news-record.com

GREENSBORO — A short lesson in combustion Monday ignited a spark that might lead fifth-grader Toine Woodard into a science career.

“I like how we got to learn about the gases because maybe we can try it at home,” she said. “I want to try the balloon thing.”

Toine and 24 other kids from the Salvation Army’s Boys & Girls Clubs of Greensboro watched Rick Betton, Natural Science Center education curator, pop a hydrogen-filled balloon with a flame.

The loud ka-boom made others cringe, but it inspired Toine.

“I am going to try it,” she said. “Watch.”

Time Warner Cable had a a goal fostering a love of science and math among students through its Connect a Million Minds program.

The cable company’s new initiative — which launched in November — aims to provide middle school students with after school learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

The company is making a five-year, $100 million commitment with other support companywide. Nearly a tenth — $11 million — is designated for North Carolina.

Time Warner gave the science center a $35,000 donation, an initial installment of the multi-year partnership.

On Monday, the center was full of oohs and ahhs from kids discovering new ways to apply science and math skills.

The students programmed robots, petted a hedgehog and rode electric two-wheelers, Segways, during the visit.
They also received Flip video camcorders to record and share their experiences through new media.

Robotics educator Marie Hopper said math classes can be boring, so she uses educational toys to help students understand mathematical processes and have fun at the same time.

“It’s really important for students this age to understand that science and math are not just problems on a worksheet,” Hopper said. “That we need science and math knowledge to be informed consumers, educated citizens, and educated voters.”

According to the N.C. STEM Community Collaborative — a statewide program that aims to improve science and math education — only one of three eighth-graders is proficient in math and only one of five eighth-graders is proficient in science. Yet, 80 percent of jobs in the next decade will require science and technology skills.

Dianne Blackwood, vice president and general manager of Time Warner Cable in Greensboro, said a Raytheon Co. study indicates 84 percent of middle schools students would rather clean their room, eat their vegetables, go to the dentist or take out the garbage than learn math or science.

“That’s not true, is it?” Blackwood asked the students.

Some responded with an emphatic, “Yes.”

“Well, we’re out to change that,” she said.

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com