Science in the community

Introduction - Students often do not see any relevance of science to their lives.  They memorize facts and figures and have little understanding of how these apply to their everyday lives.  Teachers can help students see the relevance of science to their daily lives by highlighting things of scientific interest in the communities of their students.  In this activity, students photograph things that have scientifc significance, map them on a collaborative map, and write about them in a collaborative photo album.

Project - There are many things that are of scientific interest in the Los Angeles area.  A partial (1)  list of things of scientific interest, and a (2) list of science field trip ideas in the LA area is found below.  Make sure to scroll through both lists. Go to ONE or more sties of scientific interest and take at least five photographs. You may select something not on the list if you like.  When taking your photographs, consider:

• • composition - make certain that the photo clearly illustrates the concept you are trying to illustrate.

  • lighting - make certain the lighting is good.  Don't shoot into the sun or at angles that produce a lot of glare or dark shadows. 

  • clarity - photograph the object(s) in such a way that there is a minimal amount of distractions and clutter. 

  • location - make a record of the specific location at which the photograph was taken.  You will need this information to plot it accurately on the collaborative map. 

Research - Do research on the things you have taken photographs of and come prepared with a couple of paragraphs describing the scientific information related to the objects you have selcted. Include relevant URLs.  We will upload the photographs and information in class. 

Upload your photographs - upload your photographs to the online photo album in class.