Branch Elementary's answer to going on a fieldtrip - have the fieldtrip come to you Published May 19, 2010 By Stephen K. Robinson 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., -- Typically, when a class takes a fieldtrip, the routine often takes a day with travel to and from the fieldtrip site and lunches eaten on the run. But five places in one day? For most elementary schools, unheard of; especially with 830 kindergarten through sixth-grade students. Except at Edwards' own Branch Elementary School where the motto is Achievement for Branch Children - ABC. The on-base elementary school held its 2nd annual science fair May 11 and 12 with displays and presentations tailor-made for students in kindergarten through second-grades and third-through sixth-grades. The 'bring-the-fieldtrip-to-school' idea is the brainchild of Mrs. Alexia Sveda, Branch Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization president and mother of a Branch student. "Science Fair to School is where we have professionals in various scientific fields come to the school to tell and demonstrate their areas of expertise," said Mrs. Sveda. The Science Fair was housed in five field tents loaned to the Parent-Teacher Organization by Edwards Civil Engineering and Transportation Directorate. Each tent hosted one of the five presenting organizations. "To travel from where we are located to someplace for a fieldtrip requires quite a bit of time - a lot of it spent in travel," Mrs. Sveda said. "And only one, two or possibly three grades would be able to take advantage of the fieldtrip. There are many limitations. The biggest being the number of students that can participate and take advantage of the experience." The several dozen students interviewed on May 12 expressed real excitement and enjoyment over the fact the science fair that came to them provided not only one subject, but five. One sixth-grade girl said, "I've been to several different schools, but no school near as neat as this one. I've talked with my friends and neighbors and none of them have had this kind of cool experience at school....My favorite presentation here is the rocket demonstration." Air Force Research Laboratory's display featured rockets, their propulsion and demonstrated the balance of total vehicle weight to propulsion. They accomplished liftoff with the use of water spouts and two-liter soda bottles; one completely empty and the other half-full of water. "It is easier for AFRL to reach far more children by coming down to Branch than to bring them in small groups up to 'The Rock'," said 1st. Lt. Rebecca Stone, Air Force Research Laboratory Materials Application Branch research chemist. "I think that this two-day fair has been as exciting for me as it has been for the students. When I see the excitement on their faces, and the enthusiasm in their actions, it is a far bigger reward for me than it is for them, I'm sure. I never learned about rockets when I was their age." The Air Force Flight Test Center explained and demonstrated the four forces of flight - thrust, lift, drag and gravity. Gliders were used to demonstrate these four forces. "What really surprises me is the knowledge that even the youngest students have regarding the principles of flight," said Mickey Bowen, 812th Test Support Squadron flight test outreach coordinator. "No matter their age, kindergartener or sixth grader, their minds are like sponges. I can see excitement in their eyes. And, one never knows who of these children today will be our explorers and leaders tomorrow." The father of a Branch second-grader, Staff Sgt. David Barnes, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 1 knowledge operations manager, said that teaching through hands-on is proven to be a better way of helping the student experience and retain the subject matter for a longer period of time. "I think this is an awesome way to teach, and will certainly have a longer-lasting impression on the students. I wished the schools I attended would have had this kind of fieldtrip when I was at this education level," Sergeant Barnes said. Environmental Management displayed dendrochronology; tree-ring dating. Katherine Leggiero, explained how the width of tree rings tells what the weather was like during different years of the tree's life span: wider rings reveal wetter and more nutritious years, narrower rings, dryer and less nutritious years. "This is awesome," expressed one male fifth-grader. "I have friends that go to other schools in the area and when I tell them about what we do at my school, they are quite jealous of me. I'm very lucky in this way." A few teachers expressed how much they liked this method of fieldtripping and learning. They are said that it cut down on the possibility of accidents occurring, and if something did happen that they were still at school to handle the situation. Two other displays on hand were the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History, which displayed archeological artifacts and facsimiles and the Kramer Junction Solar Farm which displayed and demonstrated the use of mirrors to heat oil and other fluids. Mrs. Sveda added that she looks forward to next year's science fair. "With two consecutive years behind us, each year being a little larger in size than the previous year's, next year's is only a guess, but there is no better place to conduct such an activity than Edwards," Mrs. Sveda said.