Embedded Files
Peaks and Potentials MSU Camp
Students measure the flow of Mandeville Creek
Montana State University runs a camp for high achieving 5th-7th graders on campus. I instructed a class for an hour and a half each day for the week called " From Mountains to Faucets: Water's Incredible Journey". Every activity was hand ons and I developed the activities, created supplies lists and created observation sheets. Activites for the class included measuring pH, testing mystery waters, measuring flow, learning from a city of Bozeman water conservation specialist, understanding flow rates of a sink with and without an aerator, viewing real USGS flow data, calculating your water footprint and more.
I started in a.pdfA student describes the path their water droplet took for a water cycle game. See Incredible Journey below.
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea.docxObservations sheet for pH activity
Mystery Water Data Sheet.docxData sheet for mystery water activity
incredblejourney.pdfProject WET guide I adapted for the class detailing the complexity of the water cycle
float_worksheet.pdfFlow rate measuring activity
Water Festivals/ Butterfly Pea Flower Tea
At USGS, Aurora Water, Peaks and Potentials camp, for a graduate level class and in family member's classroom, I have developed and taught a pH activity to 3-5th graders (and graduate students!) based on a activity detailed in Naimi et al 2024. Butterfly pea flower tea changes colors and acts as a pH indicator. Students are so excited to experiment with pH and connect these concepts to their drinking water and local rivers, streams and reservoirs.
Naimi W, Vinnacombe-Willson GA, Saldana S, Ronduen L, Domjan H, Chiang N. Teaching Acid-Base Fundamentals and Introducing pH using Butterfly Pea Flower Tea. J Chem Educ. 2024 Mar 12;101(3):1373-1378. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c01058. Epub 2024 Feb 9. PMID: 38516052; PMCID: PMC10956649.
The Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop
I worked at the Eli Whitney Museum from age 13 through college on weekends and teaching summer camp. At the museum, I worked in a team to design and manufacture projects for fun and engaging STEM curriculum and then taught summer camps using these same tools. I developed projects and had multiple leadership roles. I loved working with the other museum team members toward a shared goal of getting kids excited about science. In particular, the museum director encouraged my creativity and ingenuity and became an important mentor. He fostered a variety of teaching and technical skills, but perhaps most importantly, showed me the power of asking specific question which could get me great answers. I’ve never stopped asking questions, which has led to my exploration of science and my current Ph.D. program and is something I hope to inspire the next generation.
https://www.eliwhitney.org
Credit: Eli Whitney Museum
Me and my brother in the Eli Whitney Musuem and Wrokshop space.
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