The gymnasium of Center School in Mattapoisett was buzzing with the energy of dozens of third graders…and 12,000 volts of electricity.
Andy Hall – a graduate of Tufts University and educator from the Boston Museum of Science – visited the school on Thursday, February 9 to present a special interactive lesson on electromagnetism. He conducts (sorry) these lectures at schools across Massachusetts, hoping to galvanize (no, really, I’m sorry) kids’ curiosity with a series of fun tests to exhibit basic properties of electricity and magnets.
The Wisconsin native discovered his love for teaching while studying physics.
“What I really enjoy was the aspect of taking something that people don’t know and putting into terms where they can easily understand it. Electromagnetism is complex, but I love breaking it down for third graders,” he said.
Most of Mr. Hall’s tests involve the old standards, like a Tesla coil and a static-charged balloon rubbed on a student’s head. With hands shooting into the air faster than bolts of lightning, the students were all eagerly hoping to be chosen to participate in the “experiments.” He explained how positive and negative electric charges interact with one another and the functions of circuits and capacitors in relation to controlling electric currents. In one test, he had five student volunteers hold sticks made of different materials to teach the different between electric insulators and conductors, with sometimes shocking results (you had to have seen that one coming).
This content of this program, which was organized by Debra Nettles of the Mattapoisett PTA, runs concurrent with much of the material the students are covering in their science classes. “We do one or two of these programs per year, which are curriculum-based. They are studying this stuff right now,” she said. She said that students at this age benefit from a range of educational tools and formats, and these programs are aimed at supplementing the traditional forms of classroom instruction.
Ms. Nettles also hopes that the special presentations will inspire some students to take a serious interest in science, a subject that did not appeal to her when she was in school.
“I didn’t have a lot of interest in science, particularly in high school, and I find that these are exciting to see. So I wonder if I had had more hands-on or more visual things, instead of just the textbooks, maybe I might have gone in a different direction,” she said.
The PTA has another program scheduled for March at Old Hammondtown School, entitled “Now Hear This.” The presentation, also organized through the Boston Museum of Science, explores ways sound waves can be visualized.
By Eric Tripoli
