Science
students unearth answers
Monday, May 30, 2005 • By KAT
MAIN • The Express-Times
INDEPENDENCE TWP. -- After performing
experiments in Lois Spangler's class, Kimberly DaSilva said
she learned that science is actually cool.
Now the Central School second-grader
wants to be an astronaut.
"I want to go into space," she
said.
DaSilva's not the only one from
Spangler's class who thinks more of science now. Her
classmate Thomas Hansen said he wants to be a rocket
scientist and loves to work with chemicals.
"I always tell the children we're doing
experiments to learn and answer questions," said Spangler,
who's taught at Central School for 32 years. "I want
(students) to learn that science is fun and it's fun to
learn and it's fun to work hard."
Not only is it fun, but it can also bring
awards, as Spangler's class recently found out.
Last week, her students received a
national first place award for a project The Mystery of Our
Icy Past. Conducted over four months, the project explored
the origins of the area's landscape.
The entry was submitted in one of NASA's
Student Involvement Program competitions dubbed My Planet
Earth. It was judged in State College, Pa., by the New
Jersey Space Grant Consortium, an arm of NASA.
Joseph Miles, a member of the consortium,
said all teachers who entered their class in the competition
will receive a $200 reimbursement grant for materials used
in the project.
Miles said the competition is set up by
NASA to encourage people to make strides in science and
technology with the hope they will someday be employed by
the agency.
"I'm very grateful for NASA for having
programs for elementary school children. It's important to
start them out young and give them a chance to learn that
science is fun and it's for everybody," said
Spangler.
Spangler said her students' project
originated from a nature walk she led on school grounds.
After the walk was over, she had the children write down
questions that had occurred to them on the trail. Spangler
found most of the questions the students raised had to do
with soil -- where it originated and why it was the color it
was and why it worked so well for farmers.
When she asked them if they knew the
answers to the questions she found they really didn't have
any knowledge of glaciers, the main contributor to the
area's soil makeup.
"I didn't know anything about glaciers. I
wanted to know how did they get here," DaSilva
said.
Spangler said during the course of the
project the students wrote papers and conducted soil and
temperature experiments.
"We put all the clues together and found
out the mystery," said second-grader Rocco
DeCorso.
Spangler said she's glad the students
were recognized for their interest. The award is a good
thing for the students' self-esteem and self-worth, she
added.
"It's wonderful if you win a prize. But
the real prize is knowledge," she said.
Reporter Kat Main can be reached at 908-475-2174 or by
e-mail at kmain@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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