Heritage Elementary Science Night

Through the generosity of the Avon Endowment Fund and Avon Heritage Boosters, students and teachers from Heritage Elementary Campus and the surrounding school community in Avon are looking forward to the 15th  annual spring events of Science Week and Science Night.  Abounding with hands-on experiments and diverse science information, Science Week will take place March 10-14th  and Science Night will take place March 13th, 2014.   This year Science Week will be highlighted at Heritage North and South with visits by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History presenting “Big Air” and “The Human Show”, NASA analytical researcher Bryan Palaszewski, and motivational Boomerang speaker Gary Broadbent!

     For those not familiar with the events, these activities began in 1999 at Avon East Elementary School with Science Week enriching the science curriculum and Science Night being an alternative to the traditional science fair. The goal of the science-focused evening, Science Night, was to bring the community and the students together to experience science in a very real and meaningful way.  The initial Science Night was a success and continued to grow over the last nine years.  Last year, over 40 presenters came to share their educational displays.  Science Night allowed students to tour a variety of stations, participate in the science related activities, and interview presenters.  Some of this year’s presenters will be from NASA, Lorain County Health Department, Lorain County Metroparks, Avon Fire/Police Departments, CommuterAir, PolyOne/Lubrizol, and the Director of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo!  Even Gary Broadbent, a motivational speaker, will be there presenting the science of his boomerangs!

 To kick off Science Week, students will participate in the COSI on Wheels Program March 4-6th.    This program will allow students to take part in motivating, hands-on sessions which will extend their existing scientific knowledge.  This year’s topic is called “Astounding Astronomy!”.   During the assembly, the following concepts will be explored:

·        The sizes and distances between the planets in our solar system

·        The electromagnetic spectrum

·        The extreme cold of the outer planets and deep space

·        How the Earth is the only planet we know of that contains life

After an assembly, parent volunteers will facilitate the learning experiences at individual stations where the students participate in hands-on activities.

Highlights of Science Week include daily Science “Connectors” distributed to students, assemblies, and Science Night.  There is also a science trivia questions asked daily.  Fifth grade students wrote letters to local businesses, who contribute the prizes for the randomly drawn winners of this “Question of the Day” contest.  We have OVER 30 prizes each day for the students-ALL donated!!

Both Science Night and Science Week could not exist without community support, parent volunteer support, and financial support from Avon Endowment Fund and Avon Heritage Boosters.  Collaboration by the school and community help to make the events successful.  For further information about Science Week and Science Night, please contact Mrs. Stephanie Reichert (440-937-9660) or Miss Amy Rottman (440-937-9660), the teachers coordinating the events.