Rocketing to success
MAUREEN DOLAN/Staff writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 4 months AGO
COEUR d'ALENE - Kids gleefully used their breath to propel papers from straws, shooting the wrappers in all directions around the gym Wednesday at Fernan Elementary.
But it wasn't a case of school shenanigans gone wild. It was science, and it was fun.
Guen Robinson, 5, did a little dance and giggled as a paper wrapper soared from the end of a straw through which she had just blown.
"If you can get them excited and they become emotional about what they're learning, it strikes interest," said Jennifer Behl, Guen's kindergarten teacher.
The straw-paper antics were part of a rocket-building program presented at the school by the Discovery Center of Idaho, the state's science center located in Boise.
Shelley Best, the program leader, led the children through several lessons about the primary obstacles that must be overcome to land a rocket on the moon - distance and gravity.
Using a leaf-blower, skateboards, rope and other items, Best illustrated for the kids how gravitational forces affect life, how a hovercraft operates, and how a combustion engine works.
The kids cheered as they watched their peers experiment with Best.
At one point, the end of a table Best was working on collapsed to the ground, spilling some of Best's tools onto the gym floor.
"All right, so we learned a little bit about gravity there," Best said as the items were picked up and the table was resurrected. "Remember, gravity works all the time."
The older students had the chance to experiment with "stomp-rockets" they built under Best's tutelage using a small length of plastic pipe, an un-inflated bicycle tire and an empty 2-liter bottle. The kids propelled "rockets" by stomping on the bottles and forcing air through the pipe.
The science program was sponsored by the Fernan Elemenary Parent Teacher Association. Julie Meredith, a parent and member of the PTA's "STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) action team," said Fernan is working on becoming a more STEM-oriented school.
"The kids are going to need more of a STEM background," Meredith said, pointing to projections that 80 percent of jobs will require STEM skills and knowledge.
Kindergarten teacher Behl said the hands-on learning often used in STEM teaching allows young children to have experiences that they may not understand, but that excite them.
"It sparks their questioning, and they will relate back to this experience and make those connections as they continue to learn," Behl said.
MORE IMPORTED STORIES
ARTICLES BY MAUREEN DOLAN/STAFF WRITER
Organizers shutting down Stop Tuition Hikes initiative
Citing a lack of finances and Statehouse support, the Stop Tuition Hikes movement is coming to a halt.

Cyclists pay their share
Survey: Bicyclists more than cover transportation costs
Advocates for non-motorized travel in Idaho say a recently completed survey helps debunk the idea that bicyclists contribute less than motorists to transportation funding.

Billboards fixed after Dems threaten to sue
A billboard along U.S. 95 in Coeur d’Alene claims “Idaho Votes,” with no reference to the Republican Presidential Primary on March 8.