South Carolina Academy of Science reports on the 2000: S.C. Middle/Elementary School Academy of Science for grades 4 - 8. MESAS.

MESAS had three Saturday workshops for students in grades 4-8 during the fall of 2000. The fourth workshop was the Western MESAS workshop held on January 20, 2001 at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, S.C. The Lowcountry MESAS workshop on October 14, 2000 had 750 students at Charleston Southern University in Charleston; the Sandhills Workshop was on November 18, 2000 had 250 students at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C.; the Midland MESAS workshop on September 30, 2000, at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. had 950 students, parents, teachers, speakers and esteemed guests and the Western MESAS workshop had 330 students, parents and teachers.

At the Midlands MESAS Workshop students could build a model rocket to take home, build a toy boat to take home, study the human heart, get slimed in chemistry, use chemistry to make earrings, see sound for the first time, create their own home page, or study the DNA of an orange and much more. They also had the opportunity to see demonstrations and learn how to get involved with DHEC's Champions of the Environment; MATHCOUNTS; Destination Imagination; Newberry's Junior Science Olympics; Clemson's Teaching KATE; and the USC Central South Carolina Science & Engineering Fair. The Host Coordinator was Dr. Linda Payne and the event featured Dr. Bob Koenig, Former Deputy Director of the National Aerospace Plane Program, NASA, as keynote speaker.

South Carolina Middle/Elementary School Academy of Science (MESAS)
Club Membership January 1, 2000 by Region

                       No
                    of clubs      Members       2000 W/S     1999 W/S

Midlands MESAS      130        1,550           950           600
Western MESAS             75           808           330           422
Low Country MESAS    75        1,065           750           315
Sandhills MESAS      93          550           250           350

          * Total   373        3,496         2,280         1,951

* (Reflects club membership since 1999)

Note: Teachers or Parents who bring students to MESAS workshops become sponsors of a club and the students attending become members of MESAS and are issued a membership cards. Other clubs may be formed by an adult, who did not attend any of the workshops, sending in a request to join. The size of a club can range from one to many students. Membership is open to students from public, private and home schools.

Western MESAS Region I Director: Rosemary
Wicker and the Upper Savannah Science & Math Hub
Midland/Central MESAS Region II Director: Dr. Don Jordan, USC
Sandhills MESAS Region IV Director: Dr. Tom Roop,
Frances Marion University
Lowcountry MESAS Region V Director: Frank Collins,
Berkeley Dorchester Science and Math Hub

Special thanks goes to Edwina A. Carns, Community Service Administrator for Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, for such generous encouragement and contributions for the past seven years in the development of the S.C. Middle/Elementary School Academy of Science.

For more information Contact: Don Jordan; S.C. Academy of Science / Research Group / Carolina Plaza / Columbia S.C. 29208 Phone: [phone] or email: [e-mail]