NOAA RELEASES $374,625 FOR K-12 SCIENCE EDUCATION PROJECT

Cochran Supported Funding for Mississippi University for Women’s
Education Project on Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

WASHINGTON – Improving scientific knowledge among Mississippi students and teachers is the goal behind $374,625 released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Senator Thad Cochran today announced.

The NOAA funding was released to the Mississippi University for Women at Columbus to support its ongoing Science on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Project, which is geared toward hands-on scientific education experiences on the waterway.  The FY2009 funding for the MUW program was approved by Congress at Cochran’s request.

“This Science Enrichment Program is designed to give students and teachers a greater understanding of ecology, geology, hydrology and other sciences by providing hands-on and onsite experience,” Cochran said.  “I am pleased this funding has been released and I hope it will be used to spur greater interest in science among our young people and those who teach them.”

Field trips and workshops at MUW’s 190-acre Plymouth Bluff Center are geared toward increasing scientific knowledge among K-12 students by stressing environmental sciences.  Grade-appropriate student curriculums are linked to the state’s Mississippi Science Framework.  In addition continuing education programs for teachers also include instruction in chemistry, physics, statistics, plant sciences and other disciplines.

As the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Cochran has supported MUW science and mathematics programs associated with the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.  Within a pending FY2010 appropriations bill in the Senate, Cochran has requested $200,000 in U.S. Department of Education funding for MUW math and science initiatives.