Research Club for Elementary School-aged Students

Danya International, Inc. proposes to develop, evaluate, and promote a step-by-step guide to conducting an after-school research club for fourth and fifth grade students. This after school Research Club Kit will consist of three main components (1) a teachers' guide that will include lesson plans, suggestions for field trips and guest speakers, and resources for students; (2) approximately 80 cards that will include information for the experiments, activities, puzzles and discussions; and (3) a short video featuring researchers and scientists doing their everyday jobs. The Research Club Kit will be based upon the National Science Education Standards which consistently encourage the concepts of scientific exploration, developing and providing hypotheses, and interactive group work. In Phase I, the content of the Research Club Kit will be developed with ongoing input from expert researchers in the field and from teachers. In addition, an evaluation will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Research Club Kit to influence knowledge and attitudes in children, and ensure that all the information is age-appropriate for the audience and easily understood by instructors. In Phase II of the project we will develop parallel Research Club Kits for other grades (first through third) and produce the video. The goal of this project is to increase children's interest in science and research through engaging experiments, while simultaneously providing them with safe, supervised, and structured activity outside of the classroom. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Danya will use a variety of proven, relevant, and appropriate distribution channels to market Research Club Kit products. The resultant products will be placed on our Website for direct purchase and will be featured a icons on our Website. Additional markets for potential distribution include: Parent Teacher Associations, elementary school science teachers, the National Science Teachers Association, and youth focused organizations.