Elementary science showcased

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.comEducation Reporter

FORTY FORT – Matthew Gilroy proudly showed off the different types of circuits he helped make with batteries and bulbs: serial and parallel. Caitlin Hargrave, Tyler Brobst and Robert Chaparro measured the force needed to pull a weight on a rope using various pulley systems. If it seemed like elementary science, well, that was the point.

Dana Street School students showcased the results of the “Science: It’s Elementary” program to the public Friday afternoon, each grade setting up a table to demonstrate the topic it covered with the help of state grant money. The idea, science teacher Keith Godfrey said, was to train staff to “teach through inquiry.” The students launch the lesson with a question and the teacher helps devise an experiment to give an answer.

So Gilroy and his fellow fourth-graders learned how to wire two size-D batteries to one bulb in serial and parallel, and two bulbs to one battery both ways. He also spent a month writing down experiments and results, with diagrams, in a notebook he proudly showed off. “The best way is to wire the bulbs in parallel,” he announced.

Gilroy was, it should be noted, doing what he loves best. “My favorite subjects are math and science.”

Fifth-graders studied pulleys and levers. On the lever side, they showed a wide range of real world applications, including baseball bats, hammers, pliers, nutcrackers and bottle openers. On a separate table, they ran a rope through one or more pulleys, then used a force gauge – a hook on a spring with a gauge – that showed how many “newtons” of pull it took to lift a weight.

The more pulleys you use, the more “sections” of string you have, Chapparo explained, so the less force it needs.

“And it doesn’t matter how far you pull it,” Hargrave added. “It’s the same force all the way.”

Superintendent Michael Garzella said the state paid for training and equipment directly, so no money passed through district coffers, which means they don’t know exactly how much the district received. Statewide, $13.5 million was spent on the program this school year.

One reason to showcase what the children had learned was to increase the odds the district will get more from the program next year. Principal Irv DeRemer said the district hopes to fund the program in two more elementary schools.

Mark Guydish, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7161