Piedmont Arts Visit

Our guide for the Piedmont Arts visit, Director of Exhibitions, Tina Sell, gave us a very interactive tour of each gallery on display often letting the students touch art when appropriate. She placed special emphasis on the theme for the major gallery which was CRAFTS, explaining to us that crafts are the intersection of functionality and aesthetically pleasing art. Thanks to the guide the students seemed to enjoy their visit and gain a bit of knowledge on interpreting and identifying various pieces.

After School Science Plus, Fall 2009

MHC After 3 students laughed and learned this fall while making discoveries all semester long! The museum presented several hands-on programs from the After School Science Plus curriculum (published by The Educational Equity Center at AED)

In "Who Does Science?", the students created collages showing that everyone does science.

Virginia Museum of Natural History

"Oobleck: Solid or Liquid?" was the all-time favorite. The students tried to determine what "oobleck" was, and then made some of their own to take home. Oobleck is a non-newtonian substance, and changes from liquid to solid when pressure is applied.



Bassett Community Center

Collinsville YMCA

Martinsville Boys and Girls Club

Martinsville YMCA

Fieldale Community Center

The students explore a colorful bottle of unknown ingredients in "Mystery Bottles", discover what sinks and floats in the substances, and then creat their own bottles.

Spencer Penn Community Center

Bassett Community Center


In "Building With Wonderful Junk", the students use trash to create treasure. Each group of students designed and build their own unique structures.

Bassett Community Center

Bassett Community Center

Virginia Museum of Natural History

"Bubble Science" allows the middle-schoolers to rediscover their childhood joy of playing with bubbles. They designed their own bubble wands and discover the science behind the spherical, floating wonders.

Martinsville YMCA

Science Behind Bubbles

VMNH educator, Robin Jensen, explained important physical science and mathematical concepts through the use of bubbles. She had students to first construct bubble wands using any materials they liked and then to test each of their wands. Prior to testing, however, students were to hypothesize the effects different wand shapes would have on the bubbles shape and size and the different factors that would cause the bubbles to burst. The students noted that the bubbles would always be spherical in shape (unless distorted by the wind), and that the size of the wand dictated how large of a bubble was produced. Overall, the students were very excited about the experiment and were able to sufficiently interpret their qualitative “data” in a concise and meaningful way.

Invent!

Today, VMNH educator, Robin Jensen, had students, first brainstorm about unconventional uses of everyday items like spatulas and whisks and to then invent a machine. The machines were to incorporate at least three simple machines (pulley, inclined plane, lever, wedge, screw, and wheel and axle), and successfully move an aluminum can across the table without directly attaching anything to the can. Although, none of the students were quite successful in creating a device with three simple machines, they showed great creativity and ingenuity with the machines that were developed.

Enunciate!

English tutor, Mr. Smith, shook up the normal routine by having the students to participate in several acting exercises. The exercises emphasized enunciation and focus in a fun, playful manner. The videos below show the students, staff, and instructor taking part in a few of the exercises.

Lessons in Design: Optimization

Today, VMNH educator, Robin Jensen, coordinated an activity to teach the students about optimization in design and repurposing waste for useful products. The VMNH MHC-After 3 students were required to construct stand-alone structures with all of the waste items they chose from a large trash bag. One group of students chose to build a “monster truck” while the other group made a “sorority house” (see pictures below). The students showed great creativity and resolve to complete structures under the given constraints and attested to the scientific skills that were used.

Math Session: Blokus Game

Mrs. Bredamus and the students played a competitive game of Blokus. The game forced the students to carefully scrutinize the placement of each geometric shape, known as a polyomino (polygon created from less simple geometric shapes, squares for Blokus), on the game board in order to be successful. All of the VMNH student participants seemed to thoroughly enjoy the game and in the process, enhance their geometric and critical thinking skills.