Family Science and Literacy Night

What is a Family Science and Literacy Night?

A Family Science and Literacy Night is a program of hands-on elementary level science and literacy activities held in the evening at a school or community center. It provides an opportunity to actively involve families in doing and learning about science and literacy. The goals of the evening are to:

encourage families to become more involved in the education of their children,
increase student interest in science and literacy, and
provide strategies for parents to incorporate science and literacy skills at home.

Activity stations involve each family as a team in hands-on, minds-on science and/or literacy activities. Each station includes directions for completing the activity, an explanation of the science and other concepts behind the activity, a series of discussion starters, and additional challenges for families to think about and work on at home. Whenever possible, families take home the items they make at each station.

Why host a Family Science and Literacy Night?

Children whose parents are involved in their education perform at higher levels than children whose parents are not involved in their education. A Family Science and Literacy Night is a high interest, exciting way to get parents involved in their children's education.

Here's what some participants have said about their Family Science and Literacy Night experience:

"Good family fun! It introduced my kids to new ideas and provided an opportunity for our family to learn together"

"I'm more familiar with the level of work my child is performing."

"It got my children wondering and wanting to know why and how things work."

How can we help you host a Family Science and Literacy Night?

We can help you design and implement a Family Science and Literacy Night by:

offering experienced consultation regarding the logistics of the evening (i.e.: invitations, registration, set-up, volunteer recruitment, clean-up, time requirements)
designing and providing all of the necessary directions, handouts, and materials for up to 10 stations capable of accommodating up to 300 participants. (To ensure a high quality experience for all participants, we recommend that you put a 300 person cap on your registrations for the evening.)
attending the evening in order to bring the station supplies, help set up the stations, help your station volunteers facilitate the activities, and interact with the families present.