What’s a Science Center? It’s is a permanent place in your classroom where science supplies are stored and where active science can take place at any time. While it should be engaging and organized, it need not be large or elaborate. Whether your Science Center is a table, countertop, shelf, or a couple of desks pushed together, plan to incorporate such components as storage for science materials, work and display space, collections of cool objects for kids to explore, and books.

A Science Center gives students opportunities to revisit or extend the concepts presented in science lessons, using their own initiative and working at their own pace. Often children learn more by returning to play with an idea, rather than being expected to plumb its depths at first exposure. These opportunities for independent study offer children a foundation for lifelong appreciation and pursuit of science.

For more on creating a powerful Science Center in your classroom see Creating a Science Center.