MEDFORD, Ore. — A $5,120 grant from the PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning will help ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum train three new educators and expand outreach program materials. This will directly impact almost 5,000 students and 135 teachers, and will help improve science education in Oregon’s Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties, and in California’s Siskiyou County.

ScienceWorks is located at 1500 East Main in Ashland. The museum serves more than 35,000 public visitors and 10,000 school children a year with exhibits and innovative science programming. As Pacific Power’s charitable arm, the PacifiCorp Foundation is making a difference by supporting organizations that emphasize education.

“This is an excellent program with a great educational benefit to Southern Oregon and Northern California,” said Monte Mendenhall, Pacific Power’s regional community manager. “By hiring new educators and acquiring additional educational materials, the PacifiCorp Foundation help fuel a greater interest in process-based science.”

According to the Oregon Department of Education’s 2001 Statewide Assessment, 40 percent of eighth graders and 43 percent of tenth graders did not meet basic performance standards for science. In many Southern Oregon school districts, the performance is even worse.

ScienceWorks outreach programs are offered to students in Southern Oregon and Northern California. It has a teacher training program that introduces science inquiry methodologies to teachers who are often not trained to guide their classes through experiments.

Two of the educators will be trained for the ScienceWorks Illuminating Science Inquiry Program, which is designed to develop educational leadership and proficiency with participating teachers. Another teacher will be trained to conduct the ScienceLive! community education shows. These demonstrations can be performed at schools, festivals, community centers and libraries. They are fun, entertaining ways to introduce scientific concepts to all ages.

About the PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning

The PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning was created and incorporated as a corporate foundation in 1988 in order to become the major channel of philanthropy for PacifiCorp, Pacific Power and Utah Power. PacifiCorp and its employees have a long tradition of active involvement in the communities served by Pacific Power, including charitable contributions, sponsorships of community events and in-kind donations. In June 2005 the PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning awarded more than $300,000 to 42 nonprofit programs in 24 communities in Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Media inquiries: newsdesk@pacificorp.com