University Place, Wash. - Some lucky grade school students from the South Puget Sound region got to spend a day in the life of a scientist working on research and conducting experiments with real scientists, all of whom are members of the faculty at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma.
The popular event takes place on Saturday, March 16, beginning at 10:30am on the Charles Wright Academy campus. It draws students from across the South Puget Sound region including South King, Pierce and Thurston Counties.
The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Depending on their age, students get to participate in one of two different tracks:
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It’s Electric – students in grades 1-3 will conduct experiments as they make circuits and electromagnets. They will also learn how to store and discharge electric charges.
Let’s Blast Off – students in grades 4-6 will learn basic principles of rocketry and design. Then build and launch water rockets. “One of the challenges of teaching science is that the principles can sometimes seem elusive. During Science Saturday, students not only get to have fun, but they also learn the real world applications for scientific research and exploration,” said Alex Koerger, MEd., a 7th and 8th grade science teacher at Charles Wright Academy. He went on to add, “As a scientist and an educator that brings me great joy.”
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Prior to his teaching career, Koerger worked for NASA, both as an undergraduate research assistant at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and as the coordinator for the NASA Educator Resource Center in Seattle.
More information on Science Saturday is available at charleswright.org.