Senate Bill 472 would formally enact the award-winning program in PA

HARRISBURG -- A potential Nobel Prize winner, perhaps the inventor of the cure for cancer, maybe even the first American on Mars, those were the distinguished guests honored today at the State Capitol, according to Senator Bob Robbins.

Young people from across the Commonwealth gathered today in Harrisburg as part of "Science in Motion Day," according to Senator Robbins, a strong supporter of the program which partners colleges and high schools to encourage young people to explore science and technology.

"It was great to see these young people here today. They represent our future and hopefully by encouraging them to actively explore science, we can help them bring about fantastic new discoveries," Senator Robbins said.

Senator Robbins is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 472, now before the Senate Education Committee, which would formally enact into law the Science Technology Partnerships Program, better known as "Science in Motion." The program, which is already in place in some areas of the Commonwealth, makes state funding available to higher education institutions to purchase high tech science equipment. This equipment is then transported to and shared with surrounding schools.

"This is an outstanding program that gives students the opportunity to go beyond the text book and see that science is a field that has no boundaries, limited only by the imagination," Senator Robbins said. "Science in Motion has been featured on ABC News with Peter Jennings and it won the 2003 Innovations Award from the National Council of State Governments. Most importantly, it has also spurred other states to duplicate the program; however, Pennsylvania has yet to fully commit to it."

This past year, 307 public, private, and parochial schools were served throughout the state by 11 higher education institutions: Cedar Crest College, Clarion University, Drexel University, Gannon University, Gettysburg College, Juniata College, Susquehanna University, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Ursinus College, Westminster College, and Wilkes University.

Contact:

Michael Hengst
(717) 787-1322