As an aspiring biology teacher, I’ll jump at any opportunity to share my passion for science with kids. So I was really excited when an email popped up in my inbox from the Swarthmore Biology Club seeking volunteers to lead or assist with activities at a local elementary school’s STEAM Night. I immediately thought back to all the fun that I had at similar events way back when I was in elementary school.
Upon inquiring further, I learned that Swarthmore Biology Professor Carolyn Bauer was organizing the volunteers. We would be facilitating mini-science experiments, and I had the freedom to design my own theme / lesson for my table, or I could present an experiment or demonstration provided by Dr. Bauer or another Swarthmore professor. Since I had some ideas of cool experiments related to perception from my middle school science fair days, I decided to design my own activities around that theme. Dr. Bauer coordinated our activities to provide a diverse range of experiences for the students, and also helped us acquire any necessary materials.
On the night of the event, fifteen Swat students, including me, made our way across Cunningham Field to the Swarthmore-Rutledge school. We set our mini-science experiments up at tables around the school gym and cafeteria. Then, at the designated time, a rush of eager students and families descended upon us. For the next two hours, I taught the same mini-lesson over and over, but the time went by really quickly because everyone was so engaged and enthusiastic.
At my station, called “Perception Connection,” I shared three interactive challenges designed to help students explore aspects of human perception in a fun way. I led them through the Stroop Test, a mirror-writing exercise, and a hot/cold penny activity—all of which provided their brains with conflicting signals that made the activity much more difficult than they anticipated. It was really fun to hear the kids shrieks of disbelief when they couldn’t do the “simple task” of tracing the shape when looking at it through a mirror. Similarly, they experienced how difficult it is to read the word “red” when it’s written in the color green; and they learned that our fingers can’t distinguish between hot and cold when they sense them simultaneously. Seeing their amazement reminded me of why I fell in love with biology in the first place and why I want to be a science teacher.
I was too busy to visit many other tables, but there were stations exploring psychology, biology, chemistry, and physics. I heard that the sea-urchin touch tank presented by a member of Professor Karen Chan’s Marine Biology Lab was particularly popular. The fact that Professor Chan was willing to share some of her study organisms with the elementary schoolers for this event shows the passion of Swarthmore professors for sharing their area of expertise, not only with their Swat students, but also with the broader Swarthmore community. It was great to see our Swat students and professors engaging with the Swarthmore off-campus community. I hope to get the opportunity to participate in STEAM night again next year.
