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Lower School Launches Science Explorers Club!

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Skyscrapers made of toothpicks and marshmallows, investigation of fingerprints via pieces of tape...these activities and many more can be found in this year's new after school program, the Lower School Science Explorers Club! Led by Upper School math teacher Rachel Tisdale, this program has already been met with great interest.

“When I was in elementary school,”  Tisdale explained, “I participated in several different extracurricular activities and these were such a positive and meaningful contribution to my life. After talking with several PCA lower school students, I found there was an interest in [students] getting involved in clubs in some way. I thought a science-related club would be great because kids love science, and our future depends on a population that can use science for personal decision-making and to participate in civic, political, and cultural discussions related to science.”

When asked what she hoped students would take from this club, Tisdale said, “I hope that by participating in the Science Explorers Club students not only gain an appreciation for the world God created through science and math, but also leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Science and engineering are about risk-taking and realizing that failure is an opportunity to learn and discover new things.”

The Science Explorers Club has 50 third, fourth, and fifth graders signed up. Currently, sign-ups are closed but may open up to new members later this year.

in Lower School

M & M's Can Float! A Scientific Experiment Captivates First Graders

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The first-grade classrooms are full of fun activities and surprises, and Mrs. Cumbee’s class is no different. Students have been studying the scientific inquiry process, where they make an observation, ask questions, form a hypothesis, make a prediction, test the prediction, and then using their findings, adjust their original predictions. Last week they put their new skills into action as Mrs. Cumbee introduced the M&M project. 

The questions at hand, “What will happen to an M&M when you put it in a cup of water?” and “What will happen to the M?” 

Students paired up and dropped their M&M’s in small plastic containers filled with water. As they watched the candy sink to the bottom, Mrs. Cumbee told them to observe what the M&M would do. After several minutes they noticed the water starting to change color. “Now watch,” Mrs. Cumbee directed. “Watch the M, it’s going to float to the top.” And sure enough, after several minutes the class was abuzz with “Wow”s!” and “Oh’s!” as pair by pair they saw the edible sheet of glue that makes up the M of the candy, float in thin sheets to the top of the water’s surface.

It is safe to say that students were certainly surprised and may have a different view of what makes up an M&M!

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