Discovering the World of
b y E L I Z A B E TH B E C KW I TH EA R LY C H I L D H O O D S C I E N C E TE AC H E R
THE EC SCIENCE LAB AND ADJOINING SPACES ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO ASK QUESTIONS, THINK INNOVATIVELY AND MAKE DISCOVERIES ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND THEM. The minds of young children are sponges, constantly absorbing what is going on around them. “Why is this caterpillar fuzzy?” “Why do toys have batteries?” “Were Tyrannosauruses nice?” “Why does it thunder?” These wonderful questions cannot be answered through pen and paper. Instead, our young scientists discover how the world works at an age-appropriate level in the science
28 WINTER 2021 | ST. MARTIN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL
Photo - 2019
“S
cience! Science! Science!” is what Abe the blue-tongued skink and Polly the ball python hear as the Toddler classes enter the Early Childhood science lab each week. Through this simple activity, our youngest scientists learn to associate the lab with the word “science.” The science lab is a state-of-the-art space designed to foster curiosity and collaboration in young children. In early 2019, St. Martin’s opened its newly rebuilt Early Childhood Learning Center complete with a STEAM Village featuring an intentionally connected science lab, tinker lab, art room and outdoor classroom. The science lab and adjoining spaces encourage children to ask questions, think innovatively and make discoveries about the world around them. This unique space has proved to be a model for many other schools around the country.
lab by taking apart old toys with screwdrivers, mixing up slime and goo or observing a fuzzy caterpillar move. In 13 years as the Early Childhood science teacher at St. Martin’s, I’ve learned that teaching science to two- through six-year-olds is not about teaching in the traditional sense. It’s about facilitating an exciting environment with opportunities to play, explore and make discoveries. And not just any discoveries, but their own discoveries. Research has shown that making an independent discovery sparks a memory that can last a lifetime. St. Martin’s Toddlers discover that frogs are green by watching the Ribbits family of Australian tree frogs hop around their habitat in the critter corner. Kindergartners uncover states of matter by making giant blobs of slime, and 1st-grade students learn to think like engineers by completing building challenges in the outdoor classroom.
