For over five years falconer and scientist Craig Hendee has been swooping in to Oak Park schools with his Peregrine Falcon, Alvin. This year, Hendee brought a special guest, a six-month old endangered Saker Falcoln named Susie. Hendee works with the International Heritage Conservancy and his hands-on visits are funded by Science Alliance. Over the […]
Around here, April showers don’t just bring flowers, they bring scientists! On April 3, Dr. Elizabeth Goodman visited Ms. Baker’s class at Beye. Dr. Goodman spoke with students about geology and passed around samples of different types of rocks, such as obsidian and basalt. She talked about how these rocks might have been used in […]
Oak Park has a surprising amount of scientists living in our small village, and OPEF is thrilled to be able to take advantage of their talents, generosity, and knowledge. Check out some of the photos of our volunteer Science Alliance scientists visiting classrooms. At Mann, Dr. Jordi Cabana Jimenez used Mentos and Coke to teach […]
Dr. David Kupperman of Argonne National Labs gave Whittier 4th graders some hands-on experiences with gravity and its affects on objects in free-fall and on an inclined plane. He also showed them how to measure time without a clock, parents of 5th graders everywhere are hoping this proves to be a scientific breakthrough in getting […]
Scientist Chris Ferrigno of Rush University Medical Center visited with Ms. Kauneli’s third grade class at Irving last week and provided a real HANDS ON experience. Several kids were very informed about shark cartilage but were surprised to learn some of the places where humans have cartilage – not just your nose and ears! Students […]
What do hydrogen peroxide, gummy bears, glycerol, Mentos and household insulation all have in common? They were all part of a chemistry extravaganza enjoyed by fourth graders at Whittier Elementary School–the culmination of an Science Alliance residency sponsored by the Oak Park Education Foundation and taught by volunteer scientist Dr. Brent Friesen, a chemistry professor at Dominican […]
Dr. Silver Daniel (pathologist at Central DuPage Hospital) led 5th graders in Ms. Moncatch’s class on an exploration of cells and their function in the human body. To help the students remember the components inside of a cell, they made their own edible cell model. Cookies represented the cell, icing was the “cytoplasm” and various […]
It was anything but a typical school day for a group of enthusiastic Irving Elementary students, who ventured to Rush University Medical Center this week to construct prosthetic hands and poke their fingers though the aorta of dissected sheep hearts. Susan Tresselt’s second graders and Lauren Kaunelis’ third graders, along with a group of parent chaperones, […]
Dr. Brent Friesen, a professor at Dominican University, made artificial snow from sodium polyacrylate (the material inside disposable diapers).
Dr. Stark, a biology professor from IIT, teaches an air pressure lesson with Mr. Manus’s 4th graders during a Science Alliance residency.