There are many things that make Magnolia Heights a special place to go to school and work. One aspect that I have found to stand out over the past few weeks is the ability of our high school students to work with our elementary students. This ability stems from our small class sizes that make it easy for teachers and students to be flexible in scheduling. Also, being on one campus allows our high school students to mentor and teach our elementary students. Not only are our high school students role models for our younger students on the playing fields but also in the classroom.
Our Physics class has spent several days over the past few weeks engaging our elementary students in exciting learning experiences. Last Friday we had our black out pep rally where the cheerleaders used black lights. The sixth graders learned from the Physics class why light colors appear different when using black lights. With Halloween having just occurred, our sixth graders did experiments that resembled those common in a mad scientists laboratory. They used the science of sublimation (solid turning directly into a gas) and energy transfer to turn dry ice into bubbling potions. Mrs. Jackson’s second grade class experienced Non-Newtonian Physics which is how some types of matter react differently to forces than how Newton’s Law would predict. This experiment was similar to one conducted in a Dr. Seuss book using oobleck. The students did this by combining water and cornstarch. They learned that if they softly touch the solution, it will stick to their fingers but if they put pressure on the solution it will not stick. As you can see in the pictures below, they had a lot of fun playing in the gooey matter.
The Physics students demonstrated in several ways how science experiments are not just boring exercises used to prove long, complicated hypotheses and theories but are in fact fun and exciting educational activities that are enjoyed by all ages. It is a special feeling to see younger students amazed at the concepts taught by the older students. It is even more special and exciting to see that our future is bright with the creative thinking that is taking place in our classrooms, whether the lessons are being taught by our fantastic teachers or even by our own students.
