October 29, 2010 — Following Texas Chiropractic College’s donation of lab equipment to San Jacinto College (SJC), SJC is already finding ways to use the equipment outside of their own classrooms.
More than 50 elementary students worked alongside SJC students to conduct science experiments during a recent service-learning visit at Genoa Elementary School.
The fourth-graders tested boxed soft drink cans and cans packaged with plastic rings to compare the amount of microorganisms; their second experiment recorded the gas content of regular and diet drinks.
A third experiment tested the cleanliness of surfaces, like desktops, keyboards, door knobs, and more. The event gave SJC students the chance to apply what they’ve learned this semester in their chemistry course while participating in service learning.
“I find it very rewarding to see how well our students do as they are working with and explaining experiments to the elementary school children,” said Dr. Ann Cartwright, chair of the department of science at SJC Central campus. “It builds their confidence and self-esteem. I also want to show elementary school students how science can really be a lot of fun.”
SJC students will return to Genoa Elementary in November as judges for a mini-science fair and in Spring 2011 to judge another science fair for third- and fourth-grade individual projects. The elementary students will also visit SJC for a series of on-site lab experiments, conducted by both college students and faculty.
“The students and teachers at Genoa Elementary were extremely excited to have the college students visit,” said Principal Tiffany Bennett. “We anticipate this partnership will help the younger students to better understand science, and we believe it sends a positive message that college is not only important, but is also attainable. We want all of our Genoa students to have high expectations for themselves and college is an important step for their future successes.”
This is the College’s third year to visit and perform science experiments at Genoa Elementary School. Equipment used this year included donations from Texas Chiropractic College with funding provided by the Greater Houston Section of American Chemical Society.
Source: Texas Chiropractic College, www.txchiro.edu
