Outreach

Each June, I visit the fifth grade classroom of Mrs. Susan Stellrecht at Big Tree Elementary School. The purpose of my visit was to take the students on a journey to the microscopic world. More specifically, I introduce the concept of a molecule, the fact that they exist in different shapes and sizes, the unique behavior of molecules in gases, liquids, and solids, and the changes in a materials behavior with temperature. The concept of a molecule is conveyed through a project in which the students continuously cut a 28 centimeter strip of paper in half. After just 31 cuts, we have atoms! The remaining concepts are explained with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation and movies of simple molecular simulations of gases, liquids, and solids. The students are happy to receive Jolly Rancher candies (after viewing the structure of a sucrose molecule) and pencils with the UB logo.

After one of my visits, Mrs. Stellrecht had the students write thank you letters, which she forwarded on to me. Based on the letters, it was clear that many of the students grasped the concepts that were presented and many of them were eager to learn more about the microscopic world and science in general, which is one of my main goals for the visits.

Here is a copy of the PowerPoint presentation (ppt, html).

Here are the letters from the students (pdf).

We have even made the local news. Below is an article that appeared in the Hamburg Sun.

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.