Third Annual Science Carnival rolls into Branch Elementary

  • Published
  • By Kenji Thuloweit
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Branch Elementary School students probably didn't come to school expecting to see a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter parked in their backyard May 3.

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764 from Edwards landed the chopper for the first day of the 3rd Annual Branch Elementary School Science Carnival to accompany the 'How Things Fly' presentation.

The two-day event brought several interactive displays for all grade levels to come out on a warm sunny day to learn.

"I think it's very important for kids to get as much exposure as they possibly can to science and engineering," said Alexia Svejda, Parent Teacher Organization vice president.

Along with the flight class, the 95th Civilian Engineering Division set up tents, which held a water conservation presentation and a class about bacteria.

Representatives from NASA also came out and set up an inflatable dome where a video was played inside that provided a look at how life would be on other planets.

Mrs. Svejda said the Edwards PTO pays for field trips every year and can only afford one field trip per class.

All presenters came out at no cost from a diverse pool of volunteers. They included NASA, Antelope Valley College and the Kern County Water Agency.

"Throughout the country, there've been a lot of budget cuts when it comes to education," Mrs. Svejda said. "The teachers are doing the best they can with what they have. By doing this, we're bringing the field trip to the kids."

"We're bringing wonderful interactive displays to the kids and we're doing it at almost zero cost."

All Branch Elementary students rotated through each presentation for about 30 minutes each. In the Air Force Flight Test Center tent, Mickey Bowen, AFFTC Engineering Flight Test Outreach lead, showed children the basics of how a helicopter flies. After a brief presentation, he had the students make their own paper helicopters that were then dropped to the ground. The students were able to see how air affected the paper blades by the way their helicopters floated to the ground.

In another tent, students learned how bacteria and germs grow by observing them in Petri dishes.

Katherine Kennett, a kindergarten teacher at Branch, said she and her students loved being outdoors and seeing how things worked.

"Science is usually only once a week so being able to see how things work - and hands-on - that's what's so wonderful about this," Ms. Kennett said.

"For kindergarteners, hands-on is the key to science. You can talk to them till you're blue in the face and they'll be looking around. They want to touch things. They want to be able to see how things work with their eyes and hands."

Kindergartners through second grade experienced the carnival on the first day and on the second day the rest of Branch got to learn.

The second day also featured a wind power display.

Although many children said they liked the CH-46 and NASA presentations, for the teachers and organizers, just seeing children's reactions was fun.

"My favorite part is not particularly a display, it's watching the faces of the kids while they are absorbing this knowledge," Mrs. Svejda said.