LABRATS: Benefits

Benefit #1 ? The Kids Learn More Science, Up to 135 Labs/Year
We hate to state the obvious, but by implementing this program you are going to be presenting lots of hands-on science to lots of kids. Something that everyone squeaks about. If you are a statistical kind of person then you will love to know that a recent study conducted for the National Science Foundation found that the average elementary age student had the opportunity to participate in 2.5 lab experiences a year, roughly one lab every 3 to 4 months. Not a very impressive statistic by anyone's standards, let alone the most powerful nation on the earth. It is hard to imagine that we will remain the world leader in technology, innovation, and invention if we do not address this shortfall at the foundation of the learning process.
Participation in a single LabRats class would introduce students to no fewer than 20 lab activities, 8 times the yearly national average in a single month! Extend the math a bit and if a kid takes all four of the classes offered during the school year and also participates in the summer science camp they will have performed over 135 labs that year alone. This does not include the activities that they learn while attending school. Ultimately, this wealth of lab experiences will allow them to enter junior high or middle school with a fundamental understanding of science concepts as well as the lab skills necessary to complete their advanced course work with a high degree of success.

Benefit #2 ? Provide an Ideal Academic Environment for Kids to Learn
There are four factors that contribute to providing each student with an optimum learning experience. Class size is limited to a maximum of 20 kids, which translates into lots of time for each student. Specific target ages are assigned to individual classes so the material is neither too difficult or too simplistic for the students. The school is a familiar environment which allows the student to focus on the material in the kit and everyone participates all of the time because each student receives, uses, and keeps their own kit.
Again, the unstated but obvious wild card in this whole program is the fact that the kids want to be there so discipline problems are diminished. When you factor that element into the other components of the program you have five hours of solid learning.

Benefit #3 ? Teach & Reinforce Lab Safety
This is something that is usually overlooked at the elementary level and really should be introduced from Kindergarten on. Our kits are prepared with safety in mind. They have been reviewed specifically for use by kids. Each book contains safety guidelines for the teacher to review prior to class and lab activities point out potential activities that may cause concern. The kids will learn valuable lab safety skills while using safe materials so that they will be prepared when it counts later in life.

Benefit #4 ? Increase Your School Science Budget
Additionally, every kid who participates in LabRats pays to receive and keep a kit that is included with the training. For every kit that is purchased Loose in the Lab will send the school a certificate good for $3.00 in Lab Loot. This loot can be redeemed to purchase science supplies, kits for kids from lower income families, science posters for the classroom, or fossils for the library display window. Anything we offer in our catalog is yours for the asking and it doesn't take a penny out of your budget. Add a $ 5.00 Lab Loot voucher for Summer Science, offer two sessions, and you can start the next school year with a credit of over $ 650.00.

Benefit #5 ? Supplement and Enhance Your Science Curriculum
Over the course of three years the LabRats program has the potential to introduce over 520 different hands-on lab activities to students in the fields of classic physics, chemistry, biology, geology, electricity and magnetism. Many of the classes take the traditional State Core requirements or National Content Standards and develop them further, expanding the knowledge base that is created by the classroom teacher.
It is our position at Loose in the Lab that once the lab activities have been presented in the school as part of the after-school or summer science classes, the teacher is then free to use the same activities during the school year with all of the children if he or she so desires. We provide a limited copyright release to the school after the completion of the program. The upshot of this is that the school benefits from having access to over 520 lab ideas and an instructor who has been trained and is experienced in presenting them.

Benefit #6 ? Nurture a Resident Science Specialist, Free Staff Science Instruction
Teachers who participate in the LabRats program become better science teachers because they have high quality training from men and women in the field of science education. In addition to the training, they also have an immediate opportunity to practice what they have learned in a classroom setting with students who are interested in science. This combination expands their personal knowledge base of lab science resources and also refines their ability to present science. In essence, you have an informal program to create, foster, and encourage the evolution of a specialist in elementary science education who resides right at your school.
Once you have acquired the copyrights to the labs you can also download lesson plans for teaching the labs from our website at no expense. The real benefit is that the teacher preparing for the LabRat class will receive an Instructional CD. This disc can be inserted in any computer and the teacher is then free to select a demo of any or all of the lab activities in that program. Instruction on demand.

Benefit #7 ? Promote Professional Growth & Career Advancement
After a teacher has taught two LabRat sessions they are eligible to earn one quarter (as opposed to semester) hour of continuing education credit from the Department of Continuing Education at Oregon State University in Corvallis. With eight classes a year, a teacher can pick up four credits during the school year, plus four more, one for each different Summer Science class that they teach. This will allow you to earn up to 8 credits annually for lane change opportunities, to satisfy training and workshop requirements mandated by some states, and also contribute to Professional Growth requirements.

Benefit #8 ? Create Extra Income for Professional Educators
How many teachers do you know who paint houses in the summer or have a second job in the evening to make ends meet? Anybody with a full set of dendrites did not go into education to get rich. But that does not mean that you should not be paid, at a professional rate, for the skills that you have acquired over the years and can translate into meaningful experiences for kids.
Teaching LabRats allows you to offer after-school, enrichment programs to kids who want to know more about science and earn additional income, if you so choose, while you are at it. The music teachers offer private lessons, coaches are paid to stay after school and train young athletes-same thing. Professional educators with a love of science sharing a quality program.