Enriching experiments
Science
Photos courtesy of Bridget McGuiggan
Lanie Neihaus
John Tischke
Brian Williams
NIU STEM Outreach program visits Madison Elementary School
by mike ellis
M
adison Elementary students received a chance to experiment and boost their understanding of science when the Northern Illinois University STEM Outreach program came to their school on Jan. 16. Kids from kindergarten through fifth grade split up into two rooms, trying their hand at a number of experiments designed to enhance their curiosity of various branches of science, including mechanics, optics and electricity. “We want to spark the interest of children, because we have a science fair coming up,” Madison first-grade teacher Pat Brody said. “To see these experiments, they might think, ‘Maybe that’s something I’d like to do. I’m a scientist.’” NIU’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Outreach program visits over 100 schools each year, touching roughly 4,000-5,000 students with hands-on experiments and exhibits. “It’s basically a way to get kids involved in those particular fields, and get them interested at an early age,” said Matt Kucmierz, an NIU senior mechanical engineering major who volunteered at the event. The exhibits fascinated students, ranging from the “spectrum tube,” which isolated the colors contained in a tube when viewed with special glasses, to the “singing stemware,” the lid of which made a high-pitched sound after being rubbed by the liquid inside (this effect was produced by friction). Some exhibits were also perplexing and counter-intuitive at first glance. For example, by using two-sided mirrors, a single row of lights appeared to continue forever.
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Parent volunteers oversaw each exhibit, answering kids’ questions about the phenomena involved in each one. Pettee Guerrero, a STEM Outreach associate and NIU graduate student, said one of the objectives of parent volunteering is to further educate parents and encourage them to duplicate some experiments at home. “We ask parents to come and volunteer, so that way they can learn about science, and they can educate their kids at home,” Guerrero said. “Some of the things we show here they can make at home, so they can help their kids be more interested in science.” Jennifer Zock, co-chair of the Season of Science committee for the Madison PTO, said the STEM event works well with the “hands-on” type of learning District 181 would like to achieve in science. “The STEM event aligns nicely with what the district wants to do with Common Core,” said Zock, who also serves as the assistant to the Assistant Superintendents for Learning for the district. “What we really liked is that the students get to interact with each exhibit. “We like the hands-on experiences the kids get, because we know that’s the way they learn best.” Kucmierz said he was never exposed Mustafa Siddiqui to a STEM-type environment while he was in grammar school, and feels that the program is an effective tool for getting more kids interested in science. “Unfortunately, when I was growing up, I never really was able to attend things like this,” he said. “I saw some videos online, ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy,’ stuff like that. But I think this is a cool way to get kids hands-on and asking questions.”