West Homer Elementary hosted Science Activity Night on Thursday February 26 from 5-6:30pm. The event was primarily organized by fourth grade teachers Kate Crowley and Karen Corbell but was open to all students and the general community of Homer. It consisted of 22 display tables from local, state and federal science organizations as well as the University of Alaska Kenai Peninsula College, local teachers and student organizations. Federal organizations included NOAA, the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Each of these display tables required their own organization and many included various forms of student opportunities for interaction including: Winter Birds and Birdfeeder activity with the West Homer Elementary Intervention Team, the opportunity to try on a wetsuit with Kris Holderied from NOAA’s Kasitsna Bay Lab and Earthquake-proof Engineering experiment involving mini-marshmellows and toothpicks sponsored by the fifth grade WHE team.
Corbell and Crowley provided comments on what this year’s event brought to the community: First Corbell:
I love that it's a place based; so much of what is being brought into this event are current things that are happening. UAA, Debbie, Dr Tobin, she's bringing in like five different students to her undergrad. So it really is that neat connection where you've got people really on their feet, on the ground, doing the work, coming in, showing what they do, and then maybe inspiring these kids to pursue science someday.
Kate Crowley added:
the theme of the whole thing is, science is life, you know, and so it can be science stretches into all different things. I feel like there's like, a really nice representation of what science can be and I was even thinking next year we could do like a brain science event. Also our third, fourth grade and fifth grade teams are coming up with tables will be interacting with students as well.
Corbell concluded:
I know when something like this expands and becomes generated by many people who are enthusiastic, it does start to have a life of its own, and it is definitely an event that can continue, maybe not every year, but every other year.
That's what gets me excited, even though it is additional things than we would do in our teaching day, all the planning and the efforts, it's worth it as what it does for these kiddos.
Youth attending the event were provided with a “booth passport” and collected signatures in order to be entered into a prize drawing at the end of the evening.
Reporting from Homer, this is Emilie Springer.
