Have you ever been on a hovercraft, lain on a bed of nails or investigated a murder? Unless you are an astronaut, magician, or police detective, you probably have not.
However, because of the Science Theatre many children around Mid-Michigan have had these experiences. The Science Theatre is an MSU student organization that uses entertaining demonstrations to get children interested in science.
The volunteer organization, which was started in 1991, currently consists of more than 200 members from various majors and MSU departments. They have performed in front of roughly 8,000 to 10,000 people in the past year.
The Science Theatre has many objectives besides entertaining children. First, they would like to dispel some stereotypes and perceptions about science. By using audience interaction and stage show entertainment they attempt to make learning science enjoyable and interesting. Many of the demonstrations consist of household materials. This is intentionally done to show that science is a part of everyday life.
“If you can make it so science is not untouchable, you can understand it,” said Science Theatre biology co-director and biochemistry senior Chris Wilkinson.
The group will be performing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Lansing Mall as part of National Chemistry Week.
This is important since many teachers, particularly those teaching in elementary schools, do not have time to learn extensively about the numerous subjects they have to teach.
“Not many elementary school teachers have that well-grounded background in science, and for me it is always a challenge to provide good hands-on experiments,” said Kristin Walden Grattan.
Grattan, a second grade teacher at Steele Elementary School in Mason added, “Sometimes you’re not sure if you’re doing the scientific process exactly the right way.”
Audience participation is an important part of various Science Theatre shows. Often students are asked to assist or perform tasks onstage or at workshops. However, the Forensic Science Workshop takes it a step further. For several years the Science Theatre has converted the Chemistry Building into a mock crime scene. The same building that many MSU students attend class in or walk by daily is turned into a crime scene full of police tape and body outlines.
There, middle school children must use deductive reasoning to solve the crime and catch the killer. Amidst their fun, the students learn about forensic science using techniques such as fingerprint analysis, hair and fiber comparisons and the analysis of serums.
Other crowd pleasing events include the Bases Stage Show, where acid and base indicators and pH scales are used to put on a light show that synchronizes the colors of a rainbow and the Pressure Stage Show which features a bed of 1,000 nails.
While the shows and workshops are all entertaining for the children, there are also benefits for the volunteers as well. Teaching and applying the principles of science allow them to better understand the materials they learned in their classes. It also allows student volunteers who are interested in teaching to gain experience in front of audiences and serves as an avenue for volunteers to make contacts with teachers from around the area.
However, the greatest incentive for volunteers is the knowledge that what they are doing is ultimately going to benefit the children in the audience.
The group gets much of its funding through various MSU departments, but there still is a need to cover costs such as traveling and replacing equipment and props. Also, due to budget constraints, many of the schools the Theatre performs at cannot make donations.
For more information go to www.sciencetheatre.org.
JASON MUI
