Welcome to the 6th Annual Science Symposium at Marin Academy!

Science has a birthday: on November, 28, 1660 King Charles II granted a group philosophical inquirers a charter to form the The President, Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known now as “The Royal Society.” It is the oldest scientific institution in the world. At its founding, what we now call the pursuit of science was more commonly known as “natural philosophy” and “natural history.” This learned group adopted the motto nullius in verba, or “take nobody’s word for it.” Members of the Royal Society took reports from home and abroad and attempted to recreate the conditions of whatever was claimed to be observed, in order to see and confirm for themselves. With this foundational tenet, repeatability and verification became pillars of modern science. But how would the members hear of extraordinary claims and observations? In 1665 the Society published what is perhaps the first scientific journal: Philosophical Transactions: Giving some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies and Labours of the Ingenious in many Considerable Parts of the World. The Royal Society still publishes many incarnations of Philosophical Transactions. From its inception, Philosophical Transactions promoted peer review, archival of work for posterity, and not just the dissemination of information, inventions and discoveries, but also ensuring that the first creator, inventor or discoverer received international credit for contributions to humanity’s collective knowledge and abilities.

For a sixth year now, we are celebrating how we push all our students to stand on the shoulders of giants. We understand that not all our students will continue in science after their time at Marin Academy. Nevertheless, a full scientific experience is something we want for each and every student. 9^th-grade biology students designed and conducted an experiment so they can stay true to nullius in verba and see for themselves the results of a controlled experiment. Their results are communicated in large-format posters, in the same way working scientists do at conferences and poster symposia around the world, across all disciplines of science.

Communication has been a theme of the MA Science Department this year. For the Brizendine Visiting Scholars Program, we invited communicators of science across a range of media for our November event Say What? The Art of Compelling Expression (https://www.ma.org/news-and-events/special-events-and-programs/brizendine-visiting-scholars-program). A few of our guests rely heavily on technology that would have been utterly fascinating to early members of the Royal Society. The ubiquity of cameras for still photos and video has been transformational for communication of scientific knowledge. Many of the most popular channels on YouTube are for science education, allowing people around the world to see time slowed down, an expert’s nuanced explanation of a difficult topic, or an intricate chemical reaction without having to be in a state-of-the-art laboratory. Our 10^th-grade chemistry students continue to push these boundaries and you can see their videos this year here: https://tinyurl.com/ChemCinema2019

By the end of 11^th-grade, our students have had a year of an elective science, and we ask no different of them than the method formalized by the Royal Society 358 years ago: read what others have done, reproduce and carry the ideas further, and report so that others can do the same. This means consulting primary, discipline-specific scientific sources, developing and implementing an experiment that is controlled, measurable and repeatable, and reporting findings in a professional manner.

Included in the 11^th-grade posters is research from the junior-level Marin Academy Research Collaborative (MARC) students. Senior MARC students will give talks presenting the results of their independent research. You can learn more about the MARC program and student projects by visiting https://www.ma.org/page/academics/signature-programs/science-research-at-marin-academy.

For some students this may the end of their formal scientific education; for others it may be the start of a very long journey in science. Most of our students probably do not know; it is still too early in their education to make such a choice. We want to make sure that further along in our students’ educational journeys, when they must choose, they will have had the full scientific experience to help inform their decisions. And as science teachers, it’s a heck of a lot of fun supporting students on their journeys.

This is our second year in our Science + Innovation Center, and every chance we get we make sure we thank the numerous and generous donors that contributed to our amazing facilities for teaching and learning as well as our Board of Trustees, our head of school Travis Brownley, and our administrative, advancement and facilities teams. It really is a joy to work in this wonderful space.

- The Marin Academy Science Department, May 2019

The Marin Academy Science Department is:

• Maribel Albarran, Laboratory Technician
• Randi Bakken, Biology, Human Anatomy & Physiology
• Tania Bettis, Biology, Neuroscience, MARC Independent Research I
• Ellie Beyers, Chemistry, Advanced Chemistry, Department Chair
• Jon Bretan, Astrophysics & Astronomy, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
• Shawn Cole-Woods, Advanced Physics, Physics with Algebra & Trigonometry, MARC Independent Research I
• Mary Kay Dolejsi, Chemistry, Physics with Algebra & Trigonometry
• Liz Gottlieb, Advanced Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science
• Stori Oates, Biology, MARC Coordinator, Exploring Experimental Design, Independent Research I & II
• Mark Stefanski, Biology

2018 Science Symposium

2017 Science Symposium

2016 Science Symposium

2015 Science Symposium

2014 Science Symposium