Library adds science to summer reading program

By Michelle Te
Published May 31, 2010, in the Wilsonville Spokesman.com
http://www.wilsonvillespokesman.com/news/2010/May/31/Top.stories/library.adds.science.to.summer.reading.program/news.aspx

WILSONVILLE, OREGON - With crafts, magicians, storytellers, music and even the Reptile Man on the bill, there's no doubt Wilsonville library's summer reading program is a big hit.

But time will tell whether the addition of a science component scores with local children.

Yet studies have shown, said library director Pat Duke, that additional instruction during the summer months has made smarter and more successful adults.

"Just as children can lose reading ability during the summer months, kids can lose math and science principles that they have worked so hard to gain over the school year," said Duke. "And just as the Summer Reading Program works to support reading gains and allow kids to experience the joy of reading for pleasure, Science Adventure will give children opportunities to reinforce those hard-won science principles."

He's talking about a program funded by a city of Wilsonville opportunity grant, Wilsonville Kiwanis and the Wilsonville Public Library Foundation.

The program includes classes at the library and Boones Ferry Primary School, as well as take-home projects and an opportunity to win prizes.

"We're going to a science program in the same way we do the reading program with essentially the same goals," Duke said, "where kids need to practice reading and have fun with it. It's an important part of their lives."

The approximately $4,000 given to the library will be used to produce materials and teach the classes. The library will be using the resources from Oregon Health Career Center's AKA Science program. Classes will start in mid-June and continue for eight weeks. There will be Monday classes at the library, Tuesday and Wednesday drop-in classes with hands-on experiments, weekly activities during the summer lunch program at Boones Ferry, and take-home projects.

The drop-in classes will replace the mid-week craft activities the library typically has scheduled during the summer reading program.

Duke's attempt to connect reading, science and increased brain power is based on a study detailed in "Outlyers" by Malcolm Gladwell that dissects reasons that some individuals become such high achievers.

"He references a study that looked at the achievement gap between kids of lower socio-economic status and those of a higher socio-economic status," said Duke. "He found that the differences occurred during the summer months. When kids are in school, they gained academic levels at much the same rate. But in the summer, kids of a higher socio-economic level had more gains and more opportunities of various kinds than lower-class kids."

Duke found himself intrigued by the study and what it could mean for library programs.

"It's something that teachers seem to know fairly readily," he said. "This is an opportunity for library to attempt to address those issues. It occurred to me that we could do something with science."

When he mentioned his idea at a Wilsonville Kiwanis meeting, fellow member Gary Wappes knew he could help. Wappes is CEO of the Oregon Health Career Center, which mentors at-risk Oregon youth toward health careers. The center also administers a grade-level after school science program.

The science idea also lent well to the library's 2008 strategic plan to expand the children's programs.

"Essentially, this all fell together," said Duke.

The curriculum will follow Oregon state science benchmarks and the library has hired a middle school teacher to develop the take-home program.

"When people hear this idea, I think they fairly quickly understand what we're trying to do," he said of the Wilsonville Kiwanis and the library foundation's efforts to fund the program. "They support activities that support a children's education and learning in such a way that is outside of strict schooling kinds of things."

Learning, he added, ultimately should be fun.

With the summer reading program's theme of "Make a Splash at Your Library," Duke said the science curriculum also will have a water theme.

All classes and take-home activities are provided at no charge to children. The program is geared toward elementary school students, but the Tuesday and Wednesday activities are open to all ages.

Sign-ups take place in mid-June, when the summer reading program and Science Adventure! Begin.

At the end of May, library personnel will be visiting all elementary schools in Wilsonville to talk about the program and encourage children to sign up.

Details: www.wilsonvillelibrary.org, or call 503-682-2744.