PROJECT EXPLORATION ON "THREE WISHES" SHOW TONIGHT

[Christine Lipkin <christinelipkin@gmail.com>]

Project Exploration in the news:

"THREE WISHES" SHOW
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2
8:00 – 9:00 CST
NBC
http://www.nbc.com/Three_Wishes/

Three Wishes, a show hosted by Amy Grant and other featured
contributors (Carter Oosterhouse of NBC's "Today," "Trading Spaces"; 
Eric Stromer of "Clean Sweep;"  and Diane Mizota of "Trading Spaces:
Boys vs. Girls"), grants various "wishes" that span a spectrum of
requests.  Project Exploration participated in one such
wish-fulfillment by hosting a full-day field experience for Brett, an
8-year-old boy from California, at the Fordyce Ranch in South Dakota. 
Brett, along with the PE team – Dr. Paul Sereno, Fossil Preparator Ray
Vodden, Junior Paleontologist Co-Captain Merry Wilson, and Project
Exploration program alum Marco Mendez – excavated the rib of the
duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus.  See highlights from the dig,
including what it's like excavating in freezing weather and working
with an eager young fossil hunter!






Most Frequently Asked Questions
ABOUT PROJECT EXPLORATION'S YOUTH PROGRAMS

1.         Can my child participate if they are not from Chicago or
not a minority student?
Project Exploration is in the process of developing our own permanent
field camp that will offer summer programs to families across the
country. It isn't open yet, but we are taking names of people who
would like to receive more information when it's available. We expect
to start running programs open to the public at large in about two
years.

2.         How do you get your kids?
Depending on the program, we get our kids from recommendations from
teachers we work with, schools that we have long-term partnerships
with, and word of mouth from other students.

3.         Do you have to be a Chicago Public School student to participate?
Our intensive youth programs are only open to Chicago Public School
students. We run free public programs throughout the year that are
open to anyone. We also occasionally run fee-based programs at
private, suburban, or parochial schools.

4.         Do you only pick straight "A" students?
NO! Students participate based on their interest level rather than
their academic performance. We target students who are low-middle
achievers academically but who are curious and open-minded.

5.         Do you have to be a minority kid to be eligible?
We target kids from backgrounds historically underrepresented in
professional science and kids who otherwise wouldn't have the
opportunity either because of their financial situation at home. 
Currently roughly 30% of our students are Latino and 60% are African
American. About 59% are female. We have a high percentage of children
of new immigrants.

6.         Do you only run science programs?
Science is the basis for interdisciplinary programs. We read and write
in every program every day. We also process learning experiences using
art, performance, and technology. But we always have a strong
scientific base as a starting point.

7.         What does it mean when you say you have a "long term
relationship" with students?
Project Exploration's educational philosophy is based on the idea that
learning is rooted in relationships. Once a student is accepted into a
youth program, we work to see them a minimum of four times each year.
In addition, we are developing leadership opportunities including
internships and scholarship programs. Lastly, we have a
college-readiness component to help graduating high school students
and their families navigate the college-application process.

8.         What makes this different from other science programs?
Firstly, we target students who are NOT in the top 10% academically;
most science programs target students who excel. Secondly, there is no
fee for students to participate. Lastly, and most importantly, our
programs foster and support long term relationships with students; we
work to connect experiences in which students are successful to their
academic lives and their plans for their futures

9.                  How are these programs different from science
programs at museums?
Our youth programs emphasize personalizing science by putting a real
life "face" on it. We enable kids to have hands-on experiences in the
field and in the lab alongside research scientists. Most science
museums separate their research side and their public side, and
programs targeting public school students are not designed to foster
ongoing relationships with working scientists and new discoveries.