Science Kids

OVERVIEW OF SCIENCE KIDS: SCIENCE KIDS IS A NONPROFIT WITH A HUB IN SHERIDAN, WY, AND A SATELLITE CAMPUS IN CODY, WY. ESTABLISHED IN 2009, WE ARE IN OUR 14TH YEAR OF OPERATION. OUR MISSION IS TO "GET KIDS OUTSIDE, WHERE GREAT LEARNING HAPPENS," WITH THE ULTIMATE HOPE TO ENCOURAGE CURIOSITY AND LIFE-LONG CONNECTIONS TO SCIENCE. IN 2022, THE CORE OF SCIENCE KIDS REMAINED THE SAME - TO OFFER VIBRANT CLASSES WITHIN THE SCIENCES TO CHILDREN AGES 6-12 FROM THE SHERIDAN AND CODY CAMPUSES. OUR EYE WAS ON SMART OFFERINGS THAT MAXIMIZE STAFF AND EQUIPMENT RESOURCES, AND PROVIDED HIGH-QUALITY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO OUR COMMUNITIES. WE ALSO ACTIVELY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF SCHOLARSHIPS WE COULD OFFER TO CHILDREN WHO WOULD MOST BENEFIT FROM THAT SUPPORT. IN ADDITION TO SUMMERTIME CLASSES FOR CHILDREN, WE OFFER OUR COMMUNITIES FREE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY, SCIENCE-LEARNING EVENTS, OFTEN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER NONPROFITS AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE BRINTON MUSEUM ("THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT"), SHERIDAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST ("UNPLUG" PROGRAMS), SHERIDAN COLLEGE ("SCIENCE SATURDAY" EVENTS), AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE ("BAT WALKS"). TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WORK, WE FOCUSED ON CONTINUED AND THOUGHTFUL BOARD DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS TRAINING NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND BUILDING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY WITHIN SCIENCE KIDS. FINANCIALLY, SCIENCE KIDS CONTINUES TO STRIVE TO MEET OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL OF A FULL-YEAR'S WORTH OF OPERATING COSTS SAVED BY YEAR END. WE SEEK STABILITY AND LONGEVITY, WITH ENOUGH FUNDS AVAILABLE TO RESPOND TO CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS AND STILL MEET OUR GOAL OF OFFERING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO OUR COMMUNITY. IN 2022, WE CALLED ON EACH CAMPUS TO TURN TO THEIR LOCAL AND REGIONAL COMMUNITIES FOR FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES, AND WE LOOKED REGIONALLY AND NATIONALLY FOR GRANTING AGENCIES TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION. SUMMER CLASSES ARE OUR CORE: IN 2022, BOTH CAMPUSES OFFERED A FULL SLATE OF CLASSES FOR 6-12 YEAR OLD CHILDREN. DEMAND FOR CLASSES WAS HIGH, AS IT HAS BEEN IN PAST YEARS, ESPECIALLY FOR 6-8 YEAR OLD CHILDREN. REGISTRATIONS ON BOTH CAMPUSES WERE FAST AND FURIOUS, WITH "CREEKS AND CRITTERS" ON THE SHERIDAN CAMPUS SELLING OUT IN 8 MINUTES TIME, AND THE WAITLIST FOR "HANDS-ON NATURE" WAS 31 FAMILIES LONG. OUR COMMUNITY IS EAGER TO TAKE PART IN SCIENCE KIDS CLASSES. SCIENCE KIDS ALSO PARTNERED WITH THE PARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 6 IN CODY, WY TO OFFER CLASSES IN THE SCIENCES TO STUDENTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE INITIATIVE INCLUDED CLASSES FOR CHILDREN AGES 6 TO 13 IN VARIOUS CLASSES, SERVING 128 STUDENTS FREE OF CHARGE. OUR GREATEST LIMITATIONS TO EXPANSION OF SUMMER CLASSES ARE FUNDING, STAFFING, AND TRANSPORTATION TO HIGH-QUALITY OUTDOOR SETTINGS WITH A SINGLE, 15-PASSENGER BUS FOR EACH CAMPUS. THOSE TWO BUSES ARE MODELS FROM 1995 AND 1999, AND WE CARE FOR THEM VIGOROUSLY TO BE SURE THEY ARE IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. NATURE WY: AN EDUCATIONAL ONLINE SERIES THAT REACHES ACROSS THE STATE AND BEYOND WITH SUPPORT FROM THE DAVID B. JONES FOUNDATION, WE CONTINUED TO REACH DIGITALLY ACROSS WYOMING WITH NATURE WY, THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH WYOMING PBS. IN THE SUMMER OF 2022, WE FILMED AN ADDITIONAL 6 EPISODES OF NATURE WY, CAPTURING WHAT SCIENCE KIDS DOES IN OUR SUMMERTIME CLASSES IN SHORT-FORMAT VIDEOS. EACH VIDEO IS ACCOMPANIED BY FULL LESSON PLANS FOR EDUCATORS AND ACTIVITY GUIDES FOR CAREGIVERS THAT BRING NATURE WY TO LIFE. AND THE SERIES IS NATIONALLY AWARD-WINNING WITH A PUBLIC MEDIA AWARD FOR "EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE CLASSROOM". THE AWARD SUBSTANTIATES WHAT WE DO AS AN EDUCATION-FOCUSED NONPROFIT GETTING KIDS OUTSIDE LEARNING IN THE SCIENCES. WWW.WYOMINGPBS.ORG/NATUREWY COMMUNITY SCIENCE-LEARNING EVENTS: SCIENCE SATURDAY: SCIENCE KIDS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WYOMING PBS AND SHERIDAN COLLEGE, HOSTED A SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATING WNET'S 40TH BIRTHDAY FOR THE NATURE SERIES, AND THEIR COMMEMORATIVE FILM MY GARDEN OF A THOUSAND BEES (HTTPS://WWW.MYGARDENOFATHOUSANDBEES.COM/). ON MAY 21ST, SCIENCE KIDS AND OUR PARTNERS: 1) HELD A SCREENING OF THE FILM AT KINNISON HALL ON THE SHERIDAN COLLEGE CAMPUS; 2) HOSTED A PANEL DISCUSSION WITH FRED KAUFMAN, THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE FILM SERIES NATURE, MARTIN DOHRN, THE FILMMAKER OF MY GARDEN OF A THOUSAND BEES, AND KATY FENN OF WORLD WILDLIFE FUND, MODERATED BY SCIENCE KIDS STUDENTS; 3) A SERIES OF LEARNING TABLES FOR THE COMMUNITY ON TOPICS FOCUSED ON NATIVE BEES AND PROPAGATION OF NATIVE PLANTS, AND; 4) PLANTED A GARDEN OF NATIVE WESTERN WILDFLOWERS AT THE AGRICULTURAL FIELD LAB ON THE SHERIDAN COLLEGE CAMPUS. UNPLUG EVENTS WITH SHERIDAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST: SINCE 2016, WE HAVE BEEN OFFERING "UNPLUG" SCIENCE-LEARNING EVENTS FOR THE PUBLIC IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SHERIDAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST. IN 2022, WE WERE ABLE TO OFFER FOUR UNPLUG EVENTS: "HERONS AT HOME" WITH 70 ATTENDEES; "PYOP AND ALL- SENSES SCAVENGER HUNT" WITH 20 ATTENDEES ON A DAY FULL OF THUNDERSTORMS; BAT WALK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE WITH 34 ATTENDEES, AND; "MUD, BUGS AND FISH" IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SHERIDAN COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT AND WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT WITH 39 ATTENDEES. INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SCIENCE KIDS: SCIENCE KIDS HAS A PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE, WITH GOOGLE DRIVE FOR NONPROFITS AS OUR INTERNAL WORK SPACE FOR OUR NONPROFIT. WE VALUE THIRD-PARTY, MONTHLY REVIEWS OF OUR FINANCES, TRANSPARENCY, AND STRONG WORK ETHIC AND HEALTHY CULTURAL NORMS FOR OUR NONPROFIT. SAFETY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY AT ALL EVENTS AND CLASSES. DESCRIPTIONS FOR SUMMER CLASSES OFFERED IN SHERIDAN, WY: THE CLASSES LISTED BELOW SHOWCASE THE BREADTH OF OUR CLASSES IN A GIVEN COMMUNITY FOR STUDENTS AGES 6-12. CLASSES ARE CAPPED AT 12 STUDENTS, WITH STUDENT TO TEACHER RATIOS NEVER EXCEEDING 6:1. TUITION IS THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT 6/HOUR OF CONTACT TIME. FOR MORE DETAIL, SEE OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SCIENCE-KIDS.ORG FOR STUDENTS AGES 6-8: PRECIOUS PLANTS AND POWERFUL POLLINATORS: WHAT DO TINY BEES HAVE TO DO WITH THE CRUNCHY APPLES AND SWEET RASPBERRIES WE EAT FOR LUNCH? PEER INTO THE WORLD OF POLLINATORS - BEES, BUTTERFLIES, BEETLES, FLIES AND HUMMINGBIRDS - AND EXPLORE HOW THEY HELP PLANTS MAKE NEW SEEDS. POLLINATORS ARE POWERFUL, AND PLANTS ARE PRECIOUS, AND TOGETHER THEY MAKE EARTH BEAUTIFUL AND DELICIOUS. STUDENTS IN THIS CLASS ARE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN SCIENCE KIDS' POLLINATOR PATROL THIS SUMMER, AND CONTRIBUTE TO CITIZEN SCIENCE. CREEKS AND CRITTERS: EXPLORE THE WET AND WILD AREAS IN AND AROUND SHERIDAN. WE WILL SEARCH FOR AND LEARN ABOUT THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE NEAR THESE RIPARIAN AREAS. NOT ONLY WILL WE LOOK FOR ANIMALS THAT LIVE NEAR THE WATER, WE WILL ALSO LOOK IN THE WATER FOR MACROINVERTEBRATES. THESE ARE INSECTS THAT BEGIN THEIR LIFE UNDERWATER. STUDENTS WILL COMPLETE A FIELD JOURNAL, RECORD THEIR FINDINGS AND PERFORM SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS. HERBS AND HERPS: JOIN UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING SCIENTISTS IN AN EXPLORATION OF THE STUNNING VARIETY OF LIFE ON EARTH, AS WE GET TO KNOW TWO REALLY DIFFERENT GROUPS OF CREATURES - HERBS AND HERPS WE'LL LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANTS, HOW THEY LIVE, AND THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PLANTS AND INSECTS. AND WE'LL GET CLOSE TO HERPS. WHAT'S A HERP? YOU'LL FIND OUT AS WE EXPLORE THE HABITS AND HABITATS OF SNAKES, FROGS AND TURTLES. BIRD BONANZA: LEARN ALL ABOUT BIRDS IN THIS TWO-DAY CLASS. WHAT MAKES A BIRD A BIRD, WHY DO THEY DO THE THINGS THEY DO, AND WHERE CAN WE FIND THEM? LET'S EXPLORE THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WHILE WE LEARN HOW SCIENTISTS STUDY BIRDS IN THE FIELD. ONE SPECIAL ACTIVITY WILL BE BIRD-BANDING, WHERE STUDENTS WILL GET TO HOLD LIVE BIRDS AND PARTICIPATE IN ONGOING RESEARCH. GET AN UP-CLOSE EXPERIENCE WITH LOCAL BIRDS AND BE A COMMUNITY SCIENTIST HANDS-ON NATURE: HOP ON IN WITH NATURE-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES FOR THE YOUNG AND CURIOUS WE'LL LEARN ABOUT ECOLOGY, THAT'S THE WAY LIVING THINGS INTERACT WITH THE PLACES THEY LIVE, THROUGH HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES WITH NATURE AND ART. LET'S GET OUTSIDE AND EXPLORE A VARIETY OF HABITATS AND SEARCH OUT INSECTS, ANIMALS AND PLANTS. GET READY TO GET YOUR FEET WET, AND SEE THE WORLD IN A NEW WAY FOR STUDENTS AGES 9-12: NATURE IN FOCUS: SET OUT ON A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY IN THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND CLASS. WE WILL IMMERSE OURSELVES IN NATURE BY LEARNING THE ART OF OBSERVATION AND USE PHOTOGRAPHY TO CAPTURE WHAT WE SEE. LEARN HOW TO SCOUT FOR UNIQUE AND CANDID SHOTS UTILIZING LIGHT, ANGLES, AND THE ORGANIC FILTERS OF NATURE, WHILE DISCOVERING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A NATURALIST. AND WITH NEWFOUND SKILLS, YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN SCIENCE KIDS' POLLINATOR PATROL AS A PHOTOGRAPHER THIS SUMMER, AND CONTRIBUTE TO CITIZEN SCIENCE BUG OUT: BUGS ARE EVERYWHERE, WE JUST HAVE TO LOOK FOR THEM SPEND A WEEK IDENTIFYING INSECTS AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES, AND FIND OUT THE MANY WONDERFUL AND WACKY THINGS THEY DO, MANY OF WHICH ARE HELPFUL TO HUMANS. YOU'LL USE A VARIETY OF TOOLS TO LEARN HOW INSECTS ARE ADAPTED TO THE WYOMING ENVIRONMENT, AND EVEN START YOUR OWN BUG COLLECTION. IT'S A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR THE