Discovery Alliance provides hands-on experiences
The Discovery Alliance is providing hands-on learning experiences to all ages with the recent combination of the Discovery Museum, the Explorer Space Simulator and Discovery on Wheels.
Clint Eliason, program director of the Discovery Alliance, said the three different aspects had been independent of one another in the past, but were recently brought under one umbrella to enhance the learning process.
“We were looking to pull together all three aspects into one, to improve it overall,” Eliason said.
The Discovery Museum is a hands-on science center in the Science Engineering Research Building, Room 132. It is open to the public and also to school groups by special appointment.
Created in 1995 by the electrical engineering department, Eliason said the museum now holds Discovery Summer Science Camp sessions to teach subjects such as meteorology, biology, engineering, physics and rocketry. The camp is taught by the college students of USU and provides a “wonderful opportunity for many,” Eliason said.
The Explorer Space Simulator is designed to teach middle and high school students about space as they are sent on exploratory space missions to a location in the galaxy.
“The purpose of the Explorer Space Simulator project is to provide students with an exciting education experience that will encourage them to pursue careers in the fields of science,” according to the Web site at www.usu.edu/discovery/.
Eliason said the simulator, now located at River Heights Elementary School on 420 S. 500 East, was opened in 1996 and provides students with the opportunity to learn the value of teamwork and decision-making skills.
The largest and most popular part of the Alliance is the traveling science center known as the Discovery on Wheels, site manager Scott Larsen said, with approximately 100,000 visitors each year.
Discovery on Wheels, which began in 1995, is committed to “bringing hands-on science education to schools throughout Utah and surrounding states,” according to the Web site.
Larsen said Discovery on Wheels is designed to fit into a trailer, holding approximately 35 exciting exhibits, which are then set up in a school gymnasium for hands-on experiences, guided demonstrations and a StarLab presentation.
As they travel to elementary and middle schools, Eliason said the presentations and exhibits of Discovery on Wheels exhibit are designed to adhere to and enhance the science core curriculum of those schools.
There is a steep drop-off in interest of science-related issues after the third grade, Eliason said, and the two-day Wheels is designed to spark interest and keep younger students involved in striving to learn more about science.
“We are exploring the option to create a larger, grander science center here in town somewhere,” Eliason said of the future plans for the Discovery Alliance.
As part of the 4-H organization, the Discovery Alliance is funded through USU’s Extension and did not suffer any loss from the recent budget cut that has affected most other departments on campus.
Eliason said each project is self-supported with the entrance fees of each exhibit, as well as the sponsorship that it receives.