Barbara Fernandez Going: Kids into Discovering Science
Channel: Pecha Kucha Night Santa Barbara
Date: 2015-08-25

Barbara Fernandez Going is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  Her work examines the response of plant communities to spatial and temporal variation in the environment with the overarching goal of trying to predict which plant communities are most vulnerable to global change.  She has a passion for science education and is co-founder of Kids into Discovering Science, a K-12 science education program based in Northern California.
Kids into Discovering Science (KiDS) is a growing K-12 science education program with roots in Northern California.  The program illustrates the process of discovery and science through fun, hands-on classroom and field activities.  Over ten weeks students act as Principal Investigators of a plant growth experiment which serves to illustrate the entire scientific process, from observing nature to collecting data and communicating results.  The program year culminates in an all day trip to a local Natural Reserve which reinforces their newly gained scientific literacy, highlights the beauty of biodiversity, and provides a sense of place.