It would be hard to find a kid who doesn’t like experimenting.
Scientists and Innovators in the Schools is a program developed to encourage students to become aspiring engineers, technologists, scientists and technicians. It brings real scientists into schools and gives students the chance to perform real experiments while learning in a fun way. The program is offered to students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 all across B.C. in conjunction with Science World.
Last Wednesday, Vermilion Forks School had the opportunity to introduce the students to David Williams an electrical engineer who has done some pretty cool things in his career. Williams has designed computer chips to enhance music and helped with the refinement of the smartboard. Now Williams is an instructor at Okanagan College. This was his first session with younger students and he soon had them all deeply engaged in the world of energy.
The session was called Electricity and Energy. Williams brought in a bunch of experimental electrical boards that created sounds, light and could create self propelled energy. The boards were used to show how power can alter results in an interactive way.
Students were made to think. “Why is electricity important? Where does it come from? What is energy?” Williams asked questions and then gave simple examples to show results. “Energy can be converted from one form to another,” he said. Students were asked to stand up then sit down. “Your energy comes from food converted into motion. Solar converts from sun to electrical energy. There are many ways energy is converted.”
“Science is fun,” stated Williams at the end. “It’s cool and it’s magic. We don’t know why it works—it is such a mystery. We can predict what’s going to happen and present all sorts of equations for predicting an outcome, but the why is a mystery.”