400 Attend Discovery Workshops

By Tanjua Damon

Plates of cream sat on the tables in Room A210 at Newtown High School as elementary school children added food coloring. Nothing happened – drops of colors just sat in the cream. But then dishwashing liquid was added and the food coloring began to move and swirl around the plate throughout the cream, creating a colorful masterpiece.

“Kitchen Table Chemistry” was just one of the free lessons in science, technology, and math on Saturday at the ninth annual Discovery Science, Math and Technology Workshops sponsored by the Newtown Junior Women’s Club and the Newtown Board of Education. Approximately 400 children and their parents from area Newtown schools participated in two 45-minute workshop sessions provided by volunteer professionals in 30 different workshops that the students began signing up for after the winter break.

Lisa Floros and her daughter, Emily, have attended the workshops for three years now. The first workshop the duo attended on Saturday was entitled “Oily Feathers,” instructed by Dr Rita Power.

The workshop explained what happens when there is an oil spill. The participants dipped feathers into vegetable oil and then used Dawn dish detergent to clean the feathers and a blow dryer to dry them out.

“They really use Dawn to clean the birds,” Mrs Floros said. “This is the best one we’ve attended. It’s very hands-on.”

With a smile on her face, Emily twirled the dirty feather in the soapy water, cleaning it.

“I think it’s neat,” Emily said. “Learning [is fun].”

NJWC President Karen Udiskey believes the workshops encourage younger students to enjoy what science has to offer.

 “It first started out as a science fair program to motivate kids to do a science project,” Mrs Udiskey said. “People really love this event.” 

Tom Bast escorted his son Skyler to the workshops for the second year. They attend “Godzilla Attacks” and “Oily Feathers.”

“I thought it was great,” Mr Bast said.  “Educational and fun.”

Skyler thought both the workshops were worth attending.

“I thought they were both really fun. I didn’t know they used dishwashing liquid to wash off the feathers,” he said. “This year I liked them both the same.”

Scott Wexler blew a kazoo during “Waves and Sounds.” He attended the workshops with his mother. “It’s fun,” Scott said.

Carrol Wexler felt the workshops provided the children with a fun learning environment.

“I thought it was great,” Mrs Wexler said. “The kids had a lot of fun. There were lots of smiles.”

Co-chairs Dawn Escoda and Maryann Ziman organized the Saturday event along with their fellow NJWC members. Students receive registration forms after winter break. The students are able to select five workshops that they would like to attend in order of preference.

“It’s worth it for the kids. The whole point is for the kids to have fun learning,” Mrs Ziman said. “It takes that scary element away from science. We try to gear the workshops for the younger group or the older group.”

Mrs Escoda was pleased to hear the positive remarks from the adults escorting their kids to the annual workshops. The NJWC is thankful for the volunteers who give their time to provide the workshops to the students.

 “I’m hearing things are going well. Everyone seems really happy,” Mrs Escoda said. “A lot of our leaders [volunteers] have been doing it for years and we have quite a few new ones this year. We have a wonderful group of women.”

Both Tom and Rebecca Mortensen learned from the workshops and had fun doing it.

Tom Mortensen spent his first workshop in “Mathematical Origami,” where the group made a cube. He spent his second workshop in “Volcanoes, Earthquakes.”

“I think they were really fun,” he said. “You learned how to make origami.”

Rebecca Mortensen enjoyed “Yeast, Is it Alive?” and “How things Fly.”

“We made pretzels. We took a bottle and put yeast and sugar in it then put a balloon over it. It bubbled. I learned that yeast is alive. It was fun.”

Presenters and children alike come to the workshops energized and ready to learn in a fun way at the Discovery Science, Math and Technology Workshops each year.

“We wanted to get kids excited about science. This became bigger than the science fair,” Susan Rahmlow, NJWC member, said. “We just give them some extra things they don’t get in their curriculum.  It’s just incredible the response. We actually have to turn kids away because there isn’t enough space.”