Expanding their horizons
Arizona Science Center’s Science on Wheels comes to Rancho Viejo Elementary School
Like any teacher, Jennifer “Jenny” Kaste wants new experiences for her students, but cost is always a concern. So, the fifth-grade instructor at Rancho Viejo Elementary School in Yuma’s North End decided that even if the school and the students couldn’t afford to fund a trip to the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix, she’d do the next best thing — find the funds to bring the center to the school.
The Arizona Science Center’s Science on Wheels brings the fun and excitement of the center to schools throughout Arizona, said Kaste, who has volunteered extensively with the Children’s Museum of Yuma County. The science center’s programs do cost several hundred dollars, depending on the program schools choose.
Kaste, who was a 2016 Rodel Exemplary Teacher Finalist, is tenacious, said Rancho Principal Cindy Hookstra.
“She arranged everything — all of this,” Hookstra said Monday as fifth-grad-
ers wandered around.
Through the generosity of donors who helped fund the project through the DonorsChoose.org website, Kaste was able to secure the Invention, Design and Exploration Adventures project from the center.
“Most of the donors were staff members and their families from the school,” Kaste said, who set up the request to bring the Science Center to Yuma at the beginning of the school year.
Monday afternoon, Science Center staff brought out 12 science and engineering stations to the cafeteria, which the school shares with Salida del Sol.
In order to cut down on costs, the majority of the volunteers working the 12 stations were either Crane employees or parent volunteers, Hookstra said, but getting the students exposed to the project was well worth it.
“It just builds that bridge, you know, that we can go back to our classroom and work on the things that we need to do, and they’ll be excited about it,” she said. “Students will be like ‘remember when we built those boats?’ They’re building experiences…”
Fifth-grader Markel Hernandez spent nearly 10 minutes at the flotation station, loading down his tin-foil-crafted boat with pennies to see how many it would hold.
“I’ve got 113!” he exclaimed as he tried to add more.
Experiences are vital, Hookstra and Kaste said, for students to make connections between learning and the real world.
“With our new curriculum, we’re trying to integrate as much science and social studies as we can,” Hookstra said. “So when they make it to the science part in their unit about lamination, they’ll know what lamination is because they’re actually seeing it in bridges and water and floating.”
Hookstra thanked everyone who helped fund the project.
“It’s a treat for our kids,” she said, “especially the ones who never get to go anywhere.”