Who We Are 

Charles Scaife's formal education culminated in a BA in Chemistry from Cornell University in 1959 and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry also from Cornell University in 1966.  Between those degree programs he served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy from 1959-1961. He worked under a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of York, England in 1966-1967.  His first teaching position was as an assistant professor at Middlebury College from 1967-1972.  Since that time he has taught at Union College, first as an associate professor and chair of the Chemistry Department (1972-1978), and then as a full professor since 1982.  He formally retired from teaching at Union College in August, 2001 and is presently Professor Emeritus. He was a Visiting Professor at New Mexico State University in 1978-1979.  He has co-authored two editions of a textbook, solutions manual, and test bank; two editions of a laboratory manual; and fifteen research papers. 

Priscilla Scaife likewise studied considerable science toward a BA in Nutrition from Cornell University in 1964.  She volunteered extensively for several organizations including Hospice and "Young Moms".  She went back to college and completed a Masters in Social Work (MSW) at the State University of New York at Albany in 1993.  She counseled part-time at a Christian counseling center for three years.  Since 1994 she has been very involved with hands-on science, first purchasing and packing supplies, and later teaching in the classroom.  She is astoundingly flexible and efficient at making the teaching effective under almost any circumstances. 

Our other interests include traveling, hiking, bicycling, cross country skiing, gardening, woodworking, and counseling young families.  We have two married daughters and seven grandchildren with whom we spend as much time as possible even though they are in neighboring states. We are born-again Christians and members of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Albany, NY.

We began teaching hands-on science activities during two terms of a sabbatical leave in 1994 in classrooms, teacher workshops, and Family Science Nights at 45 elementary schools in New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  These efforts were featured in the Wall Street Journal, May 17, 1994, page 1.  Later efforts were featured in Education Week, volume XVII, number 15, December 3, 1997 under People and in The Christian Science Monitor, January 8, 1998, page 4.  During the 1999-2000 school year, we taught and worked full-time on a sabbatical leave in 56 elementary schools, museums, or other sites in 13 different states.  Our efforts were keynoted in USA TODAY, February 8, 2000, page 9D as well as in regional and local newspapers and television news programs.  We usually teach separately, but otherwise work together as a team in our planning efforts, in Family Science Nights, and in workshops.  We have also conducted 13 two-day workshops to train others (including industrial, academic, and government scientists, teachers and elementary science specialists, library and museums program coordinators, and home educators) how to teach hands-on science activities and conduct Family Science Nights.

We have made a number of presentations at national meetings that relate to our efforts.

C. Scaife and P. Scaife, "Stimulating and Maintaining Interest in the Chemical Sciences in Elementary School Students," an invited presentation at the 220th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, DC, August 20-24, 2000

C. Scaife and P. Scaife, "Student Outreach through Hands-On Science Activities for Elementary School Students," an invited presentation in the Symposium on Introducing Chemistry to Young Students: Innovations that Transcend Language and Geography, at the 15th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, August 9-13, 1998

C. Scaife and P. Scaife, "Hands-On Science Activities: They Are Not Just for School," an invited presentation in the Symposium on Hands-On Science for Children, at the 5th Chemical Congress of North America, Cancun, Mexico, November 11-15, 1997

C. Scaife and P. Scaife, "Hands-On Science Activities for Parents and Children," workshop presented at the 14th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, Clemson University, August 4-8, 1996

Kids Involved Doing Science is at http://www.kids.union.edu

Modified 10/23/02  by C. & P. Scaife