Earlier this week I had the extreme pleasure of shadowing some students from Rooney Ranch Elementary who came to our office before appearing on the Denver NBC affiliate 4:00 news program. The students’ were chosen to appear for their creative science fair projects and speaking abilities.
The students arrived with their parents at our offices around 3:00p.m. A little less than two hours before air time. Steve chatted with them and got them naturally talking and explaining their experiments. The kids were so excited and wound up, but Steve knew exactly how to get them to focus and share.
Next, they went into our studio at the Spangler Labs and did a little trial run to practice for the real television studio. The kids got a small-scale run through complete with bright lights and a desk. They had an opportunity to really begin to sharpen their chops.
The Denver Children’s Museum offers fun activities right outside their doors this summer in an exhibit called Just Add Water.
Kids will get wet, drip and splash in this hands-on exhibit. It’s learning through play and there are even a few water geysers throw in.
This is a summer-only event and only goes for a little while longer before closing for the season. But don’t worry, Just Add Water will be back in the summer of 2013.
Kim Hill, a first grade teacher at Hayes Elementary School in Ada, Oklahoma, brought her love of science to the Cap Haitien Children’s Home in Cap Haitien, Haiti, this past February.
The Cap Haitien Children’s home is a Christian orphanage housing over 60 children. Its mission is to provide a loving and engaging atmosphere to help each child grow to become an educated citizen of Haiti.
Kim traveled to Haiti with her arsenal of science experiments. The first science experiment was polymers and Insta-Snow. When Kim began creating a blizzard on an island where snow is unheard of, the children were in disbelief. It was snowing in Haiti!
As the children mixed water with the white polymer powder, snow grew before their eyes. Discoveries abounded and pretty soon the snow was flying through the air and sprinkled in hair. Who knew you could have a snowball fight in Haiti?
Smiles were everywhere.
Her proud daughter, Carly Hill, shared pictures on Twitter and emailed us saying, “Without
Sisters Keira and Shaylie are student scientists with a real knack for chemistry. They live in Bend, Oregon and along with friend Caroline, have turned a bathroom in their home as well as a playroom into science labs.
We had the pleasure of learning about these exceptional girls around the holidays. They had a regular Christmas wish list and a second, Steve Spangler Science wish list. After watching some of their experiment videos and hearing about their scientific discoveries in their homemade lab, in their driveway and in the dark, we had to share their amazing talent and zest for learning.
Keira, 12, is described by her dad as a “very studious child.” She was placed in a TAG (Talented and Gifted) program by her kindergarten teacher. Over the years, science has become her favorite subject. Her best friend Caroline, 11, helps with the science activities.
Sister Shaylie, 9, is more of an inventor and sometimes the assistant when the girls perform experiments in their lab.
Keira says she and Caroline really got into science in 5th grade when their class took a field trip to a local
Karen Engates, otherwise known as Dr. Science Mom, runs a science camp after school program in Texas. She is a mother with a Ph.D.
She mainly works with grades kindergarten to third, exploring science. In Texas, grades 4 and 5 have regular science time during the week to prepare for state tests. The younger grades do not have a required weekly science time.
Karen does her best to get the kids excited about science, “I try to do my part to get them motivated, learn a few skills using lab equipment, and show them that having fun in science is possible.”
Her second graders really enjoyed the Taco Sauce Penny Cleaner experiment and wondered “if taco sauce cleans pennies, just think what it could do for your teeth!”
Maybe they’re on to a new product – Taco Sauce Toothpaste – it’s not so minty.
