Science Education       
             Resource Center  

SERC is OPEN!              
Please contact the new SERC Coordinator, Diane Davis at 408-924-4884
or sercsjsu@gmail.com

Welcome!  Our website is currently in the process of being updated. Please check out our workshops page.
Click here to view our brochure (PDF)

           The Science Education Resource Center was established at SJSU in 1958 by the Science Education Department to assist San Jose State College students who were preparing to teach science in grades K-12.  It began with materials collected by faculty members for their own teaching, at professional meetings and from class projects that students were willing to donate.  San Jose State University was founded as Minn’s Evening Normal School in 1857 and has always had a strong teacher preparation program, including science.  When the first Normal School building was opened in San Jose in 1871 it contained a Museum on the top floor.  Apparently it had shells, rocks and minerals, feathers and other natural artifacts for students to use in their preparation to teach in grammar schools (grades K-8). 

          For many years the living animal collection was also used in college natural history/natural science classes.  A Boa Constrictor and Desert Tortoise have been regulars.  Farusha, a Boa that was in the collection for more that 20 years, was featured in a Spartan Daily article almost every year.  Now, because the animals are housed in a building that meets National Institutes of Health standards, the restrictions about care and use are more detailed. 

          Many of the preserved animals were student products from a Museum techniques course.  Since collecting of organisms is now illegal, this teaching collection of stuffed mammals and birds and preserved organisms is even more valuable now.  Skeletons and shells in many cases come from student collections of many years ago. 

          In the early days the K-8 textbook collection was donated by faculty members who were on state textbook selection committees.  Each reviewer was sent a set of each text series that was applying to be the one state K-8 grade series adopted.  Since the state supported text list has expanded and reviewers are no longer given books to keep the SERC elementary and middle school book collections declined.  SERC does accept donations of current texts from publishers for both elementary and secondary texts and references.

           The earth science collection of Maps, and kits was greatly expanded several years ago, thanks to a large donation of materials from the U.S.G.S. when they stopped keeping such materials at the Menlo Park office.  In addition there is a large collection of rocks and minerals, many dating back to the early years of SERC.

          More of the physical science materials are newer.  Many of the models and simple demonstrations have been replaced with more current versions.  But there are astronomy materials about the solar system and constellations that have remained.

Science Education Resource Center  (408) 924-4884
Science Building, Room 304

©2011