CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Third grade students from Belle, Chesapeake, and Mary Ingles Elementary Schools in eastern Kanawha County made their way to the Clay Center in Charleston Thursday to enjoy a different form of learning science.
For a third consecutive year, Arclin Amines, a chemistry-based manufacturer in Belle, hosted over 100 students at its STEM celebration. The third graders learned solubility, density, and got to be a part of endothermic and exothermic chemical reactions. Students also got to produce bouncy balls at a polymer expiration station.
Amy Berry, a librarian at Chesapeake Elementary who took a group down to Charleston, says her third graders
“They absolutely loved it,” Berry told MetroNews. “The hands-on experience was the best thing for them and they are very interested in going back to school and applying what they’ve learned.”
Berry says third grade is a perfect time to begin ramping up STEM lessons and activities for students.
“It is a fantastic year. They’re beginning that intermediate level of learning, they’re developing those critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding for it. Combining that academic knowledge with the hands-on knowledge kind of inspires them to carry it over into everything they’ve learned,” she said.
Heather Henson, a senior chemist at Arclin, says providing students with this opportunity allows them to enjoy themselves, even to the point where they don’t realize they’re learning new concepts.
“Textbooks and teachers are awesome, but I think it’s neat to learn in a different way, so we’re providing an opportunity for the kids to learn in a more interactive way,” Henson said.
Berry agrees that students are better off learning STEM concepts with an interactive approach like Arclin’s activities.
“Research shows that when students are relaxed and they’re playing games, their brains absorb the information much more quickly,” Berry said. “This approach from Arclin and the Clay Center was fantastic, it was perfect for their age, they were engaged the entire time, and everyone did a great job interacting.”
Thursday’s activities were part of the celebrations for National Manufacturing Day, which was October 1, though representatives said that many have been celebrating this for the entire month of October.
Henson says these children need to get accustomed to science very early because it could change their life.
“Science is the future. The end,” Henson said. “Studies have shown that science is ever-changing and if we can get kids involved at an early age, they’re going to become lifelong learners. Part of getting them involved is teaching them in a different way.”
As part of consolidation plans that were voted on last fall, Belle Elementary and Mary Ingles Elementary will be closing its doors once a new school — Country Road Elementary — is built in Dupont City.
Henson says this event gave students a chance to meet and work with future classmates.
“Consolidation happens and what’s really interesting is we’ve got many different schools here and maybe it’s kind of a first step in that consolidation where the kids get to meet other kids that they’re going to interact with when those schools are consolidated. We also teach kindness, so when we introduce each of the other elementary schools, we have the other ones cheer them on because kindness counts and that means encouraging our friends from whatever school they come from,” Henson said.