The renovation of the Muny’s upper plaza...
Read More
Mad Science ‘Electrifies’ McCurdy Students
ALUMINUM PIE PLATES fall to the floor after Dr. Kevin Hall of Mad Science, background, sets them on an electroscope and activates it. The electroscope failed to attract the plates during a lesson Hall taught on electricity. Mad Science is an after-school, hands-on science course taught by outside instructors.
Certain McCurdy Elementary students discovered science can be a hair-raising experience as they participated in the electricity lesson that is part of Mad Science.
Mad Science is a separate, after-school program that offers elementary school students a chance to use a hands-on approach to science. Using materials provided by the Mad Science representative, the children follow his or her instructions to complete the lesson; there are no textbooks.
Dr. Kevin Hall, or “Tsunami” Kevin as he is sometimes called, led this particular lesson. He asked the boys and girls, who ranged from kindergarten through sixth grade, if they knew the three rules – don’t talk when the instructor speaks, don’t touch anything unless instructed to and to have fun.
First, he gave each student a balloon for the static electricity experiment. He instructed them to rub the balloon on their hair for several minutes. Then, he invited each student to the chalkboard where they placed the balloon to see if it would attach to the vertical surface. Most fell but a few students built up enough of a charge in their balloons that they adhered to the board.
“I feel the experiments went well at McCurdy,” Dr. Hall said. “This was a fairly easy class to plan, however, it was the first time I taught at the school and that was a challenge for me. My classes are generally not that big so I had to change some things around and I felt a little rushed but overall, it went well.”
Hall explained to the students that people make good conductors of electricity and that’s why some of the balloons stuck to the chalkboard. In another experiment, he had the students pour small amounts of table salt and pepper onto a paper plates, then had them rub the balloons on their head again. If successful, the balloons would act as magnets, attracting the spices.
“I stay after school for Mad Science because it is fun and it is interesting the way we do things,” said Amanda Smith, a sixth grader at McCurdy. “It helps you learn more about science and it gives you the opportunity to see how things work. I wanted to be in the program so much that my Mom gave it to me for my birthday.”
(story courtesy of Hazelwood Communications Dept.)
