SCHOOL: Corinth-Holders Elementary

GRADE LEVEL: 4th

PROGRAM: Moon in Motion

INSTRUCTOR: Scientist Rachel

Scientist Rachel’s Experience:

After any weekend, Mondays are infamous for being dreary, sleepy and bleak. Lucky for me, this was not the case for the 4th grade classes at Corinth-Holders elementary! I was greeted with wondering minds, curious eyes and smiling faces, which made my case of the Mondays melt away!

The energetic students were both Jr. Astronauts and Astronomers as we explored the idea of space, our solar system and how planets orbit. Rather than reading about these topics, the scientists constructed models of our solar system and were able to explain to me, and the rest of the class, how everything orbits and fits together. Everyone did a FANTASTIC job and I was quite impressed!!

After talking about the different phases of the moon and what creates our nights and days, we jumped into our labs. The scientists discovered just how different gravitational pulls are on other planets as we compared our weight here on earth to what it would be on the moon or on Jupiter. I think we were all a little surprised! Finally, the students learned what holds the planets in orbit as they created their own orbit simulators, and also had the opportunity to test their aiming skills with mini-rockets!

The day was a BLAST, and I loved spending time with these energetic, inquisitive and smart scientists!! Thank you, Corinth-Holders 4th grade, and Happy Thanksgiving!