prehensive teacher's guide, a student guide, and a science kit 

 designed to provide a class of 30 students with the materials 

 needed for eight weeks of science investigations. 



The National Science Resources Center has also developed a 

 set of supplemental reading materials to complement the 

 Science and Technology for Children units for grades 4 

 through 6, the Discovery Decks. The Discovery Decks are sets 

 of large imaginatively illustrated cards that expand on the 

 major topics introduced in each Science and Technology for 

 Children unit. They include historical accounts of scientific 

 discoveries, interviews with scientists, problem-solving 

 scenarios, and information on recent breakthroughs in scien- 

 tific research. The Discovery Decks are designed for use in 

 classroom learning centers, libraries, and science cenrers. 



The National Science Resources Center has initiated a 

 Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools project 

 to develop science curriculum materials for grades 7 and 8. 

 This four-year project is supported by grants from the National 

 Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 

 Dow Chemical Company, the DuPont Company, and Hewlett- 

 Packard. 



The Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools 

 project is developing eight inquiry-centered science modules for 

 students in grade 7 and 8. This program, when combined with 

 the Science and Technology for Children elementary science pro- 

 gram, will form a comprehensive, well-integrared program in 

 science and technology for students in grades 1 through 8. 



Expert science teachers, working in collaboration with 

 academic experts in the earth, life, and physical sciences and 

 technology, are developing the student source books and 

 teacher's guides fot the Science and Technology Concepts for 

 Middle Schools modules. The content and pedagogy of this 

 program will adhere to the content, teaching, and assessment 

 recommendations of the National Science Education Stand- 

 ards developed by the National Academy of Sciences/National 

 Research Council. 



The Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools staff 

 has begun to develop the first four modules: Human Body Sys- 

 tems; Properties of Matter; Energy, Machines, and Motion; and 

 Catastrophic Events. These modules were initially trial-taught in 

 classrooms within the Washington metropolitan area. They were 

 then field-tested in middle-school classrooms in school districts 

 located throughout the nation. 



The National Science Resources Center's information dis- 

 semination activities are designed to make information on 

 high-qualiry science curriculum materials and telaced resour- 

 ces accessible to teachers, school system administrators, and 

 scientists working to improve science education in the 

 schools. The National Science Resources Center is also work- 

 ing to develop effective ways to use electronic networks to 

 facilitate communication among educational leaders and 

 school districts involved in science education reform. 



In 1998, the National Science Resources Center published 

 the first edition of Resources for Teaching Middle School Science, a 

 comprehensive guide to effective science curriculum materials 



and other resources for teaching middle-school science. Sup- 

 port for the development of this guide was provided by The 

 Merck Institute for Science Education. Resources for Teaching 

 Middle School Science contains reviews of more than 400 cur- 

 riculum materials for the teaching of physical science, life 

 science, environmental science, earth and space science, and 

 applied science. The guide also contains chapters on teacher 

 references, science resource guides and periodicals, and an 

 ancillary resource section describing programs operated by 

 museums, zoos, and science centers to enrich the teaching of 

 science in the schools. 



The National Science Resources Center has disseminated 

 more than 7,000 copies of a similar guide for elemenrary 

 school teachers, Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science, 

 which was published in 1997. This guide is now available on- 

 line in a searchable format. The Eisenhower National Clearin- 

 ghouse On-line Catalog of Curriculum Resources uses the 

 National Science Resources Center resource guides to identify 

 materials for its collection and references National Science 

 Resources Centet reviews of curriculum materials in the 

 evaluation section of the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse 

 database. 



The National Science Resources Center works with 

 hundreds of school districts across the United States that are 

 involved in science education reform. The National Science 

 Resources Center is working to develop a Web site that will 

 connect lead teachers, school adminisrrarors, scientists, and 

 community leaders in eight regions of the Untied States. This 

 Web site will provide local school districts with a means of 

 accessing information and resources often not otherwise avail- 

 able to school districts outside major metropolitan areas. 



In 1998, the Narional Science Resources Center, in partner- 

 ship with the White House Office of Science and Technology 

 Policy and the National Science Foundation, sponsored recep- 

 tions for the recipients of the Ptesidential Awards for Excel- 

 lence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. These awards are 

 given annually to exemplary elementary and secondary math 

 and science teachers from across the nation. 



Smithsonian Institution Archives 



Edie Hedltn, Director 



Significant organizational changes occurred in FY 1998, per- 

 haps the most obvious taking place in our name. We moved 

 from "Office of Smirhsonian Instirution Archives to simply 

 Smithsonian Institution Archives (SLA). This marks a return 

 to our former title, held until 1993 when the Joseph Henry 

 Papers and the National Collections Program joined SIA. Or- 

 ganizational change marked two of SIA's divisions as well. 

 The Archives Division formed into three teams: Reference, 

 Records Management, and Arrangement and Description. In 



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