Spring 2001 -- Vol. 18, No. 1

Faculty Members Assist Young Students with Several Efforts

Professor John Lowe portrays Poseidon for second graders at Matternville Elementary School.

'Under the Sea' Program Visits Second Graders in State College School

Three faculty members and nearly a dozen graduate students from the Department of Chemistry made a recent trip to Matternville Elementary School for a voyage "Under the Sea" with a group of second-grade students.

The graduate students and faculty members--Jackie Bortiatynski, instructor of chemistry, John Lowe, professor of chemistry, and Bob Minard, professor of chemistry--planned their activities and visit to complement the second graders' unit titled "Under the Sea."  The department's presentation, which featured small-group interaction with students in groups of four and included numerous interactive activities, was designed by doctoral student Andrew Greenberg.

The presentation began with a demonstration by members of the department, and followed the challenges faced by two fish who get lost during a school field trip.  While lost, the fish meet Poseidon (portrayed by Lowe) and in order to return home they must tour Poseidon's kingdom.  Each stop in the kingdom provided an opportunity for hands-on activity for the second graders.

"We're there only to supplement what they've done in their class," said Bortyiatynski, who has a child in one of the classes at the State College Area School District elementary school.  "We went over things like buoyancy and density differences in fresh water and salt water and we looked at the composition of shells.  The whole idea is for the science to be hands-on fun."  Other stations for students included a connection to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Web site and a wave pool.  A total of eight stations were planned.

"We just want to demonstrate scientific concepts and enhance their unit," Bortiatynski said.  "After doing a program like this earlier at Park Forest Elementary School, everybody who's taking part really seems excited about doing it again.  Working with the kids allows us to present them with some things and it also allows some of us to approach science in a different manner."

Elementary students participating in this program were those from the rooms of teachers Bonnie Abrahms and Linda Witmer, the two second-grade classrooms at Matternville Elementary School.

The event marked the second time in a matter of four months that the Penn State chemists presented a supplement activity to a group of elementary students in the State College Area School District.

Earlier, members of the department visited third graders at Park Forest Elementary School and conducted a session during which the students acted as chemical detectives.

Undergraduate student Alison Dewald (right) uses egg shells and sea shells to demonstrate what happens to calcium when a weak mixture of acid is applied. Hands-on work represented a big part of the "Under the Sea" program presented by members of the Department of Chemistry. Doctoral student Andrew Greenberg (below) works to help students understand how light travels through water. Greenberg and Dewald helped design the dayıs activities.

Two week-long day camp sessions sponsored by the Eberly College of Science for students entering sixth to ninth grades were held this past summer and each session featured a hands-on, inquiry-based experience for all of its participants.

"We wanted to make the camp a science experience that was both educational and fun," said Rebecca Peterson, an instructor in the Department of Biology and director of the camps.  "It's important to get younger students involved.  We do not expect them all to become scientists.  We would like them to gain an appreciation of the importance of science that affects them each day.  Hopefully, we can heighten their interest while helping them to discover exciting career opportunities in the sciences."

The camps--with activities from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily--highlighted the work of Penn State faculty members and benefited graduate students and undergraduate students, who volunteered to serve as instructors and mentors for the program.  The Action/Potential Summer Camps, a first for the Eberly College of Science as a whole (the Department of Chemistry conducted some successful camps in the early 1990s), served students entering sixth through ninth grades for the 2000-01 academic year.

For 2001, the Action/Potential Summer Camps plan to expand to include a residence camp for students in ninth to 11th grades as well as teaching institutes for elementary and high school educators.  For information, contact Peterson at (814) 865-8780 or by e-mail at rmp6@psu.edu

Back to Science Journal Spring 2001 Index

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