The materials presented below are designed to help your organization efficiently
and effectively implement a successful Project Science After-School Science Club.
Most, if not all, of your questions should be answered below. Please feel free to
contact the Project Science office at any time should you have additional questions.
What is the Project Science After-School Science Club?
Project
Science conducts educational, entertaining and hands-on science activities for elementary
age children throughout Northern Nevada. Our unique brand of exciting, interactive
activities instills a clearer understanding of how science affects the world around
them. Through Project Science, your students will be able to touch, see, hear, smell
and taste what science is really all about. The Science Club meets once a week after school
for one hour. Each week is a different science topic. See
What topics are offered? for details.
Is this a stand-alone enrichment program?
Project Science takes all the hassle and frustration out of running an enrichment
program as we do all the work for you. We are typically sponsored by the PTA or
school administration and run our science clubs separate of any other programs at
your school. Should your school offer one, we will be very happy to work within
an existing enrichment program. However, due to the demand for our programming,
we have to schedule the beginning of all our programs within a small window of time
in order to best serve all our partner schools. Please see the Program Benefits
for a complete list of what we offer.
What is our time commitment to your program?
If you elect the turn-key approach, other schools have told us they have implemented
a Project Science program with only 2 to 4 hours of time investment. Your commitment
typically occurs before the registration period as schools work with our Science
Club Specialists to finalize the program details and coordinate with the school
administration to secure the classrooms.
How long are your programs (weeks and hours)?
Our standard program is 6 weeks, 1 hour per week and held immediately before or
after school. Because of the flexibility of our programming, Project Science can
accommodate program requests of 4 to 10 weeks. See What are Your Suggested Program
Start Dates? below for how your school can offer science enrichment throughout
the school year.
What is the cost?
There is never any cost to your school or PTA/PTO to sponsor a Project Science Science
Club. There is never a registration fee, deposit or cancellation fee associated
with our programs. The cost for a standard 6-week session is $80 per student. This
is an all-inclusive, one-time fee for the participants. Project Science provides
all equipment and materials. Costs for other length sessions are as follows: 4 weeks
= $50, 8 weeks = $105 and 10 weeks = $130. See What topics are covered? below
for sessions less than 8 weeks.
What are your suggested program start dates?
With the amount of programming we offer, the ease of implementation, the popularity
and variety of our instruction and the no obligation nature of our programs, most
schools elect to offer Project Science multiple times throughout the school year.
To accommodate the widest range of student schedules while taking into consideration
school holidays, both 6 week and 8 week courses are very popular. A 6- week course
allows for an extra series to be offered during the year and reduces the waiting
time for students who were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts with other
activities. A 6-week course is also more affordable for more families.
Sample Program Dates:
6 Week Program
3rd week of September through 4th week of October
1st week of November through 3rd week of December
3rd week of January through 4th week of February
2nd week of March through 3rd week of April
8 Week Program
3rd week of September through 1st week of November
3rd week of January through 2nd week of March
1st week of April through 4th week of May
What if our schedule does not correspond with the dates above?
Project Science After-School Science Clubs can start at any time during your school
year. Although, the above dates will provide your students with the greatest availability
of these popular classes, you do not have to offer a Project Science class during
each of the periods outlined above. Combinations of 6-week and 8-week series (or
other durations) can be offered during your school year.
How long does it take to implement a program?
How much lead time is necessary?
The most important part of the process is to register your interest in having a
Project Science After-School Science Club. To do this, simply fill out the
registration form. It is critical that you do this as soon as possible because
our programs are very popular. There is no cost to register as there is never any
financial obligation to your school or organization. A Science Club Specialist will
contact you to finalize the program details [day(s) of the week, number of weeks,
start and end dates, etc]. The entire program implementation process takes about
2 hours spread over 3 weeks:
3 weeks before class begins -
- Marketing materials are displayed.
- Registration materials are delivered and sent home with your students.
- Students typically have 7 days to return their registration forms.
2 weeks before class begins –
- Registration ends and Project Science processes enrollments.
1 week before class begins –
- Student confirmations and class rosters are delivered to your organization.
Do you have a minimum class size? A maximum class size?
Our classes require a minimum enrollment of 12 paid students. To ensure the hands-on,
interactive nature of our instruction, class size will be capped at 20. Registrations
for numbers 21 through 24 will go on a wait list. With the 24th registration, Project
Science will create 2 classes of 12. The ability to offer additional classes may
be subject to instructor availability. Predicting enrollment is crucial to the proper
planning necessary to ensure all your interested students can participate. See How
can we predict enrollment? below. Project Science may elect to offer a program
even if the class minimum is not met. This decision is at the sole discretion of
Project Science.
What ages/grades can register?
Project Science offers instruction in an age and grade appropriate manner using
a variety of teaching methods and environments to ensure each participant benefits
from the instruction. Therefore students in grades K through 6 are offered the opportunity
to participate in our programs. Should registration allow we will divide classes
by grades (exm. K – 2 and 3 – 6). Larger enrollment may allow even greater segregation
by grade level.
How can we predict enrollment?
A good rule of thumb is to assume 5% of your student body will be interested in
the Project Science After-School Science Club. Response may be affected by many
factors including day of week, season of year and transportation needs. However,
it is best to plan for a 5% response and reserve the necessary rooms in order to
accommodate as many students as possible.
Because there is no financial obligation to your organization, final enrollment
that does not utilize all the reserved rooms will not result in a penalty of any
kind. A great way to gauge your students’ interest is to send home a Student Survey
sheet provided free of charge by Project Science. This survey does not obligate
nor reserve space for the respondent. Ask your assigned Science Club Specialist
about this option.
When should we schedule our class(es)?
Project Science has the flexibility in scheduling and instructor availability to
conduct classes on any day of the week and on multiple days during the week at one
location. Availability on some days may be limited so it is best to confirm your
dates with Project Science as early as possible.
When scheduling your Project Science program, think of the “normal” extracurricular
schedule of your students. We find that most children’s activities are scheduled
on either Monday-Wednesday-Friday or on Tuesday-Thursday. Therefore, to provide
the maximum flexibility for your students, you should offer Project Science classes
on two consecutive days during the week (ex. Monday-Tuesday, Tuesday- Wednesday)
or on one “odd” day and one “even” day (ex. Monday and Thursday).
Using the enrollment rule of thumb from above, planning for one class of K – 2 and
one class for 3 – 6 on each of the scheduled days should be sufficient for most
situations. For a variety of reasons, even with this schedule all students who wish
to take Project Science during any program will not be able to participate. Therefore,
Project Science should be offered in each of the three “seasons” of the year – fall,
winter and spring.
We strongly suggest that you run Project Science on the same day(s) of the week
all year long. Classes should start within 15 minutes from the dismissal of school.
This allows the teacher in the room time to “close up shop” and the instructor time
to prepare the room and equipment for the day’s instruction. For schools that offer
After Care programs and have school dismissal times in the early afternoon, we can
run consecutive classes (exm: 2:30 – 3:30 and 3:45 to 4:45). Please ask your Science
Club Specialist about this possibility.
What topics are offered?
We have over 400 experiments in our curriculum. Some of the topics covered are:
chemistry, model rockets, air & water, astronomy, crystals, light & sound, electricity,
chemical reactions, physics, heat & company, earth science, electro-chemistry, static
electricity, food chemistry, and magnets. Project Science reserves the right to
change class topics with no advance notice to students, parents or your organization.
Changes of this sort are typically in response to an emergency situation to ensure
scheduled instruction of a class is performed.
How is registration handled?
There are three ways to handle registration:
- All materials and payments are submitted directly to Project Science. This turn-key
method is usually the easiest and most efficient for your organization.
- Materials and payments are returned to your organization. They are picked up by
or shipped to Project Science and we process the paperwork and payments.
- Your organization receives and processes all the paperwork. Project Science will
invoice you for the number of participants. Should you process your own registration,
participant information and class rosters will need to be provided on Project Science
supplied forms.
What participant information is required?
In order to ensure the safety of all participants in a Project Science After-School
Science Club both during the experiments and after the class, the following information
must be provided on each participant:
- Child’s name
- Child’s grade
- Child’s teacher
- Child’s date of birth
- Child’s address
- Child’s health concerns
- Name of parent or guardian
- Home phone number
- Work/cell phone number
- Signature of parent or guardian
- Names of those allowed to pick up child after class including after school daycare
options
- Payment information (check number or credit card number, expiration date and signature)
When is payment required?
- From parents:
Payment is required at the time of registration. Project Science can accept checks
or credit cards (over the phone, on the registration form or through our on-line
registration system).
- From your organization:
Should you elect to process registration and payments, Project Science will invoice
you for the number of participants during the second week of class. This allows
students to “test drive” our program the first week and receive a full refund if
it is not to their liking. Also, late comers are more easily accommodated through
this schedule. Payment on invoices is expected within one week of receipt
What does Project Science need from our organization?
Each participant will need a desk/table and chair. The instructor will need a small
table for the equipment. Therefore classrooms work best and classrooms in grades
3 and above are preferred. We will also need access to electricity, nearby water
and the ability to darken the room. Room volunteers are not necessary with our program;
however they are welcomed. See Do you offer scholarships for information on free
enrollment for the children of volunteers. We have found that a brief period between
the end of school and the beginning of the Project Science class is beneficial to
the students. Therefore, please plan to have all Project Science participants gather
in the gym or cafeteria for approximately 10 – 15 minutes to facilitate a bathroom
break and/or a snack. Your organization will need to provide someone to monitor
this period between the end of school and the beginning of the Project Science program
and to escort the students to the Project Science classroom(s).
What is your refund policy?
A full refund will be made to any parent who withdraws his child prior to the second
week of the program and informs Project Science in writing. Withdrawal after the
second week is not subject to a refund; however consideration will be given these
students for future Project Science programs.
Do you have a quality guarantee?
The Project Science guarantee is simple – your organization, your students and parents
will be satisfied with the Project Science experience or we will do what it takes
to make it right.
Who are your instructors?
We recruit former teachers and current college students with an education major
who have experience in classrooms or with groups of elementary aged children. All
our instructors must pass a series of state and national criminal background checks
and be certified through our training process. Instructors are assigned for the
entire length of the program. This encourages a rapport between instructor and student
and facilitates the learning process.
Do you offer scholarships?
Our mission is to bring fun science to all children in Northern Nevada. To this
end Project Science offers several scholarship opportunities to our classes. All
scholarships are awarded after the paid class minimum is met. Administration of
scholarships is left to your organization. Please inform Project Science of the
recipient(s) to ensure proper record keeping and invoicing.
- One scholarship is awarded to the Program Coordinator at your school.
- One scholarship is awarded to the parent or guardian who commits to serve as a room
volunteer for the entire length of the program.
- One scholarship per class is awarded should your organization process all registrations
and payments.
NOTE: Project Science cannot exceed the class maximum of 20. If all scheduled classes
are filled through paid registrants, it is the responsibility of your organization
to determine which students (paid vs. scholarship) are granted admission. Scholarships
that are not awarded due to this situation will be evaluated for the next offering
of Project Science.
Do you offer incentives for the use of teacher’s classrooms?
As a reward for teachers who allow Project Science to use their classrooms, Project
Science will donate one free In-Class Workshop for their class (retail value $129).
Workshops are an hour long, instructional period where students learn fun and hands-on
science. This workshop must be used during that school year and is subject to scheduling
and workshop availability.
What are the expectations of the students?
The parents?
Project Science strives at all times to provide fun and safe science activities
for all children participating in our classes. To fulfill this commitment, we ask
that all children enrolled adhere to basic behavioral guidelines. Our instructors
set clear boundaries and expectations as to appropriate conduct and we will hold
all students to these expectations. In addition, Project Science will follow all
of your school’s rules and policies regarding student behavioral expectations. We
stress at the beginning of each class that the school rules are still in effect.
We ask your cooperation should any parent be notified of discipline problems. It
is our intention to provide children with, not deprive them of, exciting and fun
science. It is only when a child interrupts this positive learning environment that
we would take any such action.
Project Science also has expectations of the parents whose children are enrolled.
Only children with a sincere interest in our programs and the necessary maturity
to handle an extension of the school day should be allowed to enroll. An approved
guardian must pick up each child at the classroom promptly at the dismissal of class.
Parents are welcome to observe any class and to participate where appropriate. All
parents should support the learning process after class is dismissed.
What is your inclement weather/class cancellation policy?
Project Science will follow the inclement weather and school closure policy of the
school district in which we are instructing. Each program should have a minimum
of one week before the start of the next program to accommodate a possible make-up
day. Project Science will attempt to reschedule weather-related class cancellations
or other events beyond our control or planning, but with no guarantees. No refunds
or credits will be given in the event a class cannot be made up under these circumstances.
Cancellations due to school-related issues such as improper planning or scheduling
regarding early dismissal may be rescheduled at the sole discretion of Project Science.
No refund or credit will be given under these circumstances regardless if the class
is rescheduled or not.
Are we guaranteed a Project Science program at our school?
The demand for our programming is high. As a result we must limit the number of
classes we offer in any instruction period. We schedule programs on a first come,
first served basis. Because of the popularity of our programs and of the challenges
sometimes associated with securing qualified staff, it is imperative that you adhere
to the planning timelines when requesting and implementing a Project Science After-School
Science Club. We have always met our staffing obligations but should the enrollment
for your organization exceed the norm, we cannot guarantee that an additional instructor
will be available. Should Project Science have to cancel a program because we could
not supply a qualified instructor we will make every effort to reschedule the program
as quickly as possible. We realize the great inconvenience and disappointment a
program cancellation would cause. Should this occur, any funds collected by Project
Science for a canceled program will be promptly returned.
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