Science League hosted its annual Family Science Night Dec. 1 with experiments that had people’s hands on fire and gummy bears exploding. The event was a fun way to welcome the holiday spirit and teach the next generation about science.
Near the entrance, seniors Vinay Varma and Denisse Leon welcomed attendees, demonstrating one of their experiments, which was lighting one’s hand on fire without burning their skin. Another popular experiment was the DNA table. Senior Michelle Garriss used different fruits to teach students and families about the process of DNA in a fun and simple way.
“It was fun to see the different experiments they had and learn about the chemical reactions,” senior Makenna Deppen said. “I will definitely come back again.”
It was a night of learning for all, including the club members. They helped each other when an experiment went wrong or was not working correctly, adapting to their surroundings as needed to reach success.
“[Family science night] means a lot to me because I was here when I was younger and I got to learn a lot which made me want to [give others the same experience],” freshman Ean Rivas said.
Co-presidents of the club seniors Jordan-Lac Tran and Peter Nguyen plan for two more family science nights to occur during the school year. There will be both old and new experiments for everyone to see.
“Science is present in everything we do, and we want to make it more fun,” Nguyen said. “We want to inspire kids.”
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Senior Michelle Garriss gives a lesson on DNA using different fruits. Her table was the first one seen when walking into the room, a perfect introduction for families and their children.
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Co-president of Science League senior Peter Nguyen teaches about the reaction a flame will have to different chemicals. The flame changes from its usual orange to a light blue.
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“Last year was our first phase since the pandemic and we [he and Tran] have been getting the ball rolling ever since,” Nguyen said. The two co-presidents have used social media to reach out to students to help gain awareness of the club and events they host.
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Senior Annabella Shilley prepares her experiment for the families and children in attendance. She, like many club members, found a fun interactive experiment to show that was also easy to understand.
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Freshman Ean Rivas’s experiment demonstrated the different reactions several chemicals, such as bleach or lemon juice, had. He like many other members used the club meetings at lunch to prepare for Family Science Night.
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Seniors Vinay Varma and Denisse Leon were able to teach the most important lesson of the night. When faced with failure try again. Their second experiment of the night which had to do with a candle and reaction with the flame was not working. They were able to figure out why with the help of their fellow club members and get the experiment to succeed. They, like many in STEM, were able to adapt to their situation instead of accepting failure.
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