RAFT Announcements

One of the most important steps in our hands on Activity Kit development process is user testing. We want to test RAFT Activity Kits to ensure we are delivering the best quality product, with easy to understand instructions, and exceptional educational content. We recently invited RAFT members to bring their children, the end users of RAFT products, to be our RAFT Kids Kit Testers for the night.

The children were very excited to see the place “where mom gets all her good junk”. We tested Foil Art, Kumihimo, and a brand new Retractor Car. In reaction to completing the retractor car made out of common materials, one child exclaimed, “It REALLY worked!” For more information please click here.

Want to teach your students about basic electric circuits using hands on methods? Then the “Light and Power Up the Learning!” RAFT workshop is just the thing for you! The workshop at San Jose RAFT is held tomorrow (February 4th) from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

The workshop incorporates newly developed and simplified electrical activities including the redesigned breadboard circuit Activity Kit! Kids will love to tap into these activities to make things light up, move, and buzz and the learning will build as they make the ‘connections’! For more info click here.

Irvin Lindsey (Santa Cruz) and Ralph Miller (Belmont) are being recognized with a RAFT Hands-On Learning Award for creative  and outstanding work using hands-on activities to engage their students. See press release for more details http://www.raft.net/documents/pr/2011/Hands-On-Awards-Release-Aug-2011.pdf.

The Fall 2011 Workshop Schedule is online with a wide-range of workshops in the areas of science, math, art, early education and technology. If you register and pay for a workshop by Sept. 15th, you will get a $5 discount off each workshop. So register online http://www.raft.net/workshops/in-house or call (408)451-1473 today! Classes begin Thursday, Sept. 8th.

Mary C. Laycock, leading math educator and generous RAFT supporter, passed away recently. Long-time members of RAFT will know this great lady who did so much to give all educators hands-on methods to teach mathematics effectively. She believed that mathematics could be grasped by students of all ages with different learning styles.  Mary’s books are available at RAFT and her teaching methods are covered in the summer Math Institute workshops.

We will miss this friend of RAFT. See obituary of Mary’s life and legacy and how to help RAFT continue her work per the wishes of her family.

RAFT is being recognized by Acterra, Solutions for a Healthy Planet, as a recipient of its 2011 Business Environment Awards.

This coveted award recognizes Bay Area leaders that make impactful contributions, serve as a collaborative model for the business community, and deliver significant environmental benefits.

RAFT helps to protect the environment and create a brighter future for today’s kids by developing innovative, hands-on education materials that are largely fashioned from goods donated by Bay Area businesses. With additional help from thousands of volunteers, donated materials that would end up in the landfill are transformed into affordable hands-on education kits that engage students and increase their subject matter comprehension. This innovative business model makes it possible for all students to receive the benefits of hands-on education, regardless of their school’s budget.

“We are very proud to receive this award,” said Mary Simon, Executive Director of RAFT. “We are a Certified Bay Area Green Organization, and being stewards of the environment is an important aspect of our mission. Thanks to community support, RAFT is able to transform donated materials and students’ learning experience in an educationally and environmentally impactful way. This creates a brighter future for our next generation as well as for the planet.”

Additional recipients this year include Symantec Corporation, GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. and the Humane Society of Silicon Valley.  For more information, see RAFT’s Acterra award press announcement.

RAFT is making it easier for members to renew their membership by launching online renewal and setting our annual renewal dues at $25.00 all year long. To renew and pay dues online, please go to www.raft.net. Of course, members can still renew their membership at both RAFT Bay Area locations or by mail. As a nonprofit dedicated to helping educators transform kids’ learning experience through hands-on education, proof of educational affiliation is required to be a RAFT member.