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support of $120.00, which was successfully awarded. Although some money was needed, mostly to purchase the books, students were encouraged to develop activities with common household items so the bags would not require a lot of upkeep once they were disseminated. The bags were donated by the admissions department. The materials were assembled and tested in class by swapping bags and attempting the activities. Instructions for activities were edited based on feedback. Topics included the water cycle, pollution, surface tension, acid rain, oil spill, stratification, and macroinvertebrates. Examples of several of the finished projects are shown in Figure 5. Simple methods such as dripping vinegar on chalk were used to simulate acid rain effects. Although the original idea was to donate the bags to the public library, the bags were actually donated to a local elementary school for use in their library and by classroom teachers. The project was presented at the Service Learning Exposition in March 2011. Figure 5. Examples of Science in a Bag projects created by students in the Water Ecology class. Photos by A.T. Millheim, December 2010.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Service Learning and Science in a Bag Using the IDEA form feedback collected in Fall 2010, students reported a great sense of accomplishment from their self-created Science in a Bag projects. Most felt it was challenging to match activities to Pennsylvania Department of Education standards, but understood the need to make it stand-alone and self explanatory. One shortfall in the timing of the activity was that they were due so close to the end of the semester it did not leave adequate time to actually try the activity with the intended audience. Subsequent reports by teachers at the school are being collected for a sense of how well the topics were received and how they might be improved or applied to other science topics. Beyond the intrinsic value of donating education modules to the local school, Mount Aloysius students also learned the value of teamwork, communication skills, and the application of knowledge and principles learned in the college course. In a larger scope, this type of activity fits the theme of the Sisters of Mercy to promote education on water quality and environmental sustainability. Recently, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives began to emerge nationally. STEM seeks to “dramatically increase the number of students (especially females, minorities and the underrepresented) entering STEM-related careers while recruiting new workers and retraining the incumbent workforce in these critical fields.� As an investment in the future STEM workforce,