Science Saturdays at Croton-Harmon Schools

The following is a news release from the Croton-Harmon School District:

Pace University and the Croton-Harmon School District have teamed up to offer an exciting series of four Saturday morning science lab experiences to be held throughout the school year. Pace and Croton-Harmon are piloting a program for interested students in grades 4-8 in an effort to ignite an interest in science, foster curiosity about the work of scientists, and generate excitement about how people connect with science in their day-to-day lives. 

Pace University professors will deliver the instruction through various hands-on projects.  Pace adjunct professor and Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School science teacher Dr. Gerald Ardito will serve as the site coordinator for this exciting new program.  Student helpers from Pace University and Croton-Harmon High School will assist in the labs.

“There are so many cool things about the Saturday Science Program. We are able to offer a structured extracurricular Science program for our students,” said Dr. Ardito, who is also teaching one of the Saturday Science classes.” We are making a real, educational connection with educators at Pace University, and taking advantage of our brand new lab facilities.”

The program will be held over the course of four Saturdays: one each during the months of November, January, February, and March. Croton-Harmon’s new state-of-the art STEM-D (Science, Engineering, Technology, Mathematics, Design) labs, located in Croton-Harmon High School, will serve as the site for the program. Saturday Science lessons will address the following topics on a per session basis:

The Green School Project- Saturday, November 12: The first Saturday session will require students to develop a report that will encourage ways to help Croton become a more sustainable school system. They will also take inventory of current school district practices with regard to consumption of resources and waste disposal and brainstorm in small groups to develop concrete ways to reduce their carbon footprint while at school. They will also look to identify ways that the teachers and staff can participate, with the ultimate goal of developing recommendations that will come at little or no cost to the school district.

The three Saturday sessions to follow will tackle Physical Computing (January 21), Introduction to Microbes (February 18), and The Web of Life– How Scientists Think and Succession in Nature (March 17).

“Saturday Science is just another way that the Croton-Harmon School District is providing students with opportunities to understand, explore, appreciate, preserve and utilize the environment in a responsible way,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edward R. Fuhrman. “We are grateful for the involvement of Pace University so that our children can learn from the area’s top educators in the study of our living environment and sustainability.”