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E_mc2 Students study works of the earth
new kl einstein day walk on water
Walking on corn starch and water was a new experience for Jordan Hathcock at the Walking on Water learning center at Ellinwood High Schools Einstein Day. At a proportion of two cups corn starch to one cup water, the mixture will keep a human afloat while pressure is applied. Once the student stopped running or pounding, they sank. The corn starch/water mixture becomes solid with pressure. - photo by KAREN LA PIERRE

ELLINWOOD — Ellinwood Grade School 3rd-6th grade students along with Ellinwood High School students once again learned about the intricate mechanics of the earth and materials in it during Einstein Day, so named after science pillar and genius Albert Einstein.
“We want to entice elementary kids to want to become more science enthusiastic,” said Seresa Arndt, high school science teacher. “The high school kids all helped design the stations. They spent many hours sorting,” through experiments to make centers significant for kids.
During what has become a regular event and involving 70 high school students and 100 elementary students, both the student-teachers and the students benefitted. EGS students traveled to each of the 20 stations taught by the high school students.
Though the high school students have been putting the stations together for two weeks, the project actually started at the beginning of the school year when Arndt told the students to begin keeping in mind what they would like to do for Einstein Day. All Chemistry, Biology and Physics classes at the high school participated.
Color Change, Static Electricity, Elephant Toothpaste, Surface Tension, Balloon Madness, an Archeological Dig, squid dissection, cow eyeball dissection along with a popcorn snack were some of the activities the kids participated in. Each station involved a lesson.
Taking the bull by the bull horn, sophomore Mikey Hughes kept the students moving from station to station every 10 minutes along with student “wranglers.”
Working at the squid dissection center, junior Franchesca Holcomb said, “You learn (the information) better when you teach it.” And all of the students were in agreement that it was more fun than regular classes.
The high school students worked in groups of three to determine which experiment to feature for Einstein Day. They researched the experiment on the internet if needed, and chose one that coincided with their own interests.
Each station had a QR Code, which is a bar code that can be read by an iPad. The codes opened videos, activities, and supplemental information about the stations, with topics including sea life, archaeology, shadows and pendulums, compiled by the high school students.
This is the first time EGS fifth graders were allowed to take their iPads out of the elementary school.
This cross-curricular activity met the standards of the Common Core.