(Posted September 6, 2005)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College's Science in Motion program has received an $80,000 grant from GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company, to provide funding for the college's year-old initiative to introduce the program into area middle schools.

The grant, which is limited to purchases of equipment for the program, will be shared equally by Juniata and Drexel University's Science in Motion program.

In September 2004, Juniata received a one-year grant for more than $415,000 from the state Department of Education's Department of Assessment and Evaluation to create a pilot program for middle school science instruction. The pilot program will be used as a model for the state to apply for a National Science Foundation grant to fund the program next year.

The college presented programs in 12 school districts: Everett School District, Williamsburg Community School District, Forbes Road School District, Hollidaysburg School District, Huntingdon School District, Southern Huntingdon School District, Mount Union School District, Juniata Valley School District, Spring Cove School District, Glendale School District, Tussey Mountain School District and Indian Valley Middle School.

Juniata purchased a new van for the middle school project and hired two new mobile educator. While Science in Motion's high school curriculum centers on chemistry and biology, the middle school program presented lessons in physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space science and environmental science and ecology.

"Students will do better on assessment tests and become more interested in science if they have had access to scientific equipment and computers to get hands-on experience," Mulfinger says. "Pennsylvania students will start being tested in science in 2007 as part of the federal requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation and we believe bringing Science in Motion into the middle schools will act as a springboard to get top scores."




Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.