The keys jingle as they unlock the building; the door opens and the sound of chirps and squeaks quickly drowns the place, bouncing off the walls bursting with plants and aquariums. For the employees of the Science Resource Center, the work starts bright and early—and each day holds something new.
The Charlotte Davis Burns Science Resource Center (SRC) is a CFISD facility specializing in science-based programs and services. Built in 1994—and named after educator Charlotte Davis Burns in 2015—the SRC was founded to support science teachers and has worked with over thousands of students in the district. Along with an abundance of teaching materials, the establishment provides several learning opportunities for kids through pre-K to fifth grade, where students can take field trips and explore different themed lesson plans.
“Our main goal is to help elementary science teachers, so a lot of our stuff is geared towards those grade levels,” SRC manager David Wallace said. “We also have an animal care class, which is a three hour class that science teachers can take as training before checking out animals, no matter what grade level they teach [and] we’ve had other educators [like librarians, art teachers and counselors] check out animals too.”
The SRC is home to over 200 animals, ranging from tiny hamsters, geckoes, ferrets and birds to great big tortoises, snakes and a raccoon. Whether the work involves feeding and tending to designated animals, cleaning their spaces or setting up a demonstration for visiting students, the team is ready for anything.
“I personally like the difficult animals that are a little bit harder to work with, because then I make it my life goal to become friends with them,” SRC animal lab technician Lindsay Belke said. “I worked with Leroy, our raccoon, for a good long while. At first I was scared because he is a wild animal and not necessarily domesticated.”
“Now he knows that this is his home, but before I got here, not too many people handled him just because we weren’t yet familiar with his mannerisms,” Belke added.
The offered field trip and demo experiences range from observing live animals, examining animal structures and even a guided tour through the district’s Nature Trails. With these visits, students learn about key scientific concepts such as adaptations, natural habitats and animal characteristics.
“Working with animals and cleaning up after them wasn’t anything that was necessarily new or difficult,” SRC animal lab technician Brittany Watkins said. “For me, the hardest part was just learning how to do all the demos and field trips, but after that, it just got easier.”
The SRC also works closely with the Carlton Center, a CFISD establishment that aims to equip students with special needs the essential life skills needed in working environments. Volunteers come in frequently to assist with the animals, and although the tasks waver on a day to day basis, the program provides the chance to grow their independent living skills.
“They’re all so good at it,” Carlton Center teacher Danielle Nesham said. “It just gives them those real life experiences, rather than sitting in a classroom and learning from a textbook on how to do a job; this is a hands-on way for them to learn as they prepare to eventually live on their own.”
The SRC will continue to be a steady program for those involved in science-based curriculums, as well as supply educators with what they need to keep enriching young minds.
“We want to keep being a resource for teachers; we are [the] Science Resource Center after all,” Wallace said. “Even if it’s just [a] lesson someone wants to do, they can ask what we have here [they] can use.”
For more information on volunteer opportunities or demo training, visit the SRC page under the CFISD website.
