April 27, 2018

On Friday, April 20, 2018 the DragonsTeach Student Organization (DTSO) hosted an Earth Day Fair for 3rd-5th grade students at Greenfield Elementary School. Eight undergraduate STEM majors organized STEM activities such as “cloud in a jar” and “oil spill clean-up” to help younger students understand different environmental processes. Greenfield students were also able to discover their carbon footprint and write a pledge to care for the environment.

Jackie Ng, Environmental Science major stated, “The oil spill clean-up activity involved a pan with water and a mixture of oil and cocoa powder. We recreated an ‘oil spill’ and had the students try to extract as much oil from the pan as they could using materials like spoons and paper towels. This activity demonstrated the harmful effects of the continued use natural gas (since oil is really hard to clean up and affects the water bodies and local wildlife). The banner was a huge success and we even left it at the school for them to hang in one of their hallways. One of the teachers really loved the Carbon Footprint worksheet, while another liked the oil spill activity. The kids had fun with our activities and were very knowledgeable so they contributed a lot as we explained different concepts.”