Carolina Biological Supply Company's Science Curriculum Wins National BESSIE and EdTech Cool Tool Awards

Top education professional publications chose Building Blocks of Science™ 3D grades K–5 materials for prestigious school technology product honors

BURLINGTON, NC, April 30, 2019 –Leading school science supplier Carolina Biological announced that its new science curriculum won a 2019 BESSIE Award and was named a Finalist for several EdTech Cool Tool Awards 2019. Carolina's new three-dimensional science investigation-based program, Building Blocks of Science™ 3D turns students into scientists during short 30-minute investigations that easily fit into the school day for grades K to 5. Delivering more than 900 digital science resources for teachers and students, the program consists of phenomena-rich investigations and meaningful engineering design challenges that put the experience in students' hands. The national awards recognize that Carolina succeeded in creating Building Blocks of Science 3D as a top resource with technology features that teachers need to teach science. The ComputED Gazette team of educators evaluated the product in depth to award it a prestigious 2019 Best Educational Software Award (BESSIE).

In search of innovative people and products, The EdTech Cool Tool Awards is one of the largest competitions that recognizes outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners. Building Blocks of Science 3D, in which students drive their own investigations of science phenomena and learn through hands-on investigations and digital simulations, stood out from the competition and was selected by the awards host, The EdTech Digest for three Finalist Honors in: Curriculum and Instruction Solution; eLearning, Blended or Flipped Solution; and Testing & Assessment Solution categories. Prior to winning these awards, Carolina's curriculum also achieved adoption in California, where it met the state's high bar for new science resources to support a student-driven, hands-on, and phenomena-based vision of the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS).

"Our ultimate goal in creating Building Blocks of Science 3D was to provide teachers with a high-quality, hands-on curriculum kit that would engage students, while meeting a whole new set of NGSS standards that call for phenomena-based, hands-on science investigations by students," said Jim Parrish, President and CEO at Carolina Biological Supply Company. "After the recent adoption in California and now recognition from two separate leaders in the education profession, Carolina is very proud of our product! Building Blocks of Science 3D is here to help teachers inspire the next generation of scientists every day in their classrooms with a seamlessly integrated combination of print, digital and hands-on materials."

The ComputED Gazette is a valuable educational resource, having served the educational technology community for over 25 years. Presenter of the 25th Annual Best Educational Software Awards 2019 (BESSIES), its directors are educators who have provided the finest computer education to children and adults in San Diego County, CA. The BESSIES has had the distinction of previously being co-sponsored by the CBS-affiliate in San Diego (KFMB-TV/Channel 8), and recognizes innovative, content-rich programs, apps and websites that foster educational excellence.

Presented annually by EdTech Digest, The EdTech Awards honor innovators in education technology. In an age of rapid technological change—innovators, leaders, and trendsetters are our greatest treasures. If our age is golden, they're lighting the way. Nearly a decade in, The EdTech Awards persists in its salute. Featured are the creators and champions of the sufficiently advanced technologies that sometimes wow us, seek to help us, and ultimately move us forward.

Building Blocks of Science 3D

Carolina's Building Blocks of Science 3D hands-on unit kits are for students in grades K to 5. This complete, phenomena-based program integrates engineering into every grade and includes everything teachers need for their entire class for every lesson with hands-on materials, print, and digital simulations and components for one all-inclusive price. This spring, Carolina added valuable digital Spanish language instructional materials to Building Blocks of Science 3D. Student and teacher resources provide clear instructions to teachers and students who are English language learners (ELL) to give teachers and students important language support to enable students to learn the science content.

The program is a core curriculum that combines interactive investigations, literacy components, and more than 900 digital resources to teach students science content and investigative skills. The program's 99 digital simulations give a straightforward and quick way for teachers to assess student understanding. The custom-created simulations are directly tied to the phenomena in the short 30-minute investigations of each unit. Included, Spanish resources support teachers using any of the hands-on unit kits in Carolina's Building Blocks of Science 3D series.

Students investigate real-world science phenomena. The new standards require students to be able to use what they know to make sense of phenomena and solve problems. The program meets this core need by providing challenging opportunities for them to apply their knowledge, as they build essential sense-making and problem-solving skills, in the process of demonstrating understanding. Online, students can access in English or Spanish student readers, interactive student investigation sheets, simulation instructions, interactive whiteboard activities, interactive student readers and student literacy e-books. Printable PDF versions of student investigation sheets are also available.

Availability

Building Blocks of Science 3D hands-on investigation kits with digital resources are available now, for each grade K–5. They include a print-format Teacher Guide, one big book (K), a set of 24 (grades 1-2) or 30 (grades 3-5) Building Blocks of Science 3D Literacy Series™ student books, a class kit of hands-on materials to supply 24 (grades K-2) or 30 (grades 3-5) students, and digital access to both English and Spanish Resources. Prices start at $321.95 for one kit through Carolina. Prices for Spanish readers in print range between $34.95 for a pack of six student readers to $199 for one printed teacher resource in Spanish. For information, visit Carolina's website or www.buildingblocksofscience.com, call (800) 334-5551, or e-mail curriculum@carolina.com.

Carolina Biological Supply Company

From its beginnings in 1927, Carolina (www.carolina.com) has grown to become the leading supplier of biological and other science teaching materials in the world. Headquartered in Burlington, NC, Carolina serves customers worldwide, including teachers, students, and professionals in science and health-related fields. The company is still privately owned by descendants of the founder, geology and biology professor Dr. Thomas E. Powell Jr.