Rio Vista High School Science Carnival

On Saturday, November 3rd Stephanie, Kevin, and I participated in an outreach event at Rio Vista High School. When we arrived we carried the materials to the entrance, signed in, found a table, and set up our space while trying to figure out a layout that would accommodate marketing and a two-part design challenge.

There were kids of different ages and backgrounds, with varying personalities and learning styles, as well as many bystander parents, exhausted from work.

The event was a success. There were so many enthused kids, and a few with models that functioned similar to the actual mystery tube.

The tabling event generated a crowd, for sure, to the point where we had to extend out into the table next to us (which luckily was empty).

I believe this is because the MOXI table was hands-on learning. I briefly walked around to see what other science exhibits there were and I found a number of observational kinds, but not as much critical thinking challenges. I think the mystery tubes program cart we used was, for a lot of participants, something they've never seen. I think the uniqueness of MOXI's science fieldtrips, education curriculum, and overall mission is what generates successful interactions and there were definitely a lot of those.

There were times where I was overwhelmed, primarily because the amount of attention and validation children needed to get through the program cart seemed excessive. It's as if they were programmed to think in right and wrong terms. I think the mystery tubes embodies the NGSS standards of science education, which might not be the main strategy schools are using, or at least not as common as it will become.

I also noticed at one point, two kids, one boy one girl who approached the table at the same time. They were both enthusiastic, and after brainstorming for a bit I gave them some tools (I gave the girl a green hole puncher and the boy a purple one). The boy snatched the girl's hole puncher from her and told her to use the purple one. It seemed she became aware and when I handed them scissors she volunteered to use the pink one. I made sure in that moment to reaffirm that they were just tools. Most kids thankfully didn't pose this distraction, and for the most part were focused on the design process.

Although it was a tabling event, there were certainly methods from the fieldtrips I incorporated into the outreach. I made sure to reiterate the scientific method, encouraged kids to rebuild their projects and test them again, and often modeled the mystery tube phenomenon frequently by pulling on the ropes in all possible manners, rather than handing out answers.

-Samantha Brown