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Middle school students
experience the sinking feeling of having their feet on
an unstable foundation in a quicksand simulator tank from
MU’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
Eng Chew Ang, left in yellow shirt, was one of the more
than 75 Mizzou students, faculty and staff who brought
hands-on activities to Mizzou Magic Science Day. Photo
by Ernie Gutierrez
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Exploring
the Magic of Science
By Jeff Neu
“When I grow up, I want to be a geophysicist,
or an entomologist, or a horticulturist, or a food scientist.”
What if 11- and 12-year-olds told their parents and teachers
they wanted to explore these exciting careers? With the help
of the University of Missouri-Columbia, the St.
Louis Science Center and The
Boeing Company, these young dreamers might soon pursue these
possibilities.
During Mizzou Magic Science Day on Nov.
4, approximately 1,000 sixth-and seventh-grade students and
teachers from St. Louis met at the St. Louis Science Center
to listen to a guest speaker, explore interactive exhibits and
participate in a wide range of hands-on activities. The goal
of the day was to provide the students with the opportunity
to explore all the possibilities that an understanding of science
can provide.
LaSalle Springs Middle School students try to tie
shoes with only one hand. Faculty and students
from Mizzou’s Department of Occupational Therapy
helped them learn new ways to perform everyday
tasks. Photo by Ernie Gutierrez
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The free annual event is a partnership between
the Science Center, MU’s award-winning science magazine
for junior high and middle school students and The Boeing Company.
Since 1987, MU has published Mizzou Magic magazine,
which is read by more than 100,000 Missouri middle school students.
The free magazine is distributed with the same two goals that
have been established for Mizzou Magic Science Day: to foster
an interest in science and serve as a resource for teachers.
Program costs for this event were underwritten by Boeing.
Mary Schon, Manager of Science Communications at Epcot® Science, Walt Disney World, was the keynote speaker at Mizzou Magic Science Day. Schon, who graduated from MU in 1989 with a doctoral degree in agronomy and plant physiology, talked about how Epcot makes science fun and entertaining. Photo by Ernie Gutierrez
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At Mizzou Magic Science Day, students virtually
took off in a Boeing F/A-18 Hornet, stood in a quicksand simulator
tank, and cheered on their favorite cockroach in a race that
taught the basics of entomology. Students also had the opportunity
to see the University’s formula and solar cars; interact
with a turkey vulture and a barred owl that are part of the
MU Raptor Rehabilitation Project; find the hidden colors in
a black magic marker’s ink; and participate in a variety
of other activities. More than 75 MU faculty, staff and students
brought hands-on activities to science day.
Students attending Mizzou Magic Science
Day also attended a guest lecture presented by Mary Schon, Manager
of Science and Communications at Epcot®
Science, Walt Disney World. Schon, who graduated from MU in
1989 with a doctorate in agronomy and plant physiology, discussed
how Epcot makes science fun and engaging for kids and their
families.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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