By Dana Klosner-Wehner
These are some of the questions asked by members of the after-school science club at Clara H. Carlson elementary school in Elmont.
The club, in its first year, held a science fair last Thursday to show the other kids in the school what they’ve been working on.
“We meet on Mondays after school for an hour,” said fifth grade teacher Robert Cavalerie who runs the program. “[The students] get to see a whole range of science that they don’t see in class. We do chemistry, physics, earth science and astronomy, which a lot of times isn’t incorporated into the curriculum. It gives them an opportunity to do a lot more on a project. They have the time to do a project that takes more than a period. It’s hands-on rather than paper and pencil.”
Currently the club consists of 16 third- and fourth-graders. Next month the group will start rocketry, and Cavalerie hopes the membership will grow to 25, and will include fifth- and sixth-graders.
The kids that are in the club like it.
“I love science and thought it would be an interesting subject,” said fourth-grader Alena Varhese who worked on an experiment called “Exploring Volcanoes.”
“We took a tin tray and soda bottles and cut the top off the bottle,” she said. “Then we taped them down to the tray, then we used newspaper glue and water and laid them on tape and spread them around. To make the volcano erupt we used baking soda and vinegar.”
Why did she do an experiment with volcanoes?
“I wanted to learn about volcanoes,” she said. “I learned that hot lava erupts and causes a lot of damage.”
Varhese says she wants to learn about waterfalls next.
Third-grader Allie Gabriele did an experiment with her partners, third-graders Amaya Courtenay, Makhia Effs and Israel Phillips, where they recycled crayons.
“We peeled them, put them into a double boil pot and put them in molds,” Gabriele said of the shells, stars and roses she made with her partners.
“We learned we could recycle crayons and we don’t have to waste them,” she said.
Gabriele joined the club because she thought it would be fun.
“I want to be a scientist,” she said.
Her partner third-grader Makhia said she joined the club because she wanted to try out new things and new experiments.
Fourth-graders Samuel Kamara and Michael Ade-Browne and third-grader Aleco Pavlou learned that if you attach a “parachute” - a plastic bag - to a styrofoam cup with an egg in it the parachute will slow the fall and cause less damage to the egg.
“The purpose for doing this experiment was to learn about gravity and force,” Pavlou said.
“And who doesn’t want to have fun dropping eggs out of windows,” said Kamara.
“I love science and I watch a lot of science shows,” said Ade-Browne. “I do a lot of science projects at home.”
Fourth graders Vishnue Verma, Jojo Garcia and Christopher Mathew made an edible solar system.
“We used icing and different colored candy for each planet,” Mathew said.
“We learned how far planets are from the sun,” Garcia said.
The kids that came to see the experiments learned a lot from them.
“They gave us a lot of information,” said fourth-grader Analuisa Pardo. “I would be in the science club next year. It looks like fun and you get to do a lot of stuff.”
Next year the school will have a science lab for kids to work in.
“We have a room cleared out,” said Vice Principal Stacia Walfall. “The lab will be open at the end of this year or the beginning of the next school year.”
The club inspires the children, said fifth-grade teacher Jolene German.
“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” German said. “It inspires them to do things they wouldn’t have time to do in the classroom. It inspires them for a career or for college. There’s nothing like that ‘aha’ moment when the little light bulb goes on in their heads, when they are assembling a robot or watching a volcano erupt. You know you’ve got them when they’re smiling and their hands are dirty.”
“We need to make sure children love learning,” said Principal Ken Rosner. “One great way to do that is through science. The kids are excited about it.”
