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CURRICULUM AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT   * 1 HOUR * LEVEL 2

The Science Learning Center 

Why Include a Science Center

Page 4
If science is all around us, why is it important to specify an area of the classroom as a science learning center? There are many reasons! Science is everywhere for preschool children, however, there is more to the scientific process than just observing and experimenting. While these are two very important elements to scientific study, they are not the only ones to consider. Most importantly, science provides a way of thinking about the world and discovering the processes which occur in everything. 
Young children are active scientists as they explore their environment. That curiosity and exploration is the key to scientific thinking. Often adults will interfere with this natural curiosity and stand between children and real scientific discoveries.

​Obviously where a child’s safety is concerned there needs to be some intervention, but the notion of a neat and orderly classroom also tends to inhibit a child’s scientific discovery. Providing the class with a science learning center will encourage this growth and exploration in a safe and teacher-friendly way. Do not expect that the science center will be organized and tidy at all times. This is an unrealistic expectation and will hinder true scientific discoveries.
Pushing the boundaries of the expected result is another element of scientific thinking that children do well with. Though they may know that a boat will float with a couple of blocks on top, it is not uncommon for them to push that theory as far as they can. They may stack 10 blocks on top and watch the boat sink faster. Next, they may stack 8 blocks and compare the sinking. After that, they may test this out with different boats and different stackable items. This is building upon prior knowledge or scaffolding. 
“We especially need imagination in science.” – Maria Montessori​​
​The current educational system often tries to enforce a lot of structure on young children from a very early age. Children are expected to stand in a straight line, bodies still, mouths closed, eyes forward. These kinds of expectations often create a standard of thinking that can make scientific exploration extremely difficult. It is important to cultivate the notion of thinking outside the box.

​Scientists often do not embark upon incredible discoveries by doing what has already been done over and over and expecting new results. They try something new, often something a little bit unconventional and use their prior knowledge to discover something groundbreaking. Allow your preschool students to have these same experiences with the science center.