S.F. LAB OPENS SCIENCE'S DOORS.Byline: Dara Akiko Tom Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. David Packard David Packard (September 7, 1912 – March 26, 1996) was a cofounder of Hewlett-Packard. Born in Pueblo, Colorado, he received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1934. Afterwards he worked for the General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York. and William Hewlett did it. So did Steve Wozniak (person) Steve Wozniak - Co-founder of Apple Computer with Steve Jobs on 01 April 1976 and the inventor of the Apple II personal computer. and Steve Jobs. Huddled in a garage, surrounded by gadgets, these men did something that eventually led to multinational corporations. They tinkered. Now, Dan Sudran, hopes his garage-born science workshop for kids becomes a household name - just like Hewlett-Packard or Apple. Though Sudran isn't interested in building a multibillion-dollar company, his Mission Science Workshop is becoming widely recognized as an innovative way to get kids interested in everything from looking through microscopes to investigating the physics of snowflakes snowflakes small patches of gray or white hair acquired after birth. Skin color is unchanged. See also achromotrichia, vitiligo. . And with a recent $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, he's expanding the number of labs across the state. Sudran, a former lawyer, returned to college to study electronics when the science bug struck. Neighborhood kids began dropping by the local mad scientist's garage where they became interested in exploring, too. In 1991, Sudran made his finest discovery - formalizing the garage activities into the Mission Science Workshop. The lab is a hodgepodge of science experiments, reptiles, art projects and electronics. ``This is a tinkerer's workshop,'' Sudran said, opening his arms to the room where homemade robotics sit next to a solar battery charger and snake cages share a shelf with electronic oscillators. ``It's much more exciting learning because you want to than because you have to.'' An estimated 2,000 students have spent time at the Mission workshop. ``I want to hold the snake,'' said 11-year-old Jennifer Santoyo as she stroked a slimy gray mudpuppy mud·puppy also mud pup·py n. pl. mud·pup·pies 1. Any of several large North American salamanders of the genus Necturus, especially N. . ``There's lots to do here. You're never bored.'' Santoyo explained that she couldn't hold the neon-green gecko gecko (gĕk`ō), small or medium-sized lizard of the family Gekkonidae. The more than 300 species are distributed throughout the warm regions of the world, mostly in the Old World. Despite folklore to the contrary, their bite is not poisonous. - ``It's too fast and blends in with things'' - and picking up the mudpuppy was a no-no - ``It can't be out of water or else it will die.'' Other science workshops have been established in Oakland and San Bruno. With the $3 million grant, Sudran hopes to have five more centers around the state next year, including ones in low-income neighborhoods in Fresno, Los Angeles, San Jose and on two American Indian reservations in Northern California. Some students said they're not interested in becoming the next Albert Einstein or Marie Curie Curie (kürē`), family of French scientists. Pierre Curie, 1859–1906, scientist, and his wife, Marie Sklodowska Curie, 1867–1934, chemist and physicist, b. . A few smiled shyly, admitting their teachers give extra credit for showing up. Others said they wanted to escape homework and chores. Once there, however, they get right into alligator alligator, large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator, in the same order as the crocodile. There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alligators differ from crocodiles in several ways. clips and batteries or studying sound waves. ``I like the activities I do here,'' Cristian Santiago said over the noise of banging hammers and steel drums. Santiago's favorite project was building a kaleidoscope with three small mirrors and a thick cardboard tube. ``I liked how it looked when you turn it. You see different colors and different shapes and stuff,'' she said. The science center runs with the help of the Community College District of San Francisco, San Francisco State University • • [ , the San Francisco Unified School District The San Francisco Unified School District is a public school district in San Francisco, California. The district was California's first public school district when it was established in 1851. and the statewide Math Engineering and Science Achievement program (MESA). The workshop is free and provides teachers with classes to help improve their science teaching skills. It is also open after school for all students and hosts a weekly parent-child night and a weekly science program for girls. ``What it is, in a way, is experiencing the excitement yourself,'' Sudran said, explaining the science discoveries in his garage ``made me want to share that with other people. If they (the children) can tap into that experience in life, that can be exciting.'' Nine-year-old rookie scientist Stephanie Enriquez came at the urging of a friend. ``She told me it was going to be fun,'' Enriquez said as she intently cut straws and taped the pieces to polarized A one-way direction of a signal or the molecules within a material pointing in one direction. plastic. ``I think I like it.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Jaleesa James, 9, watches a demonstration on how mir rors affect rays of light at the Mission Science Workshop in San Francisco. Associated Press |
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