Your monthly news & updates |
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Our Mission
To ignite the natural curiosity of all learners to explore and shape their world
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Darrell Harrison
1936-2020
It's with great sadness that we announce one of Roper Mountain’s former directors, Darrell Harrison, passed away on Sept. 28.
Darrell was the visionary Director that opened and grew the Science Center from an idea to a reality. It's because of his vision and the execution of that vision that we have this amazing and unique place today.
We thank Darrell and his family for their time, talent and treasure growing and evolving Roper Mountain into a place of learning and wonder for students, teachers and families alike.
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As a facility of Greenville County Schools, we are following current guidelines provided by SC DHEC and are closed for all public programming until further notice. Please check our website or social media for details on when we will re-open to the public for all activities.
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October Sky Talk
Oct. 2
7 – 8 p.m.
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Virtual Star Party
Oct. 23
8 – 9 p.m.
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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
AND SUSTAINABILITY BUILDING UPDATES
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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY BUILDING UPDATE |
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If you weren’t able to join us for our Doing Big Things On A Little Mountain virtual event last month, you can tune in to see the entire presentation on our YouTube channel.
A full virtual tour and our Case For Support can be located on our website for more details about what this space will create for the community, state, and beyond!
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MOUNTAIN HIGHLIGHT:
SYMMES HALL OF SCIENCE
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e-Learning Live!
On Sept. 21, we kicked off our Roper Mountain e-Learning LIVE virtual lessons! In the first quarter of the school year, Symmes Hall will be Roper Mountain’s virtual lab headquarters with five learning studios set up with multiple cameras, sound equipment, mixers and lots of great science demonstrations.
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Registration in the first two weeks has reached over 22,000 students in grades 2-8. We are so excited to see students and teachers again through these live sessions with our instructors – even if it is on a screen! These standards-based demonstrations are specifically designed to support student learning in a virtual environment. Students are exploring topics ranging from Weather to Newton’s Laws through exciting demonstrations and equipment including: lasers, liquid nitrogen, water-powered turbines, wind-powered cars, centrifuges, dry ice bubbles, infrared cameras, air-powered carts, unexpected chemical reactions and much more. We will be changing topics frequently throughout the year to keep pace with students as they move through the curriculum, so there is lots more in store. |
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New Centrifuge
Symmes has a new centrifuge! A centrifuge is a lab device that rapidly spins tubes around; this motion quickly separates the material in the tubes by density. Blood samples are often run through a centrifuge so that certain parts of the blood can be separated and used for specific tests. We will eventually use our new centrifuge in our 7th grade in-person field trips, but this month we are using it in our virtual labs to teach 5th graders about mixtures!
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3D Printing Support for
Medical Workers
During the time that we have been closed to students and the public, one of our projects has been to assist Pelham Medical Center by printing our designed ear-saver face mask buckles. These buckles relieve pressure from face masks, which must be constantly worn by staff. The back of these buckles say “Hope” as a way of spreading hope to them and their patients. We have printed hundreds of these and continue to have our 3D printers running in the background to print more as they have started to use them at other sites. We are happy to help them as they serve and help others during these difficult times!
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Science on Wheels has been selected as an enrichment provider for the Child Care Centers receiving CARES Act funding to provide free care for low income households. We will be visiting six sites every week for the next eight weeks with science assembly programs. |
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Thank you to Hooked Meat and Seafood Market on Stallings Road in Greenville for donating seafood for several of the animals at Roper Mountain. Not only does this help us with our animal care food budget, but it gives the animals a greater variety of diet options, which is important for them nutritionally, as well as being a source of enrichment.
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Like many programs, the Science PLUS Institute had to move to a virtual format this year. During our first-ever virtual summer program, we had 287 teachers from across South Carolina participate. Even with this change, participants still received quality instruction and had their materials delivered to them at various pick-up sites around the state. In total, the Science PLUS Institute provided free professional development to 499 teachers during the 2019-2020 school year. |
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…that the Monarch butterfly fall migration phenomena is featured as the backdrop mural of our Invertebrate Zoo in our Ecology Lab?
As the Ecology Lab was under construction in 2006, Valerie Bunch Hollinger painted a mural of the Monarch migration from her illustrations in the book Jake and the Migration of the Monarch, authored by Dr. Crystal Ball O’Connor.
The mural illustrates the fall migration of most of the eastern population to the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. Though they have never been there before and they have no map, these beautiful creatures fly thousands of miles to find the same Oyamel Fir Tree forests visited by their great-grandparents the year before.
In a week or so, start looking for migrating Monarchs on their journey south flying, nectaring and roosting. Help save them by planting nectar plants and their host plant – milkweed – which is essential for their survival.
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Give Back To Roper Mountain:
Even with hallways and learning labs temporarily emptied of our students and visitors, we are continuing to do all we can to keep students, visitors and staff of Roper Mountain safe and connected. There is no question that this year will provide unique opportunities for our community to connect in new ways while meeting the challenges of the way things are in the world now. School lessons and public programs are being re-tooled to be delivered online; lessons are being created to help establish state standards in environmental science and sustainability; animals throughout our facility are being cared for daily; and our staff are collaborating in exciting new ways. A donation from you will help move our mission forward and lay the foundation for future success.
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AmazonSmile
You can support Roper Mountain in the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations. 1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device 2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings' 3. Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. We appreciate your continued support of Roper Mountain, now more than ever.
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Spread The Word About Roper Mountain
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THANK YOU COMMUNITY PARTNERS! |
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Visionary:
ABB
Duke Energy Foundation
Fluor Foundation
Greater Greenville Sanitation
Greenville Water
John I. Smith Charities
The Jolley Foundation
Ernest and Betty Lathem
Lockheed Martin
Michelin Charity Golf Tournament
Piedmont Arthritis Clinic, PA
ScanSource
Symmes Foundation
Explorer:
Community Foundation of Greenville
GE
Bill and Jean Schmidt
Voyager:
BMW Manufacturing
Adventurer:
Aeronix, Inc.
Chick Fil-A of Pelham Road
Milliken
Nexeo Plastics
Ron and Tommie Reece
South Carolina Charities, Inc.
Innovator:
AFL Global
Fluor
State Farm Insurance
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