Jun 18/2010
Mark your calendars - you can start reserving 2010-11 crates on August 16th
Thank you for using Science-In-A-Crate to share the wonders of science with your students. Last year, 140,267 students were inspired by a crate. And Science Alberta is grateful to you for giving them that opportunity. We strive to provide you with a resource you’re confident in – confident that it is accurate, engaging, and fulfills your curriculum outcomes.
Crates for the entire 2010/11 school year are now available for booking. If you have any problems in booking your crate you can chat instantly through our Live Support function found on the home page. Or you can email bookings@sciencealberta.org or call Monika at (403) 220-0077 ext 221.
New kindergarten crate - Aboriginal Ways of Knowing: Sharing our Environment
Young children are natural scientists - and this crate encourages them. Designed for Kindergarten, this crate fosters students’ curiosity and willingness to learn about the environment by exploring, investigating and questioning the world around them.Through the seven hands-on activity centres in this crate, students will discover and deepen their understanding about the environment. They will investigate different ways natural and human-made things in our environment interact, explore how they are a part of the environment, and question their role within the environment. Students will sharpen their science inquiry skills with these activities as they are encouraged to focus, explore, investigate, and interpret their findings.
The Aboriginal Ways of Knowing: Sharing our Environment crate is part of our Aboriginal Ways of Knowing series. The hands-and-minds-on activities within this crate honour and acknowledge the traditional ways of First Nations people, while introducing students to the norms, beliefs, values, and conventions of Western science.
New crate grade 3 - F.A.R.M.S.: Farm Animal Relationship Monitoring System
Jo’s Farm is a fictional Alberta farm that is coming alive in the classroom. With seven hands-on activity centres, this crate immerses grade 3 students into farm life where they help Jo observe some common and not-so-common animals found on her farm. Students will discover and investigate animal life cycles and requirements for their care, as well as their adaptation to different environments. This is one trip to the farm that students will never forget. It will deepen their understanding about animals , especially by seeing them placed in context with a relevant, relatable story line. Students will sharpen their science inquiry skills with these activities as they are encouraged to focus, explore and investigate , and reflect and interpret their findings.
Click here to read more details.
New and Improved crates - with your feedback, the following crates have been improved
Power Productions, a crate for grade 5 that teaches electricity and magnetism, features a large theatre company that needs help! Students take on the role of electrical apprentices hired to complete a to-do list of seven jobs in order to get the theatre in working order, ready for the show. Previously in activity 4, students used an electromagnet model to demonstrate the electromagnetic field created, and experiment with different electromagnets to move different backdrops. To make this activity even better, it has been replaced with a new digital version. This activity still addresses the same SLEs, but can now be used with your smart board.
Ways of Knowing: Lessons from the Sky, the grade 6 crate that teaches sky science, has an activity where students unlock clues to identify technologies used to gather knowledge about Mars. This activity, due to its fragility, has been replaced with a digital activity. Similar to the previous activity, students will still unlock clues to gather information. However, in its digital format the activity will be more reliable and can be used with your smart board.
Retired crates - after years of hard work, 6 crates retire
In honour of their hard work, Science Alberta Foundation has retired 6 crates.
A found farewell to our retiring crates:
Ways of Knowing: Trickster's Journey through Chemistry - grade 5
Wading Through Wetlands - grade 5
The Big Equation: Making Math Relevant - grade 7
Ways of Knowing: Our Environment - grade 7
Made to Measure - grade 8
You're Hired! - grade 11
The retired Ways of Knowing: Trickster's Journey through Chemistry crate is being replaced by the WHOOPS crate. The WHOOPS crate covers the same SLEs, using popular items (like popsicles and Silly Putty®) to explain the chemistry behind their accidental discovery.
Our process for retiring these crates is slightly different this year - the crates will remain property of Science Alberta Foundation, as we try to use their pieces/components/activities in future resource development. There is life after retirement for these crates.
Did you Know?
Our online booking system has a referral program – Refer 5 people to Science Alberta to book a crate, and once those 5 have booked an item each, the system will notify you of your free booking.
It pays to rent more with our loyalty program - book five crates between September 13, 2010 and September 5, 2011 and you'll receive one free booking.