We spent today's class time at Oregon State University's “Discovery Days.”
Discovery Days is an outreach program that the Colleges of Science and Engineering collaborate on to give elementary and middle school students the opportunity to become excited about science! The students were eager to explore the stations we had set up for them. Our class' goal for Discover Days was to encourage the students' desire to explore science.
We set up four sections for the students to visit and explore. Each station was set up so that experiments could be conducted quickly. There were lots of stimulating activities throughout LaSells Center, and it was difficult sometimes to hold the attention of the young students. They seemed very excited about each of the stations that were set up, and there was a constant flow of children throughout the day. Several times, I watched a child learn about an experiment, and pull a parent, teacher, or older adult over to explain what they had just learned. It was exciting to watch students become so interested in learning about science!
The stations were set up like mini-experiments for the topics we have been covering in class. We did not have enough time to go into in-depth conversations with the students (unless they asked) about exactly each phenomena being explored, but we were definitely able to spark their interest.
Light Sensors and Reflective Properties
Pinhole Camera Phenomena
Temperature Phenomena