STEM DEMO
“Fun, energetic, and eager to learn,” were some of the words teachers used to describe their students yesterday morning.
While Belle-based chemical manufacturer Arclin Amines said in a news release that the purpose of the event was “to educate the workforce of tomorrow,” the kids were working on having as much fun as they could.
STUDENTS VIEW STEM UP CLOSE
In the event’s first year, only Belle Elementary School students participated. But after hearing that many students had never visited the Clay Center, Arclin decided to expand the event.
Madison Russell, a third-grade teacher at Belle Elementary, said of the demonstrations, “I think they are wonderful, and they definitely are following along with the standards that are happening in third grade.”
Russell said her students were excited about the trip and to learn more science. She noted that third-graders receive science instruction two days a week, switching off with social studies.
“We do not get to do a ton of experiments in the classroom. So when they get to experience it here together with their friends, it is really important to them,” she explained.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES
Heather Henson, a senior chemist at Arclin, led a demonstration about different states of matter.
Henson said she enjoys representing the company on outreach trips because of the benefits from exposing kids to science.
“Studies show that when kids get excited about science, they’ll become lifelong learners. And manufacturing jobs are so important to this community, and to communities all over the world. We just want our kids to understand there’s lots of opportunities,” she said.
Michael Huff, a chemical engineer who helped lead a demonstration on liquid density, said, “Curiosity is one of the key attributes to having a career in STEM. You can practice math and chemistry and get better, but curiosity is where you really have your drive.”
Plus, Henson said, STEM is where so many opportunities will exist for future generations.
“STEM is absolutely the future. The end,” she said. She said that, in a 2022 report of children born that year, “60% of them will have jobs that have not been invented yet. That’s how crazy science, technology, engineering and mathematics are changing.”
The morning’s STEM topics and demonstrations were:
- Learning About Liquid Density: Making a Lava-Lamp
- Acid-Base Reactions Can Also Be Endothermic Reactions
- Exothermic Reactions: How to Make Elephant Toothpaste
- Surface Tension: Why Germs Dislike Soap
- Frictional Force: How Strong is Friction?
- Chemical Filtration: How Molecules are Filtered and Pass-Thru
- State of Matter: Learning About Non-Newtonian Fluid
- Polymer Interaction Through Making a Bouncy Ball
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Third-graders Everett Ballard and Grace Adkins were happy to make the journey from their schools to the Clay Center.
Adkins said science is important “because some of science can help you in life.”
Ballard focused on how science is “really, really fun.”
While Ballard couldn’t say which area of the Clay Center was his favorite, he did leave knowing that “mixing baking soda and vinegar makes carbon dioxide.”
©2024 The Charleston Gazette, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
