UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
STEM EDUCATION
Science Circus Inspires
and Connects Students
In September, Dr. Brett Criswell (Department of STEM
Education), Dr. Margaret Rintamaa (Department of
Curriculum & Instruction), and Patrick Goff (Beaumont
Middle School science teacher) hosted the first UK
College of Education Science Circus. College of Education
students from elementary and middle-secondary science
methods courses were placed on mixed teams. After a
brief introduction, they were sent to three rooms in Taylor
Education Building where 15 different stations had been
prepared. The stations, with such titles as “Can You See
Through This,” “The Cotton Conundrum,” “The Singing
Glass” and “Toothpick Magic,” all had easy-to-conduct –
but not necessarily easy-to-explain – inquiry investigations
awaiting the participants.
The idea of the Science Circus was to get students
excited about the science teaching and learning they would
experience in the upcoming semester, as well as to connect
the two classes so they could collaborate on projects. Student
feedback suggests the event accomplished those objectives.
“I always enjoy hands-on activities, and that was provided
for us [at the circus],” elementary education major Kristen
Nett said. “I also enjoyed getting to work with a more
science-centered mind (from one of the secondary classes).
She was able to give our group a deeper insight on why
certain things were happening during the experiments. …
Lastly, I was excited to see the experiments I could complete
with my own students in the future. The experiments were
2
Pictured, from left, Dr. Brett Criswell (STEM), Dr. Margaret
Rintamaa (Curriculum and Instruction) and Patrick Goff, an
Eighth grade science teacher at Beaumont Middle School.
Goff, who helped with the Science Circus, is a finalist in the
2015 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Awards and was
the 2013 recipient of INSPIRE: Lexmark’s Teaching Award.
all entertaining and helped me form knowledge about how
things work, which is perfect for my future students.”
COE COMMUNICATOR | NOVEMBER 2014