Three Thomas Worthington High School science teachers received Ohio Academy of Science Governor's Awards last week for providing a myriad of science activities for their students.

Trudy Tuttle, Sara Quart and Jodi Bacon won Governor's Awards for Excellence in Youth Science Opportunities.

"We are proud to win this award, but proud of our students, not of ourselves," Bacon said. "They are the ones who did the hard work and performed so well at the science fair."

Twenty-three Thomas students won major awards at the State Science Day in May and Thomas students consistently have performed well in district and state science events in past years.

"Receiving a Governor's Award for Excellence sends a clear signal that these schools and teachers value student-originated, inquiry-based science education as outlined in the Ohio Science Education Standards," said Lynn Elfner, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Science. "Whole new worlds of opportunities open to students when they complete research or technological design projects."

To qualify for the award, teachers or schools must conduct a local science fair involving 20 or more students and send one of more of those students to one of the academy's 16 district science days, plus involve students in youth science opportunities beyond the classroom, such as State Science Day and extended field trips.

Bacon said science students research and carry out inquiry projects of their own choosing.

"They select a topic that they find interesting, research it, design an experiment and carry it out on their own time," she said. "We support them with guidance and information, and sometimes help them at school, but for the most part, these students are self-motivated and all have opted to take a course offered in the high school in which carrying out this independent research is an expectation.

"They do not have to challenge themselves with this extra work, but they are very driven," she said.

Bacon said a project-based curriculum is the basis of the district and the state's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program.

"The current educational and political climate strongly favors inquiry-based learning in science, math and engineering," she said. "The skills our students learn by doing these projects will position them for the most important jobs in the future. This is how our country will compete in a global market and ultimately solve our energy and environmental problems."

Today's students will become tomorrow's scientists, she said.

"Our students today are the ones who will be instrumental in shaping the health of our country and planet," Bacon said. "I feel comfortable trusting them with these issues because I know they have the motivation and experience to be successful."

The students learn more than basic facts from textbooks.

"I mostly want to impart a love of science and learning to my students," Bacon said. "I want them to be curious, to learn how to find answers and to continue to do so long after they leave my class."

This is Bacon's sixth year of teaching full time at Thomas and the second year she, Tuttle and Quart have won this award.