Nelson Elementary School Part II
For our second week, we take the CBS47 Cool Schools back to Nelson Elementary School, where some college students are helping kids out... all in the name of science.
We take you inside one of the classrooms, where some Fresno State physics students are trying to get the young people interested in science.
Fresno State Professor Don Williams says that while there are all kinds of sciences, they all require physics, the most basic of all sciences.
Fifth grade teacher Michelle Resendes said, I call him the "Science Guy" of Fresno. So, we're all familiar with Bill Nye, the Science Guy. So we've been calling him our Science Guy in Fresno."
"We want to get everybody excited about physics. because let's face it, physics has a bad name, doesn't it? People think physics is scary and hard. We're gonna show you how much fun it can be," said Williams.
So, how do you make physics fun? Well, you get the kids involved in some hands-on experiments, like having them lay down on a bed of nails, to demonstrate how pressure works. Or spinning a chair while holding dumbbells and moving them in and out from your body to change your spinning speed, to teach the kids about rotational momentum.
Williams shows the students liquid nitrogen. "I'll even pour a little out to show you what it looks like. It looks water, but it's about a minus 200 degrees Celsius," said Williams
John Sorensen from Weco Supply Company said, "Science was always presented as a subject just the smart kids were in. Don's trying to make it that it reaches everybody. That it's fun. Not just for the brainiacs."
Principal Kendra Matson said, "Fifth grade is the grade tested by the state in science, so anything we can do to increase that interest is good for us and the kids."
Hopefully those students from Fresno State have planted the seed, and inspired the young people at Nelson Elementary to think about a possible career in Physics or science.
