Arkema’s Science Teacher Program, now entering its 12th year, pairs local science teachers from grades 3 through 6 with Arkema scientists for a four-day science camp.

Together, these teachers and scientists explore the contents of a grade specific, professionally designed, hands-on science kit. At the conclusion of the program, teachers take these kits back to their classrooms and use them to teach science in new and innovative ways. Local teachers and participating schools include Patty Ulland and Jeannie Bambrick from Austin Catholic Schools; Fred Kindschy and Kathy Serratore from Hayfield Elementary School; Brandi Veiths and Tammy Barnes from St. Mary’s School, Owatonna; and Marilyn Meshke and Matt Harvey from Blooming Prairie Elementary.

“With tighter school budgets, it is important for industry to find ways to offer teachers additional new resources,” said Rodney Earlywine, plant manager of Arkema’s Blooming Prairie Plant, “Arkema’s Science Teacher Program helps fill the gap by providing teachers with hands-on lessons and custom-created science kits that give them tools to make learning fun.”

Newton’s Laws of Physics can be explored in ways understandable to grade school students through kits devoted to motion and design and levers and pulleys.

The rocks and minerals kit helps teachers explain why some minerals, such as quartz, are harder than others.

Students can discover the fat content of a wide variety of foods with the food chemistry kit.

Ecosystems and environment kits allow students to learn how the lives of plants and animals are interconnected, and how activities, such as salting roads, can have an effect on local ecosystems.

The experiment kits given to schools through Arkema’s Science Teacher Program meet National Science Education Standards and contain enough hands-on materials for a class of 30 students, as well as eight weeks of curriculum. Arkema Inc. donates $500 to participating teachers to replenish kit materials, as well as a $500 donation to each participating school.

Since its inception in 1996, more than 700 teachers have participated in Arkema’s Science Teacher Program and have gone on to share their newfound knowledge with more than 50,000 students nationwide — most of whom come from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes.

As a global chemical player, Arkema has presence in more than 40 countries with 18,400 employees. With its six research centers in France, the United States and Japan, Arkema holds leadership positions in its principal markets.

For more information about Arkema, visit www.arkema-inc.com.