classes," Givot said.

The school currently has $3,500, but still needs an additional $1,500 to purchase the equipment. See: http://www.starlab.com/domes.html for more specifics on the equipment. Interested donors can contact Rima Givot at: [email protected]

The Sisters Science Club is open to everyone. Anyone interested in joining need only send an email to Bob Collins at [email protected] to get on the mailing list. Members are encouraged to send observations and ideas to any member of the board any time. For more information visit http://www.sistersscienceclub.org.