Take a Giant STEP Toward Teaching Science!

The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center (RPSEC) would like to introduce a proven program with a new name - the Science and Technology Enrichment Program or STEP. The STEP program, formally known as the Natural Resources, Science, Mathematics & Engineering Education Program (NRSMEEP), will be offering standards based programs for students in grades 2-12, focusing on scientific investigations while utilizing classroom and outdoor laboratories. FREE workshops for teachers are offered as well.

STEP is conducted through cooperative efforts of the RPSEC, Washington Savannah River Company, the Silver Bluff Audubon Center and the US Forest Service. STEP classes are taught at the Savannah River Site and the Silver Bluff Audubon Center (located 15 miles south of Aiken). At each location, STEP students get their “hands on” and their “minds on” topics such as water ecology, soils, wildlife, forestry, archaeology, careers and more.

Two field trip locations for STEP include the Savannah River Site and the Silver Bluff Audubon Center. Students that participate in STEP will have an opportunity to conduct outdoor scientific investigations involving water ecology, soils, or wildlife. Participants also learn about careers in land management, forestry and archaeology.
For example, students visit a pond to collect water quality data and use dip-nets to examine various macro-invertebrates such as dragonfly nymphs, beetles or snails. The class may even have an opportunity to see Bald Eagles, American Alligators and a variety of herons or egrets.

When students study soils, they use microscopes to examine different types of soil. Students learn about the importance of soils and then head outdoors to a “soil pit” where they have an opportunity to see the layers of the soil and collect a variety of data such as pH, structure, texture and permeability. Each student will make and take home his or her own soil profile in a small plastic tube.

Students that study wildlife at STEP, get close-up looks at taxidermied local mammals such as bobcats, coyotes, otters, raccoons, muskrats and skunks along with birds such as herons, hawks, owls, and ducks. Quantitative and qualitative data is collected as students classify and identify the wildlife using field guides. These young wildlife biologists also have an opportunity to make a track of their own!

For scheduling or logisitics information please contact the RPSEC office at 803-641-3313 or rpsec@usca.edu. For other information, please contact Tara Jenkins at TaraJ@usca.edu or in her office at 803-641-2843.

Ruth Patrick Science Education Center
Center of Excellence in Educational Technology
University of South Carolina Aiken
471 University Parkway
Aiken, SC 29801
803-641-3313

http://rpsec.usca.edu/STEP/About.html (May 2009)