FULLERTON : Making Science Fun Is Volunteers’ Goal
Two dozen Nicolas Junior High School students stay after school for an hour once a week, and they don’t complain about being there. The seventh- and eighth-graders are participants in an innovative program in which they are learning the basics of engineering from a group of eight volunteers from Beckman Instruments Inc.
In a recent session, the students raced land yachts that they built themselves.
“I like to figure out things,” said Joy Wahl, 13, as she scrutinized her model, which came in last. “It probably got weighed down because of all this foil on it.”
School officials say the purpose of the program is to stimulate students’ interest in science and motivate them to learn.
Officials at Beckman, which sponsors the program, say they offer it as a public service.
“We believe that we can heighten an interest for science in children early in their development,” said Elke Eastman, a Beckman spokeswoman.
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