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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

Retiree Volunteers Enrich Learning at Arizona Science Center

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Monday, December 14, 2009   

PHOENIX - Despite the tough economic times, learning programs at the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix are stronger than ever, thanks to a dedicated group of 20 retiree volunteers with extensive knowledge and experience in education, science, math, engineering and technology.

Volunteer coordinator Jan Stonebraker says the over-50 volunteers have helped the Science Center do more with less.

"They are involved in everything from creating and developing activities, demonstrations, to presenting the activities and demonstrations, to teaching home school classes, workshops."

Stonebraker says the volunteer corps was started more than two years ago with a grant from the Virginia Piper Trust. The grant has ended, but all 20 volunteers are staying on and filling the role of the museum's science advisors.

Vounteer Nikii Johnston has a strong bio-medical background. She's on the design team for a five-year Science Center project that will start by exploring research being done at the downtown Phoenix biotech cluster on cellular pathways in the body.

"We're not going to focus on organs so much, but take it to the next level that we're finding our scientific community and our scientists here at T-Gen and Biodesign Institute and ASU and U of A are doing, and bring that to the public."

Johnston says the project will also include extensive statewide outreach for those who can't visit the Science Center.

She says the volunteer corps has been helpful in stretching the Science Museum's recession-limited budget.

"A lot of us also have business experience, including organizational management, accounting, budget, project management, etcetera, and so we bring those skills also, in addition to our science skills."

Johnston says she sees the volunteers as an additional resource, rather than as a replacement for paid staff.


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