Bladen County Schools is one of 11 non-profit organizations chosen by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund as a recipient of its Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) award.

These awards, which provide up to $ 60,000 per year for three years, support programs that offer creative science enrichment activities, outside of normal school hours, for middle and high school students.

Bladen County Schools was chosen for its Excite-Sci program. Created by Cathy Kinlaw, Excite-Sci is a school-year program for middle and high school students that seeks to ignite scientific curiosity and inquiry through hands-on activities such as dinosaur digs, a radio science trivia show, Science Olympiad Teams, Bridge Building Teams, and Star-gazing parties.

Students will have the opportunity to job shadow with scientists in the Research Triangle Park. The grant will help to enhance science supplies in the classrooms as well as provide improved scientific journals for school media centers.

The long-term goal of the Excite-Sci project is to increase the number of students leaving high school who choose science-related careers and pursue college degrees.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund launched SSEP in 1996 and has made a total of 78 awards-an investment of approximately $ 10.8 million to foster innovative, hands-on science education activities for students with interest and skill in science.

In addition to providing financial support, BWF trains award recipients in how to evaluate and sustain their programs.

"We feel it is important to measure outcomes," said BWF President Enriqueta C. Bond, Ph.D., "so we ask recipients to evaluate their programs, and we give them a team of experts and the tools to do so. We are truly invested in science education in North Carolina, both as a means to attract more students into science careers as well as to be a good citizen of the state."

Grant recipient and Program Director Kinlaw was thrilled with the announcement of the grant award.

"This is a significant and exciting opportunity for the students of Bladen County," she said. "This year will be the most energized and dynamic year of science education in our recent history."

Bladen County Schools shares this honor with 10 other recipients, which includes such prestigious facilities as Duke University Department of Computer Science, Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, North Carolina A&T State University Department of Biology and others.

For more information about the grant and its affect on Bladen County Schools, contact Kinlaw at 862-4136.