It's Slime Time for Kid Scientists

from MSU News Service

5/30/01

            Missoula--Pat Murphy is glowing with pride--And who wouldn't be, if their snail had just had babies? Murphy says that if someone had told her last year that she'd soon become a registered snail handler, she might have been surprised. But not shocked--after all, slimy stuff is all in a day's work when you are pulling together a program that gets kids excited about science.

            Murphy, Montana State University's 4-H Extension agent in Missoula County, oversees Science ROCKS, which stands for Reaching Out Creatively to Kids in Science. The program brings the fun of hands-on scientific discovery to students. Through a nonprofit program called Flagship that coordinates after-school activities in many Missoula schools, 4-H stirs a scientific flavor into the afternoon activity mix.

            According to Murphy, the snails are very popular.

            "They're really big. They're huge snails. The kids love them. You can get them to do lots of things."

            Like snail races. "They'll crawl pretty quickly. We get them wet to be more active," says Murphy, who sincerely enjoys her slippery subjects.

            Kids also get to predict a snail's food preferences and whether a slimy snail can crawl over different surfaces, like sandpaper. In the process of finding out, boys and girls learn about snail physiology and behavior and strengthen their own views of themselves as scientists.

            In the snail circus portion of the class, the snails pull matchbook cars and walk tight ropes. Yes, a snail can walk a tight rope, but how do you motivate it?

            "With food!" says Murphy. "They'll eat cheese; they love lettuce and pears; they eat dirt; we feed them newspaper. They'll eat almost anything! That's why they're considered such pests." Land snails can grow so numerous that they become pests, which explains why Murphy was required to register as a snail handler with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to legally keep them.

            The idea central to all Science ROCKS activities is to let kids dive into learning and get them to understand that when you are thinking and experimenting, you are a scientist! By encouraging kids to ask questions like "What if…" and then letting them discover the answers by experimenting and observing the results, the program reinforces the idea that the word "scientist" doesn't have to mean "somebody else," it can mean "you," says Murphy. In putting together Science ROCKS, Missoula County 4-H has chosen materials created by a variety of specialists, such as Youth Experiences in Science (YES), from Davis, California 4-H and Wonderwise, from Nebraska 4-H.

            Part of the success of YES is that it was intentionally designed by curriculum developers to be presented by volunteers. The emphasis on volunteer training allows community members to get involved in delivering the material to the kids.

            "A lot of mentoring goes on," says Murphy. In reaching school children, the program also teaches community members and future teachers how to connect with kids and get excited about science. Right now, volunteers from the University of Montana and Missoula high schools put on three eight-week classes each year under the direction of volunteer coordinator Aaron Buzzas. Buzzas was hired through an Americorps Volunteer Montana grant to keep this whole project rolling.

            Or slithering, as the case may be.

            "We just finished Kitchen Science, based on the five senses," said Murphy. She said the kids loved it when ordinary kitchen stuff like grape juice, baking soda and vinegar made foam and bubbles. When all of a sudden things started fizzing like crazy, the young scientists were eager to find out what would happen if they tried various combinations. Through all the foaming and fizzing, the bottom line was getting them to understand observation and prediction: getting them excited about science. Other themes include "Recycl-A-Saurus" and a very popular class that literally takes students inside bubbles to learn about their properties.

            For middle school ages, Science ROCKS includes a program called Wonderwise. It features women scientists in a curriculum that lets sixth grade students explore things like aquatic biology or the rainforest through the eyes of interesting and highly motivated people. In the segment entitled "Sea Otter Biologist" kids learn from Dr. Brenda Ballachey, a wildlife biologist in Alaska. They learn about sea otter behavior and the effects oil spills have on wildlife. They get to watch Ballachey in action on videotape and see what makes her passionate about her work. Missoula is one of several 4-H programs reviewing the Wonderwise material. After approval, these science kits will be available through every MSU Extension agent in Montana.

  Caption: One young scientist cozies up with a snail during an after-school Science ROCKS activity.

Please send  questions or comments (plus your name, location and the subject of the story you read) to Suzi Taylor and Carol Flaherty, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717 or email us at: carolf@montana.edu.

You are the 10810th person to access this page.