School Furniture Blog

Looking for a new experiment for your science classroom?   The Keeping Science Real team from Diversified Woodcrafts has created another practical and entertaining video demonstrating an experiment with quicksand.  The experiment is simple and you only need cornstarch, water, and a mobile science desk so the whole class can see.  Oh, and you will need a toy horse to sink, naming him Artax is optional.  Enjoy the experiment and pass it along

Diversified Woodcrafts has created a video that showcases one of their adjustable science tables in a simple science experiment.

There is a science to creating a great space for both students and teachers to thrive in the classroom.  Visit http://www.worthingtondirect.com today for all of you classroom furniture essentials.  Science tables, science stools, mobile lab stations, science lab sinks and microscope storage cabinets from National Public Seating and Diversified Woodcrafts are just the tools that your school needs to get back to science.

In the past six years, science has slipped as a priority in public schools while reading and mathematics have grown dominant. But in coming years, experts say, the same federal law that elevated reading and math could spark a resurgence of science in the classroom.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind law required states to test students in science starting in the 2007-08 year, on top of reading and math assessments mandated from the start. Virginia has given science tests since 1998, but the exams are new for Maryland and the District. (Separately, Maryland tests high school students in biology as a graduation requirement.) Unlike the reading and math test results, science scores won’t be used to grade schools for accountability.

But education leaders predict that the scores will matter when disseminated to the public. At least six states, including Maryland, released their first science scores this fall. The first science scores from D.C. schools will be released later this year. Overall results from the new tests "are not very good," said Francis Q. Eberle, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association in Arlington. "As a matter of fact, they’re pretty dismal. And it really shouldn’t surprise anybody," he said, because science as a topic "has really gone off the instructional radar."

In New Hampshire and Rhode Island, according to news reports, three-quarters of students failed the first science exams. But in Maryland, more than three-fifths of those tested passed inaugural science tests in grades 5 and 8. Mary Thurlow, state coordinator for science, said she was "pleasantly surprised," considering that many schools "were not teaching science as often as they should."

Science advocates recommend 45 minutes to an hour of science instruction daily starting in upper elementary grades. But many elementary and middle schools now offer half as much science as they did before the law was enacted. Middle schools that used to teach a full year of science and social studies now may offer a half-year of each. Elementary schools have squeezed the two subjects into one block of time to make room for more reading and math. continue reading

Worthington Direct has school furniture down to a science.  We have popluar science tables by Inwood, Allied and Diversified Woodcrafts that range in use for Earth science all the way to Chemistry classes.  Seat your science students on the perfect height Stools or Stack Chairs.  Call or Visit our website, www.WorthingtonDirect.com,  today to find great deals on all of your school and institutional furniture needs. 800-599-6636

In the sprawling complex of high-tech labs, researchers diligently tamper with DNA. Others apply precise computer programs to reconfigure the tiny, complicated strands. New Basha High science teacher Sharon New is spending her summer here, at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, so she can bring back to her classroom some of the most rigorous course work available for high school students.

For six weeks this summer, the Chandler Unified instructor became the first public school teacher to intern with Professor Hao Yan, sitting where her students will this fall – behind desks, lab tables and computers. "This is about bringing the cutting-edge research back to my classroom," New said. She has been learning about one of the fastest-growing scientific fields, nanotechnology, and how the microscopic particles can be applied to such fields as medicine.

New will offer her students a course called Introduction to Biotechnology, which the teens will be able to take for college credit through Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Biodesign Institute researchers offered New one of the first internships for educators this year. The institute’s high school student program has grown from 16 students last year to 24 this summer. "I’ve been working on DNA origami computer manipulations," said Alex Brown, 17, who will be a senior at Central High School in Phoenix. "The two DNA strands come together like a zipper."

The Biodesign Institute opened four years ago on ASU’s Tempe campus. The first two of four interconnected buildings, which will eventually have a total research space of 800,000 square feet, have been built. Professors strive to get students excited about science and help them develop the skills needed for science careers. "This place has equipment that my school does not have, so it has been great," said Brown who wants to become a science researcher. continue reading