Dan Soudran brought a 30-foot gray whale to Greenfield

Some days I get to meet amazing people. Today was one of those.

Dan Soudran, founder of Community Science Workshops, came to Greenfield to show students at Vista Verde Middle School the skeleton of a 30-ft whale that got beached on Half Moon Bay.

Soudran came up with the idea of starting community science workshops about two decades ago, and his network has nearly a dozen in rural areas like Greenfield and Watsonville. I've been wanting to interview him for a while, so today, even though I was supposed to be on vacation, I came in to talk to him.

It was a real treat. Dan's energy and enthusiasm for getting children inspired about science is contagious. The students really got into exploring the bones, even tried to use a cow hip like a mask.



Plus, he likes Antonio Machado, one of my favorite poets! In the middle of our interview, he quoted Machado's most famous poem, "Caminante, no hay camino. Se hace camino al andar."

There are no roads. We make the roads as we walk.

What a treat! Dan, come back soon!

A 30-foot gray whale is coming to Greenfield

Two weeks from now, students from Vista Verde Middle School in Greenfield will have the chance to view and touch a complete skeleton of a 30-foot gray whale.

The Greenfield Science Workshop program, which is part of a network of science workshops across California, will bring the whale exhibit.  The exhibit travels in a modified truck and is used as a natural science resource to engage students in science education.

Dan Sudran, founder of the network of workshops, salvaged the whale bones that make up the traveling exhibit.  The young gray whale first washed up on Pescadero Beach in June 2011. Sudran asked for permission to remove the dead whale’s remains, and with little time to act, he relied on a team of volunteers and friends to dig up the bones and carry them to his backyard in Pescadero. He  cleaned the bones and built a structure that would allow for the safe travel of the skeleton in a donated truck.  A real human skeleton, the rib of a blue whale, as well as cow, deer, and even gopher bones accompany the exhibit.

I've been to the workshop in Greenfield, which is truly magical. Being around the children and teachers you realize how much students gain when they receive an opportunity to explore. The whale exhibit sounds like another great opportunity.

The exhibit is scheduled to return during February 2013 to visit Oak Elementary School.

Greenfield's science garage founder profiled

When I wrote about the Greenfield science workshop last year, I really wanted to talk to its founder, Dan Soudran. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Soudran's science workshops are filling a gap overburdened schools are less and less able to meet. NPR profiled Soudran, and Mari Lynch of Bicycling Monterey alerted me to it. Enjoy.

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/21/155519815/kids-get-hands-on-with-science-in-a-dream-garage