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Real science in action: Learning pegs

Author Name: Dr. Rebecca W. Keller | Jun 23 | Category: Education, Science
Tags: Education, elementary, science fair

Last week I announced the winners for the Real Science-4-Kids Virtual Science Fair. All of the projects were great, and it was rewarding to see so many young minds engaged in science.

This week I want to showcase our winners and point out how their projects demonstrate real science in action. (There were two winners for the Pre-Level I age group. In this post I will discuss one of the winners and in the next post discuss the other.)

Naomi is an inquisitive young scientist and at six years old already has a grasp of several fundamental chemistry concepts.

It is the joy of every educator to listen to students explain what they have learned, and Naomi explains atoms and molecules very well. As I watched her video, I thought not only about what she was saying, but what she was doing. In this video Naomi demonstrates that she has acquired the first “learning pegs” for chemistry that will begin to shape her science foundation.

Recently, I had a concrete patio poured in my backyard. I hadn’t seen a patio poured before, so I found the process  interesting. On the first day the workers cleared out a space in my backyard and then smoothed and pounded the dirt. They then took a flexible piece of wood, about 4 inches high and several yards long, and shaped the outline of the patio. In order to keep the wood in place they strategically placed pegs on either side of the flexible wood. These pegs are essential for holding the contour of the patio as the concrete is poured.

In the same way, Naomi now has “learning pegs” to shape the foundation of her science education. The “learning pegs” are the concepts and images of atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, and bases that she has learned about by studying real chemistry. Strategically placed pegs  are as important to creating a solid science foundation as the strategically placed pegs are for shaping a concrete patio.

And just so you aren’t left hanging, here is Naomi’s second video where her sister Abigail helps her launch an acid-base “outer-space rocket!”

If you need a science curriculum that will give your kids the”learning pegs” they need to lay their foundation for science, visit our website. Naomi used the Pre-Level I Chemistry Student Textbook to learn about atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, and bases.