FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2010

Trailside Offers After School Science Programs

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Community Renewal are pleased to announce a new and exciting after-school science program this fall at Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside.

For the first time, Trailside will offer “Crazy Chemworks” for young students in grades 1 through 5. This educational and fun program will run on six consecutive Wednesdays, from 3:45-4:45 p.m., beginning October 13, and ending on November 17.

“Although most people think of Trailside as a nature center, it is also a science center,” said Freeholder Vice-Chairman Deborah Scanlon, liaison to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. “One of Trailside’s missions is to incorporate science in its programming and to encourage children to become interested in science at an early age. This new and exciting venture into the world of science is sure to open up a whole new world of intriguing facts and interesting experiments for the students.”

“Crazy Chemworks” will include six workshops: Lab Works; pH Phactor; Slime Time; Chem in a Flash; Super Sticky Stuff; and Dry Ice Capades. Students will learn how to use laboratory equipment to do all types of experiments. Participants will learn how to make slime, melt metal in boiling water, freeze water with just a breath of dry ice, and so much more. The exciting six-week program costs $109.00 per child and pre-registration begins on September 1.

This new science series was developed by Mad Science of West New Jersey, part of the Mad Science Group (www.madscience.org) which sends Mad Scientists around the world to demonstrate that there is much more to science than what children learn in textbooks. The goal of Mad Science is to spark the imagination of children and turn them on to science through a combination of hands-on fun and pure science principles. The Mad Science Group is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Teachers Association.   

For more information about this science program, or about any other programs or upcoming events at Trailside, please call 908-789-3670 or visit us on the web at www.ucnj.org/trailside. Trailside Nature & Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.