Kids Growing To Like Science

By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 7, 2008

TOWN - 'N COUNTRY - Adrian Morris can describe the surface of the moon, the distance between it and Earth and why astronauts have to wear puffy suits.

The 10-year-old has about "a million" books on the moon and enough knowledge that might make him a good candidate for a lunar mission. But he's not sure whether he could handle a rough re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere if he were to become an astronaut.

"I hate roller coasters," he said.

Bay Crest Elementary teacher Ruth Jones brought the moon into Adrian's fifth-grade classroom last month, allowing students to scrutinize moon rocks, create craters and compare space seeds to Earth ones.

She hopes her enthusiasm rubs off on her students.

"I love science, and I'm really interested in space," Jones said. "That's their future - more lunar exploration, going to Mars."

A mixture of flour and colored sand substituted for the moon's surface in class. Students could see how craters form by dropping marbles into flour from varying heights.

Note how smooth the lunar surface looks before the craters hit, Jones told the class. "Except for handprints," she joked.

The students also are testing how basil seeds that went into space on a shuttle mission grow compared with seeds that never left Earth. NASA sent Bay Crest and other schools that volunteered seeds that educator Barbara Morgan brought back from the International Space Station last year.

The students planted the shuttle's seeds and Earth-bound ones in Styrofoam cups in dirt containing no organic matter - mimicking what might be found on the moon. So far the space seeds are growing taller than their Earth counterparts.

Space is a regular part of the fifth-grade Earth Science, but Jones took it to another level with help from NASA. She has attended training through NASA and signed up to participate in the seed experiment. She also has attended a special workshop that certified her to show moon rocks to her classes.

A national treasure, the rock fragments arrived suspended in a clear disk with a soft case. NASA allows Jones to borrow them for two weeks with the requirement that she have them with her or locked up at all times.

Jones asked for volunteers to serve as "museum curators" to show the moon rocks to classes. Adrian and Christy Eng, 10, researched the moon and wrote facts in a journal so they could teach other Bay Crest students.

Christy said she volunteered because she was curious about the galaxy.

"Sometimes you look up and see the planets and stuff and wonder what they're made of," she said.

She and Adrian learned the temperature fluctuates on the moon because it has no atmosphere and that the lunar surface lacks the organic material found in Earth's soil. They shared what they learned with the other classes and answered questions.

Adrian said kindergartners have the most questions. Some want to know whether the moon is made of cheese.

"No cheese has ever been found on the moon," Adrian said.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.