SCARBORO DAY CARE CENTER

SCIENCE CENTER

Rationale:
Many activities for preschool children provide excellent opportunities to help children understand scientific principles and a scientific approach to learning. Gardening either outdoors or indoors, caring for pets, insects and other growing things in their environment afford opportunity for observation and experimentation. Young children are learning while they enjoy playing with such things as magnets, prisms, pulleys, magnifying glasses, and scales.

Skills Developed in Science Center:

• Ability to observe accurately what is seen
• Ability to report accurately using correct treminology
• Ability to see relationships
• Ability to understand relationships between events (frees the child from fears and superstitions)
• Ability to develop a feeling of control over biological and physical environment
• Development of independence and confidence
• Development of increased vocabulary skills through experiments
• Development of more sophisticated classification and organizational skills

Equipment and Materials:

• Aquarium
• Terrarium
• Planting boxes
• Cages for insects and pets
• Glass jars for specimen
• Magnifying glasses
• Prisms
• Scales
• Magnets
• Miscellaneous materials for experimentation to demonstrate scientific principles
  (balloons, candles, rubber bands, straws,flashlights, unbreakable mirrors, etc)
  
  

Implementation Procedures:

• Locate science center near a window, if possible.
• Provide space for experiments and displays of collections.
• Limit number of children in center based on activities and space available.
• Provide adequate space and appropriate facilities fir pets and plants.
• Teach children to properly care for plants and pets.
• Explain the experiment procedure as the experiment is being conducted.
• Leave some conclusions for children to "discover" on their own.