Waco, Texas has no shortage of relevance in the world of science and technology. From being the hometown of a chemist that helped discovered not one, but two, elements on the periodic table to housing a university that has produced a great number of world renowned researchers to the work in conservation biology and archaeology that occurs at the Cameron Park Zoo or the Waco Mammoth Site, the 254 area code has a lot going on in the discipline.
Students at Connally Elementary School got to join in on some of that fun on Monday, November 4, when representatives from Baylor University set up shop in their library to demonstrate hands-on lessons in the world of science.
“One of the exciting things about teaming up with Baylor is the opportunities we have to see things, hear things, and learn things from experts in their fields that we wouldn't be able to experience any other way,” CISD Instructional Technology Specialist John Choins said. “With this partnership, our students get exposed to what college can look like, and they also get exposed to fields they may never have thought of before.”
The demonstration was made possible through a partnership with Baylor University that is funded through the university’s annual operating budget as well as grants that have been awarded to the researchers that partner with it. The university hopes that such outreach events will help inspire students in the greater Waco area to get excited about science.
“We have an annual emphasis to celebrate National STEM Day in area schools by giving students an opportunity to hear Baylor researchers talk about their research and its impact on society,” Baylor Research Impacts Specialist Sherry DeHay said. “Our hope is that the students will see the impact that research has on all of us and then have fun while they learn more about it.”
After listening to a short presentation about different elements of geology, students were given the opportunity to dive deeper into the topic with hands-on miniature labs facilitated by researchers from the university.
“Many of our students have not had the chance to have hands-on experiences learning science” 5th Grade Science Teacher Chris Kuykendall said. “Bringing in outside presenters allows this experience to expand the learning to concrete possibilities that connect to the real world and give them a glimpse of what they could use the learning for.”
Guidelines for science curriculum in the fifth grade dictate that 50% of the content should be taught in some sort of a hands-on, lab-based format. The opportunity to work directly with experts in the field while participating in these activities help enhance the educational benefit they hold.
“Bringing in STEM professionals to work with our students provided them with the unique opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world applications,” Elementary Principal Katie Redden said. “Our students were inspired by these experts sharing their careers, experiences, and knowledge, helping them see the endless possibilities for their future careers.”
The labs gave students the opportunity to experiment with a variety of different areas of the discipline, including how to identify different rocks and minerals and how to build different structures in ways that can withstand an earthquake.
“I really liked that all of the people from Baylor were really nice and listened to me,” 5th grade student Vaedali Franco said. “They were really interested in how I like science and worked with me to really understand the things we were doing in the labs.”
Moving forward, the district hopes to continue to find innovative ways to expose students to the exciting world of science. In the meantime, students find themselves ready to continue their academic journey right here at home.
“Working with Baylor helped me get even more excited about science,” 5th grade student PJ Harrison said. “It was really fun to be able to sit down and actually make something from scratch in those labs. It was hard, but it really helped me learn how to think critically.”