Et cetera : Oak Three Making Science Fun in Cedar Rapids

By Deon Johnson Oak 3 spent one month assisting with Science Center summer camps in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The teams worked in four classrooms (pre-K and kindergarten, Grades 1-2, Grades 3-4, and Grades 5-6) in a variety of capacities. Oak 3’s guided the pre-K and kindergarten kids in exploring the world of incredible insects by making wiggly worms and spinning spider web crafts with them and children from first and second grade investigated the age of the dinosaurs. As veterinarians, kids from third and fourth grade learned how to properly take care of pets and dissect animals’ organs. Fifth and sixth graders enjoyed researching the abilities of robots by designing, building, and operating Robotix kits. Oak 3 also assisted the children with becoming astronauts. They made slimy things, ruled robots and constructed models. During the team’s second week, they helped the pre-k and kindergarten students create their own constellations as they launched through galaxies while first and second graders found it entertaining to make icky sticky slimy science. The third and fourth graders programmed robots to do amazing things such as design, build, and operate and fifth and sixth graders developed their own building plans and learned about green design. As kids seized the opportunity to learn and interact with their fellow students, the team distributed snacks during breaks, filled lesson plan “totes” with materials for teachers, played with children at lunch time and planned a community day with their supervisor. Oak 3 felt so great making a permanent impact on this project that they painted a science mural in a classroom with other AmeriCorps members and volunteers from the Science Center.