+ education
TOAD SUCK DAZE, DISCOVERY NETWORK FORM PARTNERSHIP A new partnership between Toad Suck Daze in Conway and the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock is creating a big jump in the excitement of STEM-related education in 24 elementary schools in central Arkansas. The schools joined the Discovery Network, the museum’s statewide program that aims to make hands-on, interactive science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning more accessible to schoolchildren and their families. It conducts outreach education at museums, libraries and schools around the state. Sharon Cone, library media specialist at Ida Burns Elementary School in Conway, wanted her school to be part of the Discovery Network and approached the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce for help in finding a business to fund it. “They saw an opportunity to help many schools, not just one,” she said. Chamber officials recruited sponsors, Acxiom and First Arkansas Bank & Trust, that provided $60,000 worth of Discovery Network memberships for 24 schools to participate in the unique collaboration.
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Schools receive “tinker kits,” primarily geared toward students in second through fourth grade, and Museum of Discovery staff trains the teachers on how to use the kits. Cone said she serves as a liaison between the Discovery Network and member schools. But it’s what she sees happening every week at Ida Burns that impresses Cone. “The children are getting to explore, collaborate and problem-solve using these hands-on learning activities,” she said. “The students are learning about everyday application of STEM concepts and how they affect their lives.” Nora Turner, 9, a fourth-grader at Ida Burns, already sees the importance of STEM education. “It’s teaching me a lot of new things I never knew about, and I think it’s going to help me in the future,” she said. Nora said her favorite tinker kit was the Makey Makey. It’s an electronic invention machine that students connect to the internet and use circuits to conduct different functions. “My favorite app with the Makey Makey was the piano. You could use Play-Doh or tin foil [as piano keys] to play the piano with it,” she said.
