Science education was rejuvenated at the Woodriver Elementary School during an interactive science festival Thursday cosponsored by UAF.

The event invited students and their families to experience science hands-on at 25 different stations exploring a wide range of topics including sound, tree rings, weather, local furs, owl pellets, and fish dissections.

Carson Scott, a fifth grader, was interested in the fish dissection table and responded to the interactive nature of the fair.

"This fair is awesome, because there are a lot of puzzles and stuff to play with," he said. "I also think science is cool because you get to use a lot of new technology."

Derek Bastille, a parent of two children at Woodriver, volunteered to help with the science fair.

"I think science is a very important facet of education," he said. "If you get kids interested in a variety of science, they are more likely to see the world from a scientific perspective. And then instead of saying what's going on, they'll say, how can I figure out what's going on."

"What is it?" was a question many students asked as they crowded a popular booth providing the opportunity to hold a hibernating ground squirrel. Kelly Drew, a UAF biochemistry professor, and Lisbet Norris, an undergraduate lab assistant, supervised children and parents as they held it.

The hibernating ground squirrel was not just an interesting display, but it is the focus of Drew's academic research. Drew is interested in the ground squirrels' brain state during hibernation, its similarities and correlation to the state of the brain during a stroke.

Ultimately, she plans to develop a model of tolerance for brain injuries.

The table provided information on hibernation and allowed children to see what a hibernating creature looked, acted and felt like first hand.

Leslie Dolan, the teacher who organized the festival, said the goal of the event was to infuse the school and community with science.

"We wanted to provide a different kind of science outreach, one that went beyond the school and touched the whole community," she said.

Tisha Simmons, an Alaska Native education tutor at Woodriver, said her two daughters have been looking forward to the science festival for the last couple weeks.

"I think that there is not enough science in the classroom," she said. "Science is a great way for kids to be creative, because they learn how to take a problem and break it down. I think this fair is a great opportunity for kids to get into science."

The event was cosponsored by UAF's Teach Alaskans Sharing Kowledge GK-12 program, a collaborative effort between UAF students, faculty and local teachers to bring science back into the classroom.

TASK GK-12 fellows consist of both graduate and upper level undergraduate students in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math.

Fellows are paired with a UAF faculty mentor and a local teacher. They spend approximately 10-20 hours a week in the classroom teaching science and math and leading science activities.

Teachers and fellows work together bringing educational expertise and science experience to the students.

"The fellows are practicing communicating science to a whole new group of people, children, adding a new facet to their communication skills," said Karina Possenti, the TASK GK-12 program administrator.

This is the second year of the TASK GK-12 program, and half of the TASK GK-12 fellows from the first year have continued their involvement with the program.

"I am becoming a scientist, and I think it is important for everyone to know a little science and I enjoy helping to make that happen," said David Runfola, a fisheries graduate student is in his second year as a fellow. "If you give kids a spark, that is all they need to interesting science and that is why I'm here."

Thirteen fellows, two undergraduate and 11 graduate students are spread between 14 classrooms in seven different schools.

"The children look up to the UAF TASK fellows," Possenti said. "They are young and cool, and hopefully the interaction will inspire the younger students to look at science as a possible career choice for themselves."

As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, many elementary and middle schools have abandoned science to focus on reading and math, two subjects students are evaluated by.

The testing standards set by the law have forced many school principals to use their limited financial resources to focus on test preparation to improve scores.

In many schools, the only science in the classroom is provided by the TASK GK-12 program, and some schools have cut science altogether. However, standardized science testing is on the horizon. One of the TASK GK-12 program's goals is to provide a springboard for that future by teaching teachers to be comfortable with science and associated resources so that they can continue after the TASK GK-12 program no longer exists.

Ashlee Chandler, a fourth grader at Woodriver enjoys science activities with the TASK GK-12 fellows.

"I love science," she said, "because I am always learning and seeing new things. And [the fellows] help make it all really interesting."