High-Schoolers Teach and Learn at Science Fest
Hands-On Fun, Exhibits Engage Young Crowd

By Jennifer Buske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 1, 2008

After wandering through the colorful booths at Osbourn Park High School's Earth Jubilee science celebration, 7-year-old Kendrick Peoples was eager to share newly discovered facts.

"Did you know it takes 70 days to wrap a mummy?" the Signal Hill Elementary School second-grader said. "And, I learned you stick a needle up the nose to get the brains out. That mummy stuff was my favorite because they showed us the tools to get the brains out."

Thanks for sharing.

Kendrick was one of about 500 students from Signal Hill, Sinclair and West Gate elementary schools who descended on the driver's education course at Osbourn Park last week for the seventh annual celebration of the school's biotechnology program.

The event required 320 freshmen and sophomores to transform into teachers and present lessons on subjects such as health, nutrition, electricity and kinetic energy to eager first- through third-graders.

"We make believe we are doing it only for the little kids, but we are doing it for us, too," said Larry Nemerow, biotechnology program coordinator. "There is no higher form of learning than teaching. You can learn something for a test, but then you forget it. Here, they had to become experts on a subject, and the information will stick with them a lot longer."

During the three-hour event, elementary students eagerly darted among the 65 exhibits. They would sit attentively during the verbal presentations but were also happy to participate in the numerous hands-on activities, which included handling Donatello the lizard at the desert booth and creating paper airplanes while learning about aviation and aeronautics.

"This reinforces the science concepts they have learned, and it will stick with them because there are lots of hands-on activities; kids learn better that way," Signal Hill third-grade teacher Katie Williams said. "I've been very impressed with the student involvement."

One of Williams's students, 9-year-old Daniel Rayan, said he loves science and had been looking forward to this day. In his hand he grasped a bag full of treats, pencils and other goodies that he had won for answering questions at various booths.

"I learned that tornadoes are a mix of hot and cold, and blizzards are when there is lots of snow covering your house," the third-grader said. "I haven't seen either yet, but I want to see them only in pictures."

While Daniel rushed back to join friends at the weather booth, students at the chemical reaction table watched in awe as the high school team dropped Mentos in a Diet Coke bottle, forcing the liquid to spew upward.

Students erupted in a chorus of oohs and aahs as they watched the eruption.

"Cool," said Signal Hill second-grader Madelyn Magrath, who was sporting a bright-blue tongue from sucking on a Jolly Rancher. "I'm excited about the day. It helps us learn stuff that we also learn in the classroom."

Sixteen-year-old Kelly Greico, who was working the chemistry booth, said it was hard to come up with ways to teach a challenging topic to young minds. The demonstration, she said, was something her team knew would catch their eye.

"It was interesting to try and come up with what to say at their level," she said. "The topics we presented we just learned sitting in chemistry class, but we had to come up with hands-on [activities] and different ways to get the kids to learn them."

Pyrotechnics, forensic science and astronomy also were popular topics among students. A sea of tiny hands would shoot up as the high-schoolers quizzed students on what they had learned from the presentations at the booths. They would break into wide grins on being rewarded with high-fives and sweets for correct answers.

"My favorite was learning about space, because they talked about space and why the sun glows yellow," 9-year-old Romello Barr said while sucking an orange popsicle he had won.

All the high-schoolers in the event are part of the biotechnology program, open to students throughout Prince William County and in Manassas and Manassas Park. The special program combines English, social studies and science and requires students to take rigorous courses and do science-related volunteer work.

Students said they were given a list of topics in January and received little guidance from teachers. It was up to the students to figure out how to keep a young crowd engaged.

"I liked the fact we were able to do stuff on our own with no one breathing down our necks," 15-year-old freshman Taylor Owens said. "We hope we opened up new doors for the elementary kids today and broadened their horizons."

Students said the other big challenge was working as a team.

"Students are not usually tested on their ability to work together, and in the real world, working together is important," Nemerow said. "I hope after this they take away a sense of accomplishment and learned about the commitment and dedication that is needed to create a product. All of that is just so valuable."