Unlocking the potential of science education: A closer look at NWESD’s Science Materials Center
Hello, everyone! It’s Ed again.
And this time in my travels through the NWESD region, I came across a truly hidden gem in our region of Washington state: NWESD’s Science Materials Center (SMC)! This must be one of the most valuable resources available to teachers of science in our educational community. The SMC is more than just a repository of science kits and materials; it’s a dynamic, responsive service that helps make science education as effective and hassle-free as possible.
Atop an amazing fulfillment process that SMC Manager Kelly Spears has created, I’ll share some of the services that make the SMC so valuable.
Collecting all the “stuff”
Different teachers, schools, and districts have unique needs based on their existing instructional materials, students, and community expectations. For middle and high school levels, the SMC lets teachers and districts order just the things that they require, rather than committing to buying complete kits or consumable sets. It’s about helping districts maximize their resources so that teachers have what they need to engage students in science learning. And for all K-12 materials, the SMC has sourced best prices! This includes all the necessary materials – even those “teacher supplied” materials! No more late-night or out-of-pocket trips to the store for teachers looking for that box of cornstarch or bottle of food coloring.
Bundled and ready-to-teach lesson packets
Everybody who has ever taught science lessons knows that preparing for science instruction is time consuming. Materials normally arrive in boxes of disorganized “stuff.” With the help of the teacher guide and the box shipping lists, teachers then need to inventory, sort, and assemble the materials for each lesson. The NWESD SMC takes this burden off teachers’ shoulders by preparing and assembling the materials and apparatuses into “Lesson Packets” that are bundled, labeled, and ready to go! Each packet includes all the materials needed for a specific lesson. This means teachers can spend less time on physical materials prep and more time on engaging students in meaningful learning experiences.
The SMC is ready to help!
The Science Materials Center is an integrated service of The Northwest Educational Service District. Its staff keeps up to date on the direction of science education with the NWESD’s Regional Science Coordinator (RSC) Brian MacNevin; and they look for ways to support the professional development needs of teachers of science! You can reach out to SMC manager, Kelly Spears (kspears@nwesd.org), to learn more about how the SMC can help your districts. You can read more about their services on their website, https://www.nwesd.org/smc/.
Items are received as raw materials, in no particular order.
At the SMC, the team adds, bundles, and preps materials by lesson, making it ready to be passed out to students and groups.
The team then packs everything together in lesson order so it's easy to find.
