Students return to SCICON for first time in more than a year
It was just for a day but for the first time in more than a year students were able to return to SCICON.
A group of Springville School students visited SCICON for a day trip last week. It was the first visit by students to SCICON since its closure last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an emotional moment as SCICON staff members cried as they saw the school bus approach the parking lot.
SCICON naturalists were careful to instruct students to wear their masks at all times, maintain social distancing, and not share equipment with one another. The sixth graders visited Listening Hill, Wormville, and the tree nursery, learning hands-on biology and ecology lessons. While it wasn’t the normal week sixth graders have had in the past at SCICON, it was still a rewarding day.
“It was a great day to see students learning on campus again,“said Tim Hire, Tulare County Superintendent of Schools. “I am equally as proud of the work the program did to continue to serve Tulare County students virtually, without missing a beat.”
Due to the pandemic, student visits to SCICON had been canceled. As a result, SCICON staff developed fun and educational videos, helping students to learn key science standards and SCICON traditions and songs, and explore the school’s Rap
In September, the program began offering custom Zoom sessions for fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms with lessons in aquatics, ecology, forestry, and geology, and visits to the Phyllis Wall Museum. SCICON Director Dianne Shew reported since September the instructional staff has conducted more than 700 Zoom presentations for fifth- and sixthgrade students, reaching 11,000 students. The Visalia Unified Board of Education will provide the SCICON Zoom team with a special commendation at a board meeting later this month.
SCICON is now offering day trips to classes and will continue to conduct lessons via Zoom until its overnight program can resume. For more information about visiting SCICON or arranging live Zoom lessons, call Shew, (559) 539-2642.