Hope Creative Science Initiative (CSI)

This Month's News! Introduction What We Offer Interactive Science Shows Classroom Activities Available Resources Upcoming Events Calendar

Introduction (back to top)

Hope College has developed a traveling physics outreach program for local public schools around Holland, MI. CSI aims to offer physics interactive science shows and hands-on experience by presenting physics in a fun and exciting way. We hope to get rid of the "scary" stigma associated with physics.

Hope CSI's initial focus is high school physics. We also want to help local teachers align with the new Michigan Department of Education (MDE) High School Content Expectations (HSCEs). We hope to grow the program to multidisciplinary sciences at various educational levels and to provide teacher resources and professional development opportunities.

What We Offer (back to top)

We have interactive science shows for assemblies or individual classrooms, activity kits that can be loaned or donated to local schools, and resources for clasroom and teachers.

Interactive Science Shows

Our shows are physics-based educational shows and include equipment that most schools do not have the funds or accessiblity to keep on campus. Please visit our Interactive Science Shows page for a complete description and photos of the shows we offer. The shows can be set up for a large assembly, or in a classroom setting, and last from ~20 to 30 minutes. The shows are presented by Hope College science student volunteers (physicists, engineers, chemists, etc) and will encourage the audience to participate when it is safe and appropriate.

Classroom Activities

We have developed several hands-on activities that you can incorporate into your classroom to investigate many physics concepts. We can incorporate hands-on activities into our interactive science shows in the classroom or after an assembly show to let students touch and feel to investigate the concept on their own. We also have classroom activity kits that are available for loan or may be donated (depending on the type of kit) to your school. Hope student volunteers and faculty can come to your school and offer a lunch workshop on how to set up and use the kits in your classroom. See the list of Activity Kits for complete descriptions.

Available Resources

There are so many resources available on the web and in texts that you may already be using or have access to. The trouble is finding the time to sift through everything to find what you need! We have developed two spreadsheets that will help you find what you need:

1. A Classroom Resources spreadsheet allowing you to sort by several categories (Content Expectation, HSCE Teaching Unit, Material Type, etc).

2. A Teacher Resources spreadsheet to help teachers find free and low cost professional development workshops, available grants, and proposal writing help sources.

Upcoming Events (back to top)