BLACK MOUNTAIN NEWS + WWW.BLACKMOUNTAINNEWS.COM News PAGE 6A + THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015, New after school science lab is a hit with students Kids excel in fun environment By Barbara Hootman ‘bararagblacmountalnnewscom Owen Middle School's after school science lab is a well-kept fun secret, It is where projects like creating slime and DNA testing are done weekly. “The science lab is a unique grant-partnership (Owen Middle School partnering with Warren Wilson College) that allows for any number of students (grades 6-8) to attend an after school science lab,” Brittany Krasutsky, Owen Middle School science teacher said, “We have had as many as 56,students a session and each student has the option of taking the bus home at 4:40 p.m. It means that students who rely fon bus transportation are able to stay for a specific hands on, science-based learning opportunity. These are usually the students who can't stay for sports or traditional after school club aetivities. The planned science activities bring to life science, math and lan- {guage arts concepts that are otherwise challenging to comprehend. “Learning about polymer chains helps students un- derstand properties of molecules, as these are mac- romoleules (very large ones) and can be seen and ma- nipulated. The program meets once a week after school on the Owen Middle campus through the aca- demic year, but not during academic breaks. It is a {grant based program with 19 sessions covering a va- Tiety of topics.” “The goals of the program are to improve the profi- ciency of Owen Middle School students in science, math and language arts through scientific explora: tion, For Warren Wilson student volunteers, the goals are to provide a specialized service to the Swannanoa ‘and Black Mountain communities, and to enable the college students to apply their knowledge and to ex: plore the educational field, especially those interest- ed in teaching as a future career. Recently Owen Middle science students made slime, grew crystals, and made soap. Numerous other science projects are coming up. ‘The program is designed for each student to have something they created to take home with them at the ‘end of each session. In the first two science sessions, students made slime and extracted strawberry DNA. Seventh grade student reactions to the science pro- jects range from excitement to curiosity to amaze- ment. “Wow, this slime glows under the black light,” Stel- la Phelps said. “I want to make more,” “This slime looks like Flubber,” Zander Hurt- ‘Thomas said. “Is it going to come alive and bounce ev- erywhere?” “This is pretty fun for science,” Khristian Clem- ‘mons said, “I'm going to come every week.” Liz Utterback, was amazed at the DNA extraction ‘experiment, “got to extract DNA from a strawberry and wind ituponatoothpick,” she said. “I thought DNA was mi- Noah Dalton (left) holds the container steady as Courtney Greene (right) extracts DNA from a straberry croscopic, but it’s like long polymer strands that keep \, stretching out.” ‘During the science programs WWC student volun) teers and Owen Middle School science teachers work ‘together torun demonstrations and activities that em- phasize science, math and language arts principles to prompt student engagement. Students work in small groups to perform calculations, find ratios of materi- als and design, write and carry out their own science experiments, ‘Owen Middle School Assistant Principal Barbara Guffy and WWC assistant professor of chemistry, Da- na Emmert are the coordinators of the program. Vol- tunteer mentors from WWC cover anarray of curricu- lum interests from chemistry to history to science. Owen Middle School volunteer mentors are Krasut- sky and Robert Aiken, both science teacher, “Owen Middle School is excited to be working with ‘WWC students in creating a weekly program that en- hhanees science, language arts and math skills for grades 6-8,” she said. “Students have fun opportuni ties to create slime, grow crystals and make soap.” *T love the interest that kids have in science and vwant to foster that as much as we can,” Emmert said.Slime, science and stuff E= After school lab has kids focusing on science, Page 6A “Blak Mountain News Serving the Swar a Valley Since 1945 WEEK OF OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2015 WWW.BLACKMOUNTAINNEWS.COM 50g