Purpose:
To provide to the Haynes children science-based programs that augment the grade-level science curriculum, based on Massachusetts educational frameworks. Our aim is to give the children unique hands-on experiences that allow them to further explore concepts taught in the classrooms. Our programs focus on: electricity, animals, chemistry, lights and lasers, machines, astronomy, sea life, rocks and minerals, insects, weather, and physical science.
Examples of past events (below took place in 2019-2020)
Discovery Museum: Chemistry Lab Workshop (Grade 5)
The Discovery Museum visited the 5th grade classrooms on February 28th to talk about acids and bases. A demonstration showed how purple cabbage juice could be used as an indicator solution to identify if various common kitchen items were acids or bases. The students enjoyed the colorful chemical reactions as they experimented with baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon-lime soda, and common household cleaners. Once they understood how various chemicals interacted with the pigment in red cabbage to change the color of the solution, they set about trying to identify several unknown substances. In addition to learning about pH, the students learned about oxidation and plating by cleaning pennies with salt and vinegar, and dipping zinc washers in the resulting solution.
Transportation Engineering Show and Magnetic Levitation Trains of the Future Workshop for 4th grade
Many parents of 4th graders may have heard their children speak excitedly about their bridge project which is a long term project that the students are working on in peer groups in their classrooms. As a complement to this project, Tom Wahle, of Techsploration, Inc. brought his Transportation Engineering show to the 4th grade on February 6th, 2019.
This program began with a grade wide presentation that brought to life how people throughout history have been using engineering to solve the problem of moving people and goods quickly and easily. The show explored the use of wheels, hovercraft, hot air balloons, and more. Mr. Wahle spoke about overcoming resistance and friction, the first and third laws of motion, and Bernoulli’s Principle.
In individual classroom workshops, pairs of students then had the opportunity to design a styrofoam train that used magnetic levitation to speed down a track. They then improved on their prototype designs to build faster and faster trains. Ask your fourth grader about this informative show and fun hands-on workshop that modeled the engineering design process of identifying the problem, proposing a solution, testing a prototype, and improving and redesigning for optimum performance.
HOP is the Haynes Organization of Parents: an organization of parents and guardians of children attending the Josiah Haynes School. We interact with teachers, professional and administrative staff of the school; we foster, enrich and otherwise support the educational programs and related activities conducted by the school; we present cultural and science programs and activities that aid and supplement the curriculum; and we raise money to fund professional development programs, technology purchases, classroom supplies, playground equipment and much, much more.