This support of excellence is inspired by the Ursinus College commitment to student engagement and achievement in the sciences and is informed by the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science and Technology, which call for development and achievement in knowledge, inquiry, process skills, problem solving and scientific thinking. 

Principles 

	In our scientifically and technologically advanced culture, high quality science education for all students is of paramount importance and is a significant component of secondary education.
	The excitement of science is best cultivated and appreciated through inquiry and discovery in laboratory experience.  It is in the laboratory that knowledge, process skills, problem solving and scientific thinking are most readily integrated.
	Secondary school science educators are dedicated to advancing an understanding and appreciation of scientific principles and phenomena in students.  By virtue of their dedication, experience and immediacy, science teachers are the people whom are most qualified to understand and act upon the needs of students.  Therefore, any program in support of excellence in science education must be informed by and responsive to the stated needs of the teachers themselves.
	The partnership program should not add to the burden of the classroom teacher, but rather enhance classroom learning.
	Among the greatest challenges to good science education are access to adequate technology and resources, access to innovative laboratory curricula and access to collaborative professional development opportunities for science teachers.
	The most cost effective way to provide resources for schools is to share the same set of resources among several school

Goals and Implementation

It is the fundamental goal of the Science in Motion program to provide access for secondary school science teachers and students to resources, curricula and development opportunities that will support and strengthen the quality of science education for all.
 
This goal will be accomplished by developing working partnerships with science departments and teachers throughout the region and by providing the use of 
the Science in Motion science van for visits to schools.  
 
This specially designed van, accompanied by a certified science teacher, delivers sophisticated portable scientific instrumentation and supplies to local teachers for introduction and use in their own classrooms.  Teachers are supported by the 
Science in Motion program teacher in the use of the equipment and in any collaborative curriculum development desired.  Teachers are given the opportunity to train on the equipment to increase familiarity and expertise, and laboratory experiments, demonstrations, support equipment and materials are provided to the instructor.  All laboratory  waste generated is likewise removed by the program teacher for disposal off-site.
 
The program provides resources that are financially beyond the reach of most school districts, making equipment, a staffed prep center, a certified program teacher, a professional development program with the infrastructure for professional networking and enrichment available to local science teachers.
 
The program offers the type of professional development opportunity that teachers say they need and value most, the ongoing opportunity to work with other teachers in a particular discipline.  This work is accomplished through instrumentation training, daylong academic year workshops, weeklong summer workshops, and invitations to participate in seminar and dinner meeting activities.  The program offers teachers the opportunity to develop working relationships with other secondary school teachers and the faculty of Ursinus College, and provides financial support and ample time for the co-creation of innovative laboratory curricula during summer workshops.
 
By participating in the Ursinus College Science in Motion partnership program, teachers and students are offered the support to re-energize and reinvigorate their science teaching and learning, and to become part of a collaborative effort to create excellence in science education at all levels.