HERE AND NOW
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HERE AND NOW
Robert Gordon and Shawn Thir Hitachi High Technologies America 5100 Franklin Drive Pleasanton, California 94588 ABSTRACT Hitachi High Technologies is On the Frontlines of Science Education Outreach Programs. Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi High-Tech), a global leader in the electron microscope industry, is working to inspire a new generation of achievement in science education. In loaning out its tabletop microscopes Hitachi High-Tech is tackling the problem of waning interest in science education, which is becoming a global issue throughout all industrialized nations. Hitachi High-Tech aims to become the global leader in providing high-tech solutions, and its support for science extends beyond Japan to North America, South America, and Europe. INTRODUCTION Hitachi is giving children the chance to explore the mysteries of the micro world. A number of science education events are taking place across the United States to give more children the opportunity to experience the excitement and wonders of science. Popular among children are science classes using a tabletop scanning electron microscope to observe everyday objects around them such as fibers, plastic, plants, and insects. As a program designed to instill the wonders of science among children and cultivate their interest in it, this program’s results are raising expectations not only among educational institutions and educators, but also among academic organizations, private groups, and state governments. Twenty-four students from grades 7-12 took part in a Science Camp held in July at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During the camp's science class, the children held an experiment where they used a TM3000 Tabletop Microscope to observe the changes that occurred when borosilicate was dipped into a zinc nitrate solution. The children were using a powerful chemical, so they had to wear protective gowns, gloves, and goggles. They were tense at first, but as their experiment and observation moved along, their eyes started to brighten and they were mesmerized by the images that appeared on their computer monitor display. "I can’t believe there are shapes like this in our world," said a girl who attended the camp, amazed at the beauty of the shapes that appeared in the micro world. One boy, a member of the local Little League baseball team, was fascinated by the tabletop microscope. "I had no idea there were devices like this," he said.
DISCUSSION The American Strategy: Nurture the Workforce of Tomorrow through Science and Technology Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc. (HTA), a subsidiary of Hitachi High-Tech, is supporting science events like this one all across the United States. HTA staff and distributors promote the tabletop microscope while also lending them to institutes of higher learning, such as junior colleges and universities, as part of the company's own independent STEM (ScienceTechnology-Engineering-Mathematics) Outreach Program. These grassroots level activities are the perfect tool to boost interest in science, an
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