MICROSCOPES, SCALES AND 3-D PRINTERS, OH MY!
Sacred Heart elementary kids get an introduction to scientific equipment
Finals isn’t a terribly busy time in Sacred Heart Academy’s STEM lab, making Tuesday and Wednesday an opportunity to bring in elementary students for an introduction to a scientist’s tools of the trade.
They took a look at microscopes, scales and a machine that turns the contents of a test tube into a miniature tornado to more quickly mix them. The highlight, however, was the 3-D printer.
“It’s kind of the ooh and aah at the end,” said Jennie Queen-baker, the Academy’s STEM La coordinator.
The students came in over the course of two days, with the younger grades stopping by Tuesday.
By Wednesday afternoon, Julie O’brien’s fourth-grade class visited the lab.
After a short introductory video, the kids broke up into small groups to visit different tables, each dedicated to its own piece of scientific equipment.
Scientific equipment has one of three uses, Queen-baker said. They are used for safety, measurement or observation.
O’brien’s fourth-graders looked into microscopes and magnifying glasses and used two different kinds of scales to weigh their data.
By the end, they gathered at the back of the classroom to watch the 3-D printer finish extruding a multi-linked chain from the spool of plastic it uses as raw materials.
Students handled things previously printed, like the multi-piece model of a pan-
golin, an animal native to Asia and Africa.
While the machine finished its print job, Queen-baker told them that 3-D printers are used for a variety of things, from making edible things from sugars to body parts to a replacement nut and bolt.