Roosevelt Science Night is Bubbles of Fun
Dressed in lab coats and goggles, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School second graders enjoyed a night of discovery, understanding and bonding with their family members during Science Fun Night where bubbling test tubes, bridge building, and analyzing fingerprints were among the featured activities.
“The goal of the night is to bring parents and families into the learning community and let them experience with their children the type of learning that takes place here every day,” said Ms. Janna Ostroff, K-12 Supervisor for Science and Technology for Instruction. “They conduct investigations together and go through all the scientific wondering and processes that they do in class. It sparks excitement and celebrates the end of their careers here at TR as scientists.”
Coordinated by K-2 science and technology teacher Regina D’Orio with Ms. Ostroff’s guidance, the night began in the cafeteria with welcoming remarks and an introductory Science Night video, then continued in the classrooms where participants conducted three scientific experiments and two engineering challenges. The engineering challenges were new additions that align with a District goal to integrate more STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) opportunities into the curriculum.
“Students are using a lot of STEM skills, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving skills,” Ms. D’Orio said. “This year we added a new bridge building activity where students had to span an eight-and-a-half-inch bridge with two cups and a piece of paper and try to hold as many small plastic bears as possible to test the strength of the bridge, so it’s all about trying, trying again, designing, and solving problems along the way,” she said.
In the classroom, “second graders are currently on their second unit of LEGO engineering where they are building a robot, programming it and then optimizing its function,” Ms. D’Orio said. “They learn so much and the most important thing I want to give them is the confidence to challenge themselves further as they progress through school.”
Thinking like scientists, students filled out worksheets for each activity that encouraged them to make predictions and draw conclusions. With wide-eyed wonder, they watched test tubes bubble when they mixed oil, water and a colored fizzy tablet. Focused, they explored how many drops of water can fit on a penny and examined the differences in fingerprints by stamping their fingerprints and those of a guest on a worksheet and then comparing them. Thinking like engineers, they created Hoop Gliders out of straw and paper and had fun testing how they flew. In the Bridge Building engineering challenge referenced earlier, students counted as many as 32 plastic bears on their bridge.
Assisting with the activities were station chaperones Georgiana Meyer, Diane Conway, Alison Skoczdopole, Theresa Collalto, Elizabeth Bergsten and Ariela Handle. Also on hand to help students were members of Oyster Bay High School’s chapter of National Science Honor Society, advised by Ms. Amy Hallock, many of whom remember participating in Science Fun Night when they were in second grade.
After completing the five experiments, students and their families were invited back into the cafeteria for refreshments provided by the PTA.
K-2 science and technology teacher Ms. Regina D’Orio, left, watches the science video she created along with second graders as an introduction to Science Fun Night.
Roosevelt second graders display their bubbling test tubes after combining oil, water and fizzy tablets.
A second grader diligently writes down how many drops of water she was able to fit on a penny.
Parents count how many teddy bears are on the suspension bridges students built.
Parents examine with their children the differences in fingerprints.
Students construct Hoop Gliders out of straw and paper.
Members of the Oyster Bay Chapter of National Science Honor Society were on hand to assist students with their experiments.