By Lauren VerDuin
Staff Writer
Organized chaos and excitement begins as families and children enter the building. The small gym on the right contains the individual science projects created by Coppell High School science students while colorful booths line the hallway ahead.
The sound of voices and music fill the air as they explain and perform their specific demonstrations.
What used to be known for the past six years as CHS Science Fair is now referred to as Science Night at the Museum.
The decision to “spice up” this yearly tradition was made by science teacher Shari Hunt. To make the event more interactive and lively for students, Jennifer Martin teamed up with other science teachers Jodie Deinhammer, Sunny Richardson and Angela Binder.
“Ms. Hunt the rest of us teachers wanted to make Science Fair more enjoyable for students,” Deinhammer said.
Hunt headed this year’s Science Night at the Museum.
“This is my second year here and from what I know it has been a big ordeal with lots of projects,” Hunt said. “Mr. Hunt came to me last year and asked if I would take it on. Mrs. Martin has been organizing it every year before that, so I said yes. The key thing is that I did not do this by myself. I have pulled in some awesome science teachers that helped out.”
As a result of her previous experience with the science fair, Hunt developed a new idea that she thought would expand and strengthen the program.
“The one thing I saw was that we had so many students participating that we had projects spewing into the lecture hall and auditorium,” Hunt said. “Projects were even on the floor, and I just wanted all of the projects in one place so that viewing and judging was convenient. This, along with the idea of making it a night where parents could come and making it more of a community event, formed into the Science Night at the Museum. I really think it could grow to become something that is really cool.”
One new and creative element of this year’s Science Night at the Museum is the participation by anatomy classes as well as any other science teachers. Students of Deinhammer, Binder and Richardson all created hands-on booths to display at the event.
“My anatomy students designed booths to teach elementary students basic concepts on health and wellness,” Deinhammer said. “We had a variety of demonstrations from dissections and heart rate testing to muscle fatigue and stretching demos. The goal was to get elementary kids excited about science.”
Students chose demonstrations they felt would engage the kids and allow them to literally “get their hands dirty.” One such booth attracted many as parents and students advanced down the hall.
“Our group chose to do a pig dissection,” senior Emilio Primero said. “We cut out the main organs of a fetal pig which are the heart, the kidneys, the lungs, the stomach, the intestines and the liver. We wanted to see if the kids could match up the name tags to each organ to get the students thinking.”
The unique innovations of the students at CHS caught the eye of many. Parents and children enjoyed viewing the variety of the interactive booths along with the impressive individual science fair projects that lined the school gym. While some displays were simple yet eye catching, such as the vision test, others showcased more complex demonstrations that required more thought and involvement.
This year’s Science Night at the Museum was an accomplishment. From senses tests, to hands on dissections and memory tests, the participation of multiple science classes in the science fair this year seemed to be a success. Over 400 students and families partook in this special night and feedback was nothing short of positive. Hunt along with the many other science teachers that made this night possible hope to have the opportunity to expand and make this possible for years to come.
