By: Maria Morales, WMAR-2 News | Read it >
Exploring science through storybooks. That’s the goal of this mobile exploration lab.
This week, it’s challenging students at the Maryland School For the Blind to solve a problem for the main character through a science project.
“In ‘Jack and the Beanstock,’ they’re engineering a better beanstock for Jack,” says Janeé Pelletier from Learning Undefeated. “In ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears,’ they’re engineering either a bed or a chair for Goldilocks to sit in that she won’t break.”
The storybooks are in both print and braille. And the items in this hands-on lab are adapted for students with low vision.
“We chose blocks that are all different colors so that students would be better able to distinguish them,” Pelletier says. “Then we also added the tactile material to the side so they’ve got velcro so that they can both be touched and felt, so they can also be stuck and stacked together.”
The mobile exploration labs travel to schools around the country. The visits… always free. The impact on students… always priceless.
“One of the librarians said, ‘I haven’t seen that student smile all year long.’ For us, it’s the opportunity to come out and give the students something that’s fun and inspiring,” Pelletier says. “And also, to show them that there is a place for them in STEM.”
On Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m., they’re having an open house, and the public is invited to see some of the science projects they’ve done.
The mobile lab will be at the Maryland School For the Blind through Friday. They expect about a hundred students to take part.
