We started the day on Tuesday knowing that a guest scientist would be visiting our classroom. Interesting to note, several learners asked when "he" would be arriving. Some were surprised to find out that not only was the scientist a woman, it was our very own Resource and Curriculum Coordinator, Stacy Emory. She squashed any doubts that a woman can't be a scientist. Stacy gave the children some background on her life as a scientist and facilitated an engaging discussion about what scientists do. Children came up will all sorts of ideas and agreed that all scientists ask questions. The question of day was in regards to covering a gummy bear in room temperature water for 16 hours. I am sure you heard about the results we happened upon the next morning. The children got to practice important data collecting behaviors including measuring with metric rulers and graduated cylinders, weighing the bears on scales, drawing visual observations both before and after, and writing notes about the experiment. It was a great way to kick off Science instruction and exploring the scientific process. Next up, the learners will create their own gummy bear experiment based on the new questions that were created from conducting the experiment. The enthusiasm and learning about science will hopefully carry over to our first unit on Magnets as well as our upcoming field trips to USGS and the Lawrence Hall of Science in October.
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