Fall afterschool programming is underway at VMNH and middle school students are busily testing myths! Loosely based on the popular tv show, MythBusters, students are challenged to design ways to test commonly held ideas.  Students worked with a partner to write out their procedure and design experiments to test each myth.
Tested myths include:

1. When dropped, a piece of bread will always land peanut butter side down.

2. Which has the most germs? Students were asked to list the area in their location with the most amount of germs (i.e. the gym floor). Based on their answer, students swabbed that particular area with q tips and then swabbed agar plates to observe the bacteria/mold that was generated. The agar plates germinated for several days and students were able to view their results.  Students tested the gym floor, toilet, urinal, telephone, restroom sink and restroom floor.  The telephone was the winner! (Gross!!)

Student collecting bacteria from a toilet.



Students swabbing their agar plates.



Two students testing to see if the peanut butter side of a piece of toast will always land peanut butter side down.

MHC After 3 campers investigated science and engineering concepts with VMNH educators this summer. Camps were held at the group's site or off-site at a local state park. The camps were designed based on student input gathered during the spring semester.

 In the Projectile Science camp, campers explored the engineering design process and Newton's 1st and 3rd laws of motion through several design challenges using common household items.  Students designed and constructed marshmallow launchers, medieval counterweight trebuchets, and balloon rockets to explore the forces that affect projectiles.

In the Food Engineering and Package Design camp, participants investigated food science engineering by creating ice cream and granola.  Campers explored several examples of packaging and were challenged to design the best package to store their food products.  Each package was tested to discover the most effective design.

The Trail Design camp explored the process and effects of erosion through designing trails with erosion prevention in mind.  In teams, they designed small model trails, tested whether they were "erosion proof" and then redesigned the model to reduce erosion.  They evaluated the hiking trails at Fairy Stone State Park to examine trail design and evidence of erosion.  They also explored the effects of erosion on water bodies, including a stream and lake.  Finally, they worked together to repair existing trails using erosion prevention methods. 





VMNH concluded the Spring '12 semester with a watershed education program designed to raise awareness of the Earth's most valuable natural resource, water.  Each afterschool site received programming that explored how we negatively and positively affect our watershed and how those choices not only influences the organisms that live in the water but will eventually affect us in the immediate and long-term future.  Also, VMNH partnered with the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) to show students examples of macroinvertebrates (organisms that lack an internal skeleton and are large enough to be seen with the naked eye) that are used to determine the health of water. The semester culminated with students designing a storm drain stencil to convey the importance of water pollution prevention.





Students design their ideal community and discover that we all contribute to water pollution in some way and discover best management practices to reduce pollution.





Students explore the rate at which water absorbs and flows on different surfaces to investigate runoff.  Students tested three different surfaces:  pavement, mulch, and gravel.





 

Wayne Kirkpatrick, a DRBA volunteer, shows examples and explains the importance of macroinvertebrates.



Student designing a stencil slogan.