Kay Hubbard from Libby Elementary in Carthage, Texas writes: "Yes, many children stopped me on campus during the day and told me how much they enjoyed seeing your magic. And I especially appreciated the way you kept giving good examples of how the scientific process worked. I think they all seemed to have a better understanding. I'd like to learn more about your other shows so that I can write another grant for next year. Thanks very much!" Kay
Purpose: (Expectation of results in general terms)
Students at Libby School will be taken into the world of scientific study and exploration in a fast-paced, fun-filled program from World of Wonders. Teachers are always looking for ways to pique interest and help make science fascinating and entertaining for young students, and David Gish (aka David Wonders) will use scientific principles to teach students how simple things can sometimes create magical effects and will make use of the scientific process to demonstrate experiments that will excite student imagination. He also focuses on reaching of personal goals and potential and the importance
of reading to learn. Gish will remain on the Libby campus all day in order to repeat his “magic” over and over in small groups for maximum attentiveness and interaction.
Rationale: (Relevance and importance to your campus/district plan)
Federal and state mandates calling for greater emphasis on science make this a very timely program for Libby students. Also appropriate and important is the fast-paced nature of the show (one activity right after another), which helps our many students with short attention spans remain attentive and really “get” the information provided.
Also, Gish's passion for his belief that life is all about learning, and his concern with character development and reading to learn, as well as his science demonstrations, could not be more appropriate and relevant for this age student. After all, the first person who will set foot on Mars, or the President of the United States at that time, is not presently an astronaut or a politician; he/she is probably a Libby-age student!
