Institute for Chemical Education: Overview

The Institute for Chemical Education (ICE) was established in 1983 to provide a center for science educators to develop and disseminate ideas. ICE is national in scope and has led the drive to help teachers revitalize science in schools throughout the United States. Its efforts include:

• creating new materials for teaching and learning
• carrying out research in chemical education
• developing demonstrations and hands-on activities
• sponsoring workshops for teachers
• organizing laboratory and demonstration programs for school children
• disseminating exemplary ideas via publications and kits

All of ICE's programs emphasize hands-on science, taught interactively as a means of helping students develop powers of observation and problem solving. ICE aims to stimulate the scientific curiosity of all teachers and students, not just those traditionally well served by our educational system. ICE's goals are to:

• make science hands-on at all levels
• enable teachers to become better teachers, not merely tell them what to do
• draw ideas from what teachers say they need
• develop and distribute materials that are usable and affordable for the average teacher in the average classroom

Over 3500 teachers of kindergarten through college have attended workshops at ICE headquarters, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, at other locations across the country. In addition, ICE Affiliates at more than 60 other colleges and universities have been trained to carry out workshops that enhance the teaching of science.

ICE also serves at the Education and Outreach arm for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center on Templated Synthesis at the Nanoscale (NSEC). The University of Wisconsin-Madison NSEC is one of 16 centers funded through the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The goal of the NSEC program is to build infrastructure for nanotechnology research and education across the country.

The mission of the NSEC Education and Outreach program is to develop new scaleable teaching and learning programs, methodologies, and communities aimed at cultivating a diverse next generation of nanoscientists and engineers. We seek to excite and educate underrepresented groups, build communities of nanoscience and engineering educators through teacher professional development, foster new means of communicating science and engineering research accomplishments to the K-12 community, and design new teaching models to make nanoscience and engineering more inclusive for students with physical and learning disabilities.

ICE programs receiving support from the NSEC include:

• SCI ENCountErs
• Informal Science Education Exhibits
• Teacher Workshops
• Independent Laboratory Access for the Blind
• Today’s Science for Tomorrow’s Scientists
• Online Nanoscience for Teachers
• Research Experience for Undergraduates

Programs that are supported through NSEC funds will show the NSEC logo on the program page.

Support for ICE programs comes from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
and through grants from National Science Foundation.