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Challenge Science

Other Challenge Saturdays Programs:

Primary Challenge Math (Grades 3-4)

Challenge Math (Grades 5-6)

Primary Challenge Language Arts (Grades 3-4)

Challenge Language Arts (Grades 5-6)

Math Excursions: Geometry (Grades 7-8)

Challenge Foreign Language (Grades 5-8)

Challenge Photography (Grades 4-6)

Challenge Leadership (Grades 4-6)

Challenge Latin (Grades 4-6)

Dr. Hector Ibarra is a middle school science teacher and department chair in the West Branch Community School District in West Branch, where he teaches sixth-grade physical science and seventh-grade earth science. Dr. Ibarra's many innovations relate to environmental and energy awareness, bringing a community focus to projects while students learn what is happening across the nation. One project reduced the school's energy costs by about 70 percent and won national acclaim, including a mention by President Bill Clinton in his national address to the nation on global warming. He advises student teams working on projects as part of national contests. In the past six years 58 students have won more than $270,000 in saving bonds as a result in winning a regional or national contest each year. Dr. Ibarra's distinguished service as an educator has brought him a steady stream of recognition throughout the years. He was a 1993 recipient of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Presidential Award, was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1998, and received a Christa McAuliffe fellowship. He is past president of the National Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching and the National Middle Level Science Teachers Association.

Jenny Schiltz holds a Master of Arts in Education with endorsements in reading, social studies and gifted education. She has been married to a veterinarian for 25 years and assisted him in private practice in Illinois. For the past three years she has developed and facilitated classes designed to spark students’ interests in veterinary science. As a classroom teacher, she taught upper elementary students. Currently she is a gifted education consultant with the Des Moines Public Schools. In her spare time, Jenny loves to read, work in her garden, and spend time with her family.