OEC has taken a proaccive role in seeking and training in- 

 terns and volunteers in all areas of its work. 



Organizational Development 



In implementing team approaches under development for 

 several years, OEC has enabled staff to better share skills 

 among the departments. Some staff have spent time working 

 in other departments, and in general more time is devoted to 

 sharing information among workers. This cross-shop staffing 

 approach is a key element in the expansion and contraction of 

 critical areas of OEC when special and/or short-lead-time te- 

 quests occur. Having a team-leader structure as opposed to a 

 traditional supervisory structure has proved to be extremely ef- 

 fective among this staff of highly skilled specialists. 



National Science Resources Center 



Douglas Lapp. Executive Director 



The National Science Resources Center (NSRC), operated 

 jointly by the Smithsonian Institution and the National 

 Academy of Sciences, advocates an inquiry-centered, hands-on 

 approach to science education. In inquiry -centered science, 

 students learn to ask questions, gather information, develop 

 theories, plan and carry out investigations, and communicate 

 their ideas. The NSRC collects and publishes information 

 about current science teaching resources, develops innovative 

 curriculum materials, and sponsors activities to help teachers 

 and administratots develop and sustain effective hands-on 

 science programs. Scientists and engineers from academia and 

 the business community, as well as educators, play a strong 

 role in the development and implementation of NSRC 

 programs. 



In its tenth year of working to improve the quality of 

 science education for all children, the NSRC can point to a 

 number of significant accomplishments, including publishing 

 two books that support science education reform efforts, com- 

 pleting its elementary school science curriculum, and hosting 

 its nth and 13th National Science Education Leadership 

 Institutes. 



Resources jor Teaching Elementary School Science, a completely 

 revised edition of the NSRC's best-selling annotated guide to 

 exemplary inquiry-centered science curriculum materials and 

 sources of support for schools, was published in March 1996. 

 This 312-page book provides educators with a wealth of infor- 

 mation and expert guidance for selecting resources to teach 

 elementary school science. The NSRC also continued review- 

 ing materials for a companion volume on middle school 

 science resources. 



Science /or All Children: A Guide 10 Improving Elementary 

 Science Education in Your School District was completed in Sep- 



tember 1996. This book describes che NSRC's approach to im- 

 plementing an inquiry-based science education program at 

 the elementary school level. It presents a rationale for inquiry- 

 based science, describes the five elements of the NSRC model 

 for systemic science education reform, and profiles eight 

 school districts that have created successful elementary science 

 programs. 



The NSRC completed its Science and Technology for 

 Children (STC) curriculum project, a 24-unit program of 

 science instruction for children in grades one through six. The 

 STC units produced this year include Ecosystems, Organisms, 

 Soils. Solids and Liquids, Comparing and Measuring, Rocks and 

 Minerals, Animal Studies, hand and Water, Sound. Changes. The 

 Technology of Paper, and Motion and Design. In addition, the first 

 set of STC Discovery Deck science activity cards, entitled 

 Electric Circuits, was completed. The decks will accompany 

 nine of the STC units for grades four through six. Each deck is 

 designed to reinforce science concepts and relate them to 

 children's lives. The cards also stimulate reading, writing, and 

 independent study. 



The NSRC hosted two National Elementary Science Leader- 

 ship Institutes in June and July 1996. Knowledgeable, com- 

 mitted community leaders are needed to improve the qualiry 

 of science education in our nation's school districts. At the 

 Leadership Institute, teams of school administrators, teachers, 

 and scientists work with nationally known experts to develop 

 plans for implementing an inquiry -centered science cur- 

 riculum in their communities. This year's Leadership In- 

 stitutes brought together 33 teams from school systems in 17 

 states and Puerto Rico. Since 1989, 221 teams representing 

 more than 6 million schoolchildren have participated in the 

 Leadership Institutes. In addition, the NSRC worked with 

 other organizations during the past year to present regional 

 leadership programs: the K— 12 Science Education Leadership 

 Institute, cohosted with the New York City Utban Systemic 

 Initiative; the Advanced Science Education Leadership In- 

 stitute, cohosted with the Association of Science Materials 

 Centers and NSRC sponsors in Mesa, Arizona; and the New 

 England Regional Leadership Institute, cohosted with the 

 American Physical Society in Falmouth, Massachusetts. 



Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives 



Edie Hedlin, Director 



The Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives (OSIA) 

 marked the Institution's Sesquicentenmal year wirh an array 

 of publications, exhibitions, on-line resources, and other ac- 

 tivities. OSIA participated in the Smithsonian Birthday Party 

 on the Mall with a well-received pavilion staffed by volun- 

 teers, interns and much of the OSIA staff. The pavilion high- 

 lighted OSIA's role in collecting, preserving, and studying 



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