SCHOOL: Reedy Creek Elementary

GRADE LEVEL: 3rd

PROGRAM: A Matter of Science

INSTRUCTOR: Blake Steiner

Scientist Blake’s Experience:

I couldn’t be happier with the way my day turned out at Reedy Creek Elementary. Today I taught our physics program called Matter of Science, which as far as I know is one of the most time sensitive programs that we teach at Science Fun For Everyone – you have to be on your A game to make sure the kids have enough time to enjoy each activity and experiment. Fortunately, all I had to do was explain this to them and they understood perfectly. The more you pay attention and follow instructions, the more time we have for ice cream, explosions, and magic tricks!
I knew it was going to be a good day though as soon as I arrived. All the teachers were very accommodating, helpful, and interested in what we were going to be learning that day. They joined in to help and talk with the kids as they went through the experiments, and I suspect they get a special kick out of some of the kids’ reactions, just like I do. For instance, when I turned the Disappearing Ink clear and then back to the dark blue color (and then back again!), one girl couldn’t help but shout ‘Now I love science! Right now, I just decided!’ I quipped back, ‘Okay, moments like that are why I came here today’. And that’s the truth! Nothing beats hearing the children’s amazement and surprise at some of the things we do. I try to take special care to make each lesson memorable in some way, whether with humor or suspense or something like that, because I certainly still remember the special enrichment programs we did at my school when I was that young. That sort of stuff sticks with you.

At the end of my last class – after taking cover from exploding bags of expanding gas, polishing off the last of the ice cream, and my obligatory sermon about the proper way to prank someone with disappearing ink – it was a real pleasure to wave goodbye to a whole smiling class who was genuinely delighted with my coming to pay them a visit that day. I left amid shouts of “I love science, thank you thank you thank you, I’m going to be a scientist when I grow up!” etc., which are things I’m lucky enough to hear on a regular basis. As usual, one or two kids scrambled to hold the door for me, and walking down the hallway, I heard kids whispering ‘There goes the science man, oh look a real scientist!’ It makes me smile every single time. You’re bound to hear things like that while wearing a white lab coat in an elementary school. Sometimes I think the coat is the key to making the children pay attention, get excited, be inspired, and work together. It’s what really gets them in science mode!

Satisfied with the warm welcome and goodbye at Reedy Creek, I didn’t even mind getting soaked during the torrential downpour that awaited me outside as I loaded my gear back into my car. I won’t return to that school soon enough.