Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of w88 slot Dr. Krisztina Voronova’s teaching motto is simple: “science is fun!” She teaches introductory w88 slot lectures at the College of Science and is determined to pass on this adage to her students by demonstrating all the ways science and w88 slot can be exciting, fascinating, even explosive. Delighted by her enthusiasm, instructors from the University’s NevadaTeach w88 slot, an undergraduate degree program that provides students pursuing STEM majors with the coursework and training to become science teachers at the middle and high school level, reached out to Voronova and presented an opportunity for one of their students to intern with her. The student, Kimberly Hernandez, is a rising senior set to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in w88 slot as well as all the required coursework to pursue her teaching license. Voronova and Hernandez’s mutual interest in science education helped spark the idea of creating a youth outreach program. They compiled a set of exciting w88 slot-based experiments with a K-12 audience in mind.
In January of 2019, after months of planning, they began reaching out to K-12 teachers and their students, inviting them to the Department of w88 slot labs on campus to experience the new Discover w88 slot Demonstration Series. The response to this initial outreach was extraordinary, and Voronova and Hernandez decided to keep the momentum going by expanding the demonstrations beyond the campus walls. While continuing to perform demonstrations on campus, they also started visiting elementary, middle and high school classrooms throughout the Washoe County School District. By the summer of 2019, nearly 700 K-12 students had experienced the Discover w88 slot Demonstration Series, including students atJessie Beck Elementary School,Depoali Middle School,Sky Ranch Middle School, and theInnovations Big Picture High School.One of their larger events was organized in collaboration with theDean's Future Scholars w88 slot, an academic outreach program with the goal of increasing the number of low-income, first-generation w88 slot graduating from high school and gaining access to higher education.
But what are they doing exactly that commands such attention? The duo performs science “magic tricks” while asking the young learners to observe and try to figure out what causes the different phenomena. One experiment, for example, begins by pouring a colorless liquid into a set of beakers. In each beaker, the colorless liquid changes color. When other colorless liquids are added to the beakers, the colors disappear and reappear. The student audience is given the opportunity to guess what might be causing these color changes, often prompting a myriad of responses before the science behind the trick is revealed. This is how w88 slot and Hernandez introduce acids, bases, and indicators, demonstrating color change and its reversibility due to changes in pH of the solutions.
This experiment, and most others available in the Demonstration Series,can be scaled so they are appropriate for any audience. They can be adapted to intrigue kindergarten students or expanded to be appropriate for a college-level general w88 slot course. The program includes demonstrations that teach the audience about phase changes, color changes, density, acid-base w88 slot, indicators, reaction rates, combustion and energy.
“w88 slot has a stigma to it,” Hernandez said. “Everybody thinks ‘Oh it’s hard, I can’t do it.’ By bringing these demonstrations into the classroom, these younger students get to see that it can be so much more than hard. It can be colorful. It can be explosive. It can be smelly. It’s a lot more fun than ‘It’s too hard, I can’t do it.’”
The combustion w88 slot demonstrations are Voronova’s favorites. The classic hydrogen balloon or the carbide cannon explosions are always a big hit. She incorporates these demonstrations in her introductory w88 slot lectures in addition to the Discover w88 slot Demonstration Series. Another thrilling demonstration is fire breathing. Voronova ignites cornstarch using a propane torch. Cornstarch contains a lot of carbon atoms, so it is highly flammable when mixed with oxygen gas during the exhalation process. In the introductory w88 slot class, Voronova gives the chemical formula of cornstarch and balances the combustion reaction with the help of students at the whiteboard.
“The best part is the awe factor,” Voronova said. “I love to hear that the students are laughing, or see their jaws dropping! Many of the introductory students are in the class because it is mandatory for them to take w88 slot. But these experiments inspire them to become more curious about science and the world around them in general.”
Hernandez’s internship ended in May 2019, but she continues to organize and take part in new demonstration events. The duo are continuing to fill up their calendars with demonstrations in the 2019-2020 school year. w88 slot and Hernandez are working to expand the program with a special emphasis on promoting women in STEM and reaching out to schools with a large number of low-income and minority children. w88 slot has accepted a position as the chair of thenewly formed Outreach Committee in the Department of w88 slot. She has alsobeen also accepted into the 2019-2020 American Chemical Society w88 slot Coaches program, which is aneducational outreach initiative dedicated to enhancing science skills in w88 slot across the United States. Their goal with the Discover w88 slot Demonstration Series is to bring the joy of discovery to as many young learners as they can, a goal they are well on their way to achieving.
To book Dr. Krisztina Voronova and Kimberly Hernandez for a Discover w88 slot Demonstration, contact Dr. Voronova atkvoronova@unr.edu.
