The Natural Science Club reaches out to local elementary school children

Photo Courtesy of Jaime Arvizu

Fresno State natural science majors have a club to call their own. Students with an option in biology, chemistry, physics or earth science can expand their knowledge and love for science by reaching out to elementary school children in the community.

The Natural Science Club has been established on campus since March 2009, and is a charter club to the California Science Teachers Association.

The Natural Science Club’s goal is to provide students ”” who have declared or are interested in declaring natural science as a major, or undergraduates and graduates who are interested in teaching science ”” with chances for association and interaction with the faculty and administration at Fresno State.

“This club allows students to feel like they belong to a community,” Natural Science Club advisor Jaime Arvizu said. “It provides structure for those who are pursuing teaching as an option within sciences.”

Jacqueline Hill, secretary of the Natural Science Club, said one the most one of the most influential reasons why she joined the club is because members get to reach out to elementary school children within the community.

“Our programs provide a positive way of showing science to younger kids,” Hill said.

Natural Science Club President Damion Delton said another thing that this club strives for is to work within the community.

“We want the members to do well in their future profession,” Delton said. “The club provides community outreach to help enhance preparation.”

One of the events that the club coordinates is the Circuit Science Program, which occurs twice a semester. The last Circuit Science program was held on Jan. 10-14 of this year. The program took place at the Downing Science Museum on campus.

There were different activities for the kids to participate in along with science demonstrations put on by members of the club. All the activities and demonstrations meet California state standards.

“We also did many of our own stations inside and outside the museum that the kids had a blast doing,” Delton said.

Delton said about 1,000 elementary school children, grades third through sixth, along with teachers learned a great deal throughout the week.

“It was nice to see the children having a great time smiling and learning about how awesome science and math really is,” Delton said.

Vanessa Tucker, Natural Science Club vice president, said students and teachers sent the club members several letters expressing their gratitude for the program.

“The teachers praised us for our organization, and it took a lot of hard work and effort from our club and volunteers to make this program a success once again,” Delton said.

Delton added that they had many volunteers with different backgrounds helping with the Circuit Science Program last month, including Theta Chi fraternity.

The next Circuit Science Program will be held the week after finals, May 23-27. Volunteers are encouraged and appreciated.

“We definitely need volunteers, as they are the ones who drive the program and determine its success,” Delton said.

Arvizu got the idea for the Circuit Science Program when the Fresno Metropolitan Museum closed. He wanted to come up with a way to reach out to elementary school students since the museum was no longer available for a hands-on approach to teaching math and science.

Another benefit of being a part of the Natural Science Club is that members can attend professional development seminars held by organizations like the California Math Council and the National Science Teachers Association.

The Natural Science Club fuses together with CMC and NSTA since the Science and Mathematics Education Center fund all three. This provides members with a way to learn more about teaching in the profession that better prepares them for their future in this field.

Students within the science and mathematics fields are encouraged to become a part of the Natural Science Club or even if you have an interest in those fields of study.