A high school teacher in Springfield wants to be sure children have lots of opportunities to learn about science. So, he’s offering classes where kids get hands-on experience. KSMU’s Michele Skalicky has more.
Three times a month since May, Rob Powers has turned himself into “Professor Powers” and taught science classes to kids at the Creamery Arts Center. Sign up was slow at first, but, since word about the programs has spread, they’ve begun to fill up fast. Powers says the classes grew out of his love for science.
"I just enjoy talking about science all the time (laughs). I'm kind of a science nerd," he said.
Powers, who teaches physics and chemistry at Hillcrest High School, saw a need for science classes outside of the school setting—for home-schooled kids as well as students who want extra exposure to science.
The classes cover a variety of topics.
"For example, ones that we've done in the past and that we're going to run again in the future--we've done Newton's Laws where we get to talk about the Laws of Motion and talk a little bit about physics and stuff and let the kids do experiments involving pendulums and pulling tablecloths out from under plates and things like that, and we've done food science, which was an awful lot of fun because we actually got to eat the results of our experiments," he said.
Each class is about an hour long. They’re offered to kids six to 18-years-old and cost $10 each.
Powers says he’s pleased to see a mix of both girls and boys in his classes. He hopes the kids learn to love science as much as he does.
"It's always fun to see kids' attitudes at the beginning of the class compared to their attitudes at the end because some kids aren't that excited to be there at first and then once they get to see what they are doing for that day they get really into it, and usually by the end the kids are really excited and happy and kind of sad to leave, which is fun to see," he said.
Classes start back up on August 16th. To find out more, click here.
