SCHOOL: Northwoods

GRADE LEVEL: 3rd

PROGRAM: Our Place In Space

INSTRUCTOR: Mary Colbert

Scientist Mary’s Experience:

I was able to spend an awesome day with the 3rd grade class at Northwoods elementary, learning about planets and our solar system. One of the very first things I like to ask the students is “to tell me what you already know.” Each of the classes brought a lot of knowledge to the table. Many of the students told me “Jupiter has 62-67 moons and that Pluto was named a dwarf planet in 2006, the year they were born”. I even had one class, write me a letter because they were very excited about space. The letter had information about how long the earth takes to orbit the Sun, rotate on its axis, and cool information about Neptune.

The students also did a fantastic job making their glow in the dark constellations that they took home with them. Some of the students were extra imaginative and created their one of a kind constellation. They also made their own sundials, which we successfully used outside to determine the time. The very last thing we had to do was to send our water rockets blasting off!

I had a wonderful time at Northwoods. I am very proud of the students and can already tell that there are future scientists among them!