Science was on display at Arlington High School last week, as the school hosted its 11th annual Community Science Night on Jan. 10. The twice-yearly event is a culmination of a number of half-year science electives, and it allows students to demonstrate what they have learned in class, in front of an audience of family, friends and community members.
From posters to PowerPoint projects, students presented projects on oceanography, contemporary issues in biology and environmental focus, natural disasters, marine biology, forensic science and more. Some students were even able to teach a science lesson to a class of third graders.
“It’s very hands-on,” said senior Gabby Rojas, “and you learn the difference between what’s true and what’s false on shows like CSI.”
Rojas’s Community Science Night Project was covered in human blood, or perhaps it was ketchup. She featured a number of tests one could perform to figure out the difference.
“You can test for three substances,” she said. “Luminol, phenolphthalein, and preceptin. The tests will determine the difference between human blood, animal blood and ketchup.”
Like many of the students who presented their projects at Community Science Night, Rojas is a student of Paige VanTassell, Arlington’s forensic science teacher.
“There are some students who I don’t see really come out until this event, and then I see the students really shining, and I think, ‘Wow,’” said VanTassell.
Rewarding for students, teachers
VanTassell has been teaching forensic science at Arlington for nearly six years, and like her students, she looks forward to the event, she said.
William Siebert, the science coordinator at Arlington, agreed. “I think students really get something out of Community Science Night,” he said. “They may go into it very apprehensively, but there is a sense of reward and accomplishment when they’re done.”
Siebert’s students began preparing for the event just weeks ago in the beginning of December, though he admits other students may have longer to prepare, depending on their teacher. Siebert teaches environmental issues, and his students wrote papers, and prepared PowerPoint presentations summarizing their research.
More than 250 students participated in last week’s Community Science Night, but when the event began just six years ago, only one class, teacher Jacob Lawrence’s class, presented. Each year more and more classes participated, and now the event serves as a major grading touchstone for many of the department’s non-Regents classes.
The next Community Science Night will be held at Arlington High School in May.