On Tuesday, March 18, Hamilton College's science departments hosted Science Exploration Day for the Wettel Elementary School in Vernon. This imaginative program helps Wettel students develop a stronger awareness of science by engaging in science experiments and simulations. The Science Exploration Day also allows students to develop a broader and more diverse recognition of science extending beyond chemistry, physics and biology. Wettel students bring their inquisitiveness, youth and energy, while Hamilton faculty members share their expertise in a more basic, yet engaging manner that is a fun departure from their normal routine.
Students and faculty convened at 9:30 a.m. in the Science Auditorium with an introduction by Doug Weldon, Stone Professor of Psychology. Weldon entertained an enthusiastic bunch by discussing the brain and showing examples of the function of the nervous system. He asked, "Does anyone know what the brain's purpose is?" Many of the Wettel students were up to par with their knowledge of the nervous system. With a show of hands Wettel students exclaimed: "It tells you what to do!" "It controls your body!" "It tells you quicker actions [reflexes]" and "It helps you think." The students gave boisterous applause to Weldon's final simulation in which he had the audience memorize a pattern on a rotation device. After staring at the center of the circular device that "appeared" to make the pattern grow large, the audience stared at Weldon's head. The children were mesmerized after they were able to "shrink" Weldon's head!
Robin Kinnel, Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry, centered his presentation on gases, combustion and oxidation. Kinnel reviewed the basics like the formulas for water and hydrogen, the boiling temperature of water and of liquid nitrogen. The Wettel students were impressed when he placed a fresh carnation into a tub of liquid nitrogen and it instantly become brittle enough to shatter. When a sixth grader was asked what her favorite part of Kinnel's presentation was she said, "We got to make pink slime!"
The archaeology exhibit was conducted by Tom Jones, Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Archaeology. He wanted students to understand that the role of an archaeologist far extends just "digging up bones and stuff." Wettel students were encouraged to sit in an arc around Jones and his exhibit, while he shared some of his archaeological findings, such as flint, an arrowhead and a skull. After countless attempts to spell the word, students learned the evolution of an australopithecus, otherwise known as a "southern ape." When asked if he learned anything new from Jones' exhibit, a student responded, "I learned that a lot of stones were once used as tools. I never knew that."
Physics Professor Ann Silversmith conducted much of her presentation in dim lighting as her physics demonstration focused on light and color. With the use of examples, students were able to better understand how and why combining all three colors in a prism (red, green and blue) create white. Students were particularly receptive to Silversmith's simulation in which they wore 3-D glasses and analyzed the color of helium and hydrogen in order to identify the atoms.
Wettel veterans of the Science Exploration Day were eager to visit Biology Professor David Gapp's classroom and reunite with old friends such as Lily, the 20-pound boa constrictor. Gapp's biology presentation generated a lot of excitement because students were encouraged to answer trivia questions about snakes, leeches, alligators and snapping turtles and consecutively interact with these reptiles and amphibians. A Wettel student remembered from Gapp's previous exhibit that a water moccasin's venom is made up of modified saliva, which consists of enzymes. Another Wettel student shared her expertise on alligators when she said, "I heard that they have another eyelid!"
Gapp believes that the Science Exploration Day emphasizes community outreach and builds goodwill between Hamilton College and the surrounding areas. Enthusiasm for the program can best be summed up by the response of one Wettel student who ut on Science Exploration Day: "We want more!"
