The Little Company that Could: Educational Innovations
For more than 25 years, Educational Innovations in Bethel has been providing teachers and parents with the kind of unique, surprising science demo materials that turn even the most reluctant learners into science lovers. It’s a small business with a big international reputation among science teachers—and self-proclaimed science geeks.
As Educational Innovations' owner, Tami G. O’Connor, puts it, “We make science sizzle. We’re known for carrying the type of cool science demos that kids talk about at the dinner table. In other words, things that make you say Wow!” Remember that Drinking Bird that kept dipping its beak in a cup of water in what seemed like perpetual motion? That’s just one of their hundreds of products.
These days, with schools closed or transferred to remote learning, O’Connor is leading the charge to keep science going at home. Not just what she calls “hands-off, screen time science,” but the real thing: labs and experiments that students can perform at home, using common household items. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, her company has built an extensive library of free K-college science resources, complete with free online lessons, worksheets, how-to videos, and more.
As educators struggle to keep students actively engaged in STEM learning, O’Connor has a plan: she’s hoping to deliver hundreds of Home Science Lab kits to local students—especially in districts with financial constraints. The boxed kits are geared toward 6-11 year olds, and come with all the necessary supplies and instructions needed to perform at least five unique experiments. Themes include slime and other polymers, fossils, magnetism, chemistry, air pressure, and crystals.
In keeping with their motto, “Teachers Serving Teachers,” this little company has served educators around the country by delivering kid-friendly science materials at prices that have, in many cases, not changed in over a decade. “Of course we’re trying to stay afloat,” O’Connor admits. “But I really think there’s a greater mission here. Kids are stuck at home staring at screens. With our help—and with the help of community partner donations—they could be creating avalanches of instant snow… building aerodynamic hang gliders… studying actual fossils… and so much more. They could be learning about science in a way they’ll never forget.”
For more information on their products, visit www.TeacherSource.com. For details on how you can donate funds to their Keep Science Going at Home project, please call 203 / 743-3224 or write to Tami@TeacherSource.com .