At an unassuming table in an unremarkable exhibit hall, sandwich bags filled with tongue depressors and rubber bands were an unexpectedly hot item.
The conference was the 2010 annual meeting of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) in Honolulu. The table showcased howtosmile.org, the newly launched math and science portal for informal educators. And the sandwich bags? They held ingredients for a hands-on activity to make a primitive musical instrument called the Sound Sandwich.
The Sandwich had the jaded conference-goers tinkering, laughing, and filling the hall with kazoo-like bleats from the newly assembled contraptions. And that was just in the exhibit hall. At the howtosmile.org workshop, it was an even wilder scene. Participants chose from six hands-on activities--from the early math gem Starburst Graph to Magnus Glider, which lets you build a glider that uses the same physics as a curve ball. Educators clambered up onto chairs to try out their gliders.
"There were very few other hands-on sessions," notes Sherry Hsi, SMILE co-P.I. and Research Director at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science. "Most of the sessions were in dark rooms, with the audience about 50 feet from the presenter. We collapsed that boundary by setting up tables and getting everyone involved in making stuff."
Howtosmile.org is all about making stuff. The site's more than 1000 hands-on STEM activities are aimed at informal educators but have already been used successfully by classroom teachers and homeschooling parents, not to mention everyone from museum educators to librarians. "I think people at the conference were really excited about this new resource," says Ms. Hsi. "Especially the fact that our activities are vetted by educators and that you don't have to register or subscribe to access whatever you need online.
"But they also were intrigued by the array of community tools on the site--like lists, comments, and earning badges for participation--that become available when they register. I think they get it that howtosmile.org can be their one-stop shop for hands-on math and science."