From the Spring '07 issue of Case Magazine

What is 'Real Science' and what does an artist or humanitarian need science for anyway? Some Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) students are about to find out.

Case's Center for Science and Mathematics Education (CSME) recently received a $786,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for their groundbreaking program, Science in the Circle: Integrating Arts and Humanities into Authentic Science Experiences.

Science in the Circle brings together CMSD students, University Circle institutions, and Case students for a summer of science and art exploration.

Beginning in the sixth grade and continuing for three years, CMSD students will engage in real science experiences, says CMSE Director James Bader. Students are assigned to teams comprised of a teacher, a museum staff member, a Case student seeking teacher certification and a high school mentor. Teams will work on projects integrating art and science, such as creating a three-dimensional early Western Reserve swamp and using Western Reserve Historical Society's archival material to compare Moses Cleveland's surveying practices to current information.

The 100 students in the program will spend about 20 hours over five weeks at each partnering institution that includes Case, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. The Cleveland Clinic will provide instructional materials and in-service teacher training.

Science in the Circle students will complete their projects on campus during the summer and will make formal presentations to parents, teachers, museum educators, and other invited guests—much like real scientists at real national and international meetings.