Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 5, 2004|Volume 32, Number 21|Two-Week Issue

Tavneet Suri, a graduate student in economics, explored the physics of sound waves with third-graders in Judy Nacca's class at the Vincent Mauro School. Their project will be featured in the Olin-Yale-Bayer-New Haven Public Schools Science Fair.

Initiatives whet city students'
interest in science, drama

The campus will be alive with thousands of schoolchildren next week, beginning with the New Haven Public Schools' 10th annual Science Fair on Monday and Tuesday, March 8 and 9, and continuing with daily performances of Shakespeare's "King Lear," a career fair for eighth graders and the seventh annual Paleo-Knowledge Bowl.

Held in University Commons, the Olin-Yale-Bayer-New Haven Public Schools Science Fair will feature 230 science projects created by nearly 2,000 students. The fair is integrated into the science curriculum and is designed to enhance student achievement and build enthusiasm for science and math through creative, even playful hands-on projects.

More than 8,000 students, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, participated in preliminary competitions at their schools, and the winners of those contests will exhibit at Yale. Younger children worked together as a class; older students worked in small teams or individually. Mentors -- many from Yale -- guided the young scientists. Out of 78 mentors, 49 are Yale students or faculty. The Graduate School and its McDougal Center, Yale Engineering, the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the School of Medicine have been especially supportive and helpful, noted Lise Orville, who matched mentors with students.

"We want to expose the children to different aspects of science and technology and bring them beyond the confines of the classroom and textbook," says Maureen Coehlo, science fair administrator and deputy director of the Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program. Project director of the fair is Jack Crane, a Yale graduate and Olin Corporation materials science engineer.

The projects that will be on display range across the sciences and include one on the physics of sound waves, which was created by a group of third-graders who were mentored by graduate student Tavneet Suri. Another project, on genetic mutations in fruit flies, is a solo project by a Hillhouse High School student who was mentored by graduate student Jessica Tanis.

Suri, who is working on her Ph.D. in economics and loves teaching, is assisting four third-grade girls at the Vincent Mauro School. First, she taught a science module on sound to the whole class.

"We did experiments to understand how sound traveled through different mediums (air, water, compressed air). We reflected sound waves and also built a model eardrum. Exciting stuff!" she says.

For the science fair, she guided a more advanced experiment to analyze how the sound produced by rubbing a finger around the rim of a wine glass is affected by adding different quantities of water to the glass.

"In particular, we wanted to see how the frequency (pitch) and amplitude (loudness) of the sound are affected," explains Suri. "We found that the amplitude doesn't change much, but as we added more water, the pitch of the sound produced was lower. ... What was the coolest part of the project was that we managed to find software for an oscilloscope that runs on a PC and lets us record amplitudes, frequencies and colorful pictures of the sound waves produced. So, the children had a really great time watching these sound waves and recording them."

The first day of the fair will be spent setting up exhibits in University Commons. After the children go home at 3 p.m., 100 judges -- scientists and science educators -- will evaluate the projects. Each project will be scored by several judges, and each judge will evaluate up to 10 projects. On Tuesday morning, students will present their projects to the judges, who will then retire to discuss their assessments. From 3 to 6 p.m., Commons will be open for public viewing of the exhibits. In the evening, parents, teachers, mentors, children and judges will assemble in Woolsey Hall for an awards ceremony. Top winners in the upper grades will go on to a state-wide science fair.

The play's the thing

All through the week, 2,000 middle and high school students from around the state will attend matinee performances of the Yale Repertory Theatre's current production of "King Lear," directed by Hal Scott and starring Avery Brooks of "Star Trek Deep Space Nine" fame.

Watching the play will be the high point of this year's "Will Power!" a new three-year collaboration between the community and the University. "Will Power!" brings together the Yale Repertory Theatre and the School of Drama with New Haven school teachers and children.

Organized by James Bundy, artistic director of the Yale Rep, with Victoria Nolan, managing director, "Will Power!" aims to engage teachers and students in the thorough study of a play, leading to attending a live, professional production. A different Shakespeare play will be offered through the program in 2005 and 2006.

The students who will be visiting the Yale Rep have already had extensive classroom preparation to help them understand the Shakespeare tragedy and to develop an appreciation for the broad scope and relevance of art in today's world. Teachers attended a one-day workshop at Yale, and subsequently the School of Drama sent graduate students -- coordinated by Ruth Feldman, the Yale Rep's newly appointed education manager -- into New Haven classrooms for pre-performance activities. After each performance, drama school student John Hanlon will lead discussions along with company members. Hanlon wrote an "Across the Boards Study Guide," designed by drama student Nico Lang, for use in the classroom as part of the pre-show preparation.

Bundy is excited about the program, saying, "'Will Power!' takes the examination of Shakespeare in the classroom ... and shapes it into an experience of irresistible participation. Students can't help but be engaged and excited about all of the subjects that great art encompasses."

Feldman calls the project "incredible" and adds, "To be able to support the work of a classroom teacher in conjunction with a great piece of literature, and at the same offer young students the opportunity to experience that great work 'in the flesh,' rather than just in print, is an exciting endeavor for everyone involved."

As an added town-gown connection, three students from Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School are performing in "King Lear" as dancers in the opening number. They are fifth graders Nyle Clemons and Shayla Foreman, and sixth grader Ashley Morrison. All are in the dance emphasis program at Betsy Ross, an arts-focused middle school.

What will you be?

To encourage young people to look ahead and widen their options before they enter high school, all 1,500 eighth graders in the New Haven Public Schools will participate in a two-day career fair on Thursday and Friday, March 11 and 12. Offered for the first time this year, the career fair will take place at Yale in classrooms in W.L. Harkness, Linsly-Chittenden and Phelps halls.

Titled "Tomorrow Is Determined by the Visions of Today," the event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon both days. Children will take tours of the Yale campus, hosted by the Yale Visitor Center, and attend small-group sessions at which several adults will discuss their current work, the training and education required in their professions, and the obstacles they had to overcome to get where they are today. About 200 people will give presentations on a wide range of careers, including the professions and skilled trades.

Cynthia Beaver, supervisor of guidance and counseling, and one of the event coordinators, says the career fair will provide an opportunity for "students to see, meet and talk to successful persons much like themselves, while instilling in them the importance of overcoming adversities in their lives. By providing a practical level of exposure, we hope to enable students to reaffirm their own commitment to education."

Fossil mavens

The annual Paleo-Knowledge Bowl, based at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, pits teams of 4th-, 5th- and 6th-grade students against one another to determine who knows the most about the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Triassic periods, how the continents drifted across the Earth in prehistoric times and when life began. Twenty-six teams, totaling about 100 children, are expected to compete on Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14. Typically, boys outnumber girls three to one in this competition, which draws participants based on their interest in the subject and isn't tied to the school science curriculum.

Student teams will participate in the Peabody Museums Paleo-Knowledge Bowl, a contest for lovers of dinosaurs.

"The kids who participate are pretty amazing," says David Heiser, events coordinator for the museum. "Their level of knowledge is truly impressive."

The final round of the bowl will be held in the Great Hall of Dinosaurs on March 14 at 2:30 p.m., and the public is welcome to attend. The winners will receive a framed nine-foot copy of the "Age of Reptiles" mural that hangs in the Great Hall, to be displayed in their school. Each will also take home a model of the skull of a styracosaurus (a horned dinosaur, related to triceratops), a tee-shirt and a family membership to the Peabody.

-- By Gila Reinstein

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