After-school program focuses on science

Students in the Hot Springs School District will have the chance to participate in a new after-school program at Mid-America Science Museum after the first of the year.

According to a news release from the museum, Science After School — a pilot program — will start Jan. 7 and be offered from 3:30-6 p.m. weekdays until the end of the school year.

As of now, only 107 students in kindergarten through sixth grade will be able to participate in the program. At the completion of the pilot program, adjustments will be made that will make Science After School available to all students in Garland County for the 2019-20 academic year.

According to Stephanie Nehus, superintendent of Hot Springs School District and

member of the museum’s education committee, the program has been several years in the making.

“A few years ago, we looked for ideas on how the museum could expand its education program and the question was asked ‘What about an after-school program?’” she said. “That kind of laid those seeds at that time. Then when the Boys & Girls Club was closing, and we knew that was going to be a reality, Diane (LaFollette, the museum’s executive director) and I started putting the pieces together to make this happen.”

This pilot program is the first of its kind in Arkansas and is licensed by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the news release said.

“It will be a one-of-its-kind program and we get to do it right here in Hot Springs,” Nehus said.

Jeremy Mackey, education director for the museum, said in the release that the museum went through the licensing process with DHS to launch the program, and those involved anticipate full enrollment for the first year.

“We are excited to be offering after-school science learning opportunities for local students and we are privileged to offer a safe and comfortable environment for child care that is affordable and needed by families in Hot Springs. We are proud to be partnering with the Hot Springs School District and look forward to serving families in this new way,” LaFollette said in the release.

Applications were made available today at http://www. midamericamuseum.org. A $30 registration fee is required. Both the application and fee must be received by the museum by Dec. 10; however, a $10 late registration fee will be added for any applications submitted after the deadline.

Transportation will be provided from all four elementary schools in Hot Springs School District to the museum, Nehus said, and parents will be responsible for picking up their children from the museum.

The museum, she said, has been working with the district on ideas for lessons based around the district’s science curriculum.

“We’ve talked a lot about ideas and they’ve laid out what a typical day will look like,” Nehus said. “Students will be split into groups by grade level and have projects and activities based on their grade level.

“Every day they will have a snack and some large motor skills activity outside on the museum grounds. Then they’ll have a science education time where the fifth- and sixth-graders may be working on a project that spans a week, while the younger grades may have one project a day. Then there will be a calm downtime for cleaning up and prepping to go home.”

Nehus said in the release that students of the Hot Springs School District are “so fortunate to have this creative enrichment opportunity, and will undoubtedly benefit from this nontraditional approach to science-based learning.”

Hot Springs School District parents may contact the museum or attend an open house at the museum at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 for more information.