Resources & Materials
Resources For Professional Development Providers
Washington State LASER is committed to supporting high-quality STEM education for every student in our state. See below for information about project based learning and inquiry-based instructional materials in use all across Washington.
STEM Notebooks
Science notebooks contain information about the students’ classroom experiences. Students are encouraged to use them as scientists would, before, during, and after all investigations. A science notebook can provide students who are uncomfortable with writing a safe place to practice and develop their skills and see that writing is used in all STEM fields. Learn More
Washington State LASER Alliances
Ten Washington State LASER Alliances are generously supported by Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The LASER Alliances provide training, guidance and technical support to districts that are considering participation in LASER, as well as to districts that are already in various stages of implementing the program. Each alliance comprises members from a myriad of educational and scientific institutions (e.g., school districts, ESDs, and universities). Learn More
Crayfish In The Classroom
The University of Washington in cooperation with the Pacific Education Institute and Washington Sea Grant conducted a study on crayfish use in the classroom and the possibility of using native crayfish to reduce the risk of non-native species being brought in for classroom use and accidentally being released. Download study summary.
Learn more about the effect of non-native species on our native crayfish from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Washington State currently does not have enough of a reliable supply of native crayfish for all the educational kits using them. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have allowed a permit to be issued for the 2013-2014 school year for use of non-native crayfish as long as they follow the protocols outlined in this permit.
Science Materials Centers
Materials Support is one of the five elements of Washington State Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER). The ongoing support of Science Materials Centers’ personnel has helped research-based science teaching and learning reach the current level of prevalence in Washington State and beyond. At Science Materials Centers, science kits/modules are stored, refurbished and delivered to teachers when needed. Science Materials Centers are a cost effective means for implementing inquiry-based science as large amounts of materials are purchased, managed and distributed. Further, the burden of purchasing and managing materials is removed from the classroom teacher, and some Science Materials Centers even raise and keep living organisms. The Science Materials Centers’ staffs are constantly working on optimizing efficiency, purchasing power and their service for all teachers. Scroll down to see a listing of all Science Materials Centers in Washington.
Washington State Nuts & Bolts
The Washington State Nuts & Bolts group offers leadership and support for science materials center personnel. Most of the science materials staff are a part of this group, to learn more contact your local materials resource staff.
Washington State Science Materials Centers
There are two types of Washington State Science Materials Centers:
- Centralized materials centers that support a consortium of school districts.
- District based Science Materials Centers that support schools within their own school district (some also service neighboring school districts).
If your school district is not mentioned on this list but operates its own science materials center in Washington State, please email the contact information to wastatelaser@pacsci.org and it will be included here.
District | Location | Contacts |
---|---|---|
Bainbridge | Science Resource Center 9125 Sportsman Club Rd Portable 230 Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 206-780-4541 | Deborah Rudnick drudnick@bisd303.org |
Bellevue | Bellevue Instructional Kits 12241 Main Street Bldg 3 Bellevue, WA 98005 425-456-4661 452-456-4669 | Sharon Walker walkers@bsd405.org |
Bellingham | Linda Pollino Linda.Pollino@bellinghamschools.org |
|
Central Kitsap | Science Kit Center 3790 NW Anderson Hill Road Silverdale, WA 98383 360-662-1822 fax 360-662-1821 | Ila Frasquillo ilaf@cksd.wednet.edu Doug Dowell dougd@cksd.wednet.edu |
Clover Park | Clover Park School District Auxillary Service Center 9219 Lakewood Dr SW Lakewood, WA 98499 253-583-5000 | Maria Flores mflores@cloverpark.k12.wa.us |
Edmonds | Science Materials Center 23200-100th Ave. Edmonds, WA 98020 425-431-4715 | Lenni Carey careyl@edmonds.wednet.edu Diane Martineau martineaud@edmonds.wednet.edu |
ESD 101 (Northeast) | ESD 101 - Science Center 4202 S Regal Spokane, WA 99223 509-789-3525 | Beth Worthy bworthy@esd101.net Tammie Schrader tschrader@esd101.net Erik Wolfrum ewolfrum@esd101.net |
ESD 112 (Southwest) | ESD 112 - SMERC 2500 NE 65th Avenue Vancouver, WA 98661 360-750-7513 www.smerc.org | Serena Decator serena.decator@esd112.org Vickei Hrdina vickei.hrdina@esd112.org |
ESD 113 (Mt to Harbor) | ESD 113 - MASK Center 601 McPhee Road S.W. Olympia, WA 98502 360-464-6780 | Lynn Forbush lforbush@esd113.k12.wa.us |
ESD 189 (Northwest) | Northwest ESD 189 Marysville-Pilchuck High School 5611 108th Street North Building Marysville, WA 98271 360-657-6099 https://www.nwesd.org/smc | Kelly Spears kspears@nwesd.org |
Evergreen ECritter Farm | Evergreen Public Schools PO Box 8910 Vancouver, WA 98668 360-604-3959 | Christy Sell christina.sel@evergreenps.org |
Everett | Science Resource Center Hawthorne Elementary 1110 Poplar Street Everett, WA 98201 425 385-4676 | Shirley Maynard smaynard@everettsd.org Tara Rider trider@everettsd.org |
Federal Way | 1344 So 308th Federal Way, WA 98023 253-945-5559 | Marlene Dawson mdawson@fwps.org |
Highline | Science Resource Center / Maywood 1410 South 200th Street SeaTac, WA 98148 206-433-2528 | Jami Haskin jami.haskin@highlineschools.org Kevin Tatum kevin.tatum@highlineshools.org |
Kennewick | Battelle Science Center Kennewick School District 1000 W. 4th Ave Kennewick, WA 99336 509-222-6888 | Holly Hollis holly.hollis@ksd.org |
Kent | Kent School District - SMRC 11000 SE 264th St Kent, WA 98030 253-373-6949 | Amy Spies amy.spies@kent.k12.wa.us |
Lake Washington | Lake Washington Support Services 15212 NE 95th St Redmond, WA 98052 425-882-5109 | Lorie McDaniel lmcdaniel@lwsd.org |
Mercer Island | MISD Administration Office 4160 86th Avenue, SE Mercer Island, WA 98040 | Cathy Ramsay cathy.ramsey@mercerislandschools.org |
Mount Baker | Mount Baker School District PO Box 95 Deming, WA 98244 360-383-2013 | Gwen Garrett ggarrett@mtbaker.wednet.edu |
Mukilteo | Science Distribution Center 1625 Madison Way Lynnwood, WA 98087 425-710-4394 | Sharon Hawes ScienceCntr@mukilteo.wednet.edu Tim Takayoshi ScienceCntr@mukilteo.wednet.edu |
North Central ESD | North Central Washington LASER Alliance Refurbishment Center 3306B - 5TH St SE East Wenatchee, WA 98802 509-888-1912 | Darlene Robbins darlener@ncesd.org |
Northshore | Northshore Support Services 22105 23rd Dr. SE Bothell, WA 98021-4409 425-408-7835 | Debbie Hough dhough@ncesd.org |
North Thurston | North Thurston Public Schools 6620 Carpenter Rd. SE Lacey, WA 98503 360-412-4591 | Crystal Bell cbell@nthurston.k12.wa.us |
Oak Harbor | Oak Harbor School District #201 200 SE Midway Blvd. Oak Harbor, WA 98277 360-279-5642 | Susan Nesmith snesmith@ohsd.net |
Olympia | Olympia School District 1113 Legion Way S.E. Olympia, WA 98501 360-596-8543 | Peggy Butler pbutler@osd.wednet.edu |
Olympic ESD 114 | Science Kit Warehouse Coordinator OESD 114 Science Kit Center 105 National Ave. N Bremerton, WA 98312 360-782-5071 | Sarah Freitas sarahf@oesd.wednet.edu |
Puyallup | Science Resource Center "The Little Red House" 1509 39th Ave SW Puyallup, WA 98373 253-840-8970 | Jan Ward jwardjm@puyallup.k12.wa.us |
Renton | Kohlwes Education Center (KEC) 300 SW 7th Street Renton WA 98055 425-204-2300 | Cathy Williams Cathy.Williams@Rentonschools.us Joan Thordarson Joan.Thordarson@Rentonschools.us |
Seattle | Science Materials Center Seattle Public Schools/NZ-303 1109 North 35th Street Seattle, WA 98103 206-545-7024 | Aaron Reed acreed@seattleschools.org |
Shoreline | Shoreline School District 18560 - 1st Ave NE Shoreline, WA 98155 206-393-4522 | Lynn Franklin lynn.franklin@shorelineschools.org |
Snoqualmie Valley | Opstad Elementary School 1345 Stillson Ave. SE North Bend, WA 98045 425-831-8358 | Rhonda Hughes hughesrk@svsd410.org |
Spokane | Spokane Public Schools (SRC) 2525 N Cincinnati Spokane, WA 99207 509-354-7208 | Robyn Norwood robynn@spokaneschools.org |
Tacoma | Science Materials Resource Center 6501 N 23rd St Tacoma WA 98406 253-571-3510 | SMRC@tacoma.k12.wa.us |
Vancouver | Vancouver School District PO Box 8937 Vancouver, WA 98668 360-313-1000 | Sue Prindle sue.prindle@vansd.org |
Walla Walla | Walla Walla Public Schools Science Materials Center 1174 Entley St. Walla Walla, 99362 509-525-1046 | Anne-Marie Notaras amnotaras@wwps.org Jane Baffney jbaffney@wwps.org |
Wenatchee | Wenatchee School District Science Resource Center 1001 Circle Street Wenatchee, WA 98807 509-663-9106 | Jill Fineis fineis.j@wenatcheeschools.org Airahna Jones jones.a@wenatcheeschools.org |
Yakima (ESD 105) | Yakima School District 104 N. 4th Avenue Yakima, WA 98902 509-965-0615 | Brian Kelley Kelley.Brian@yakimaschools.org Chad Quesnell quesnell.chad@yakimaschools.org |
Observation Protocol
The Science Classroom Observation Protocol document contains science classes observation protocol that align with the vision of effective science instruction encouraged by Washington State LASER through the network of Regional Alliances and the network science coordinators. It includes:
- Science Classroom Observation Rubric
- Science Classroom Observation Worksheet
- Science Classroom Visitation Trait Reference Sheet
- Science Classroom Visitation Worksheet
Download the document (194KB PDF).