History (cont.)In 1991 John started giving lessons for home school students. This turned out to be one of the most delightful projects ever because it provided an opportunity to try out all kinds of new ideas on small groups of children of all ages. In 1992 and 1993, Booksin School in San Jose asked John to help with a project the parents had started. Working with GATE students after school, under John’s guidance, the parents and children converted a school bus into a space shuttle, complete with porthole windows, wings, and rocket engines powered by fire extinguishers. The second year, they created a moon colony out on the field, and the students made space suits and a habitat suitable for their survival on the moon. From 1993 through 1997, John kept increasing the number of lessons given until he was conducting an average of 25 lessons per week on three different subjects each day at three different schools. During summers he teamed up with two district-level trainers to provide teacher training for the California Science Implementation Network. |
In 1998 John and a friend co-founded Rock-it Science to deliver science lessons in a mobile laboratory. From 1999 through 2001, Rock-it Science was accepted as a NASA Resident Agency at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field. With space to park the mobile lab and warehouse space for the experiment materials, Rock-it Science was in the position to begin receiving funding for program expansion. After the events of September 11, 2001, non-government agencies could no longer use the facilities at Moffett Field, so Rock-it Science moved out and started looking for warehouse space. In March 2003, a suitable space was found in Santa Clara and transformed into the permanent home for Rock-it Science. It contains offices, a large storage area, and a classroom which is also John’s laboratory. Here, surrounded by fantastic gadgets and exotic equipment, he develops new experiments and test-drives them with his home school classes. Once they’re thoroughly tested, he and his staff take them on the road, so children at schools throughout the South Bay Area can experience Rock-it Science! |
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“We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.” |
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-- Galileo |
Accomplishments
Rock-It Science has 22 years of achievement in sparking young people’s enthusiasm and ability to learn science successfully. Since 1987, Rock-It Science has:
Developed a unique teaching methodology that combines storytelling with hands-on science experiments.
Served over 100,000 kindergarten through middle school children.
Created more than 200 highly tested and successful experiments.
Brought science directly to the kids at Boys and Girls Clubs, scouting groups and YMCAs with our mobile science lab.
Mentored hundreds of elementary and middle school teachers in our unique science instruction techniques.
Conducted a NASA-sponsored program at Moffett Field that served 10,000 kids each year.
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