Pacheco High science teachers Damanpreet Sarai and Carissa Griffith and their students created a Science Wax Museum, held in the Brett Lee Gym on May 18, open to the students of Grasslands Elementary and Pacheco High.
With the simple ring of a bell, the students brought historical pioneers of science to life from Aristotle to Oppenheimer and told kids about their figure’s groundbreaking inventions and discoveries that contributed to our modern understanding of science, all while donned in creative costume.
Weeks in advance, students chose the person they wanted to embody and researched into their early, middle, and later lives.
Utilizing that information, they crafted creative poster boards, props, and a 30 to 60 second speech highlighting the important details of their chosen person’s life.
On the day of the event, Grasslands students filled out various colored bingo cards with a specific roster of characters that they were to visit and listen to. Once the figure gave their speech, they stamped the student’s cards, and the student moved on to the next character on their bingo card.
When completed, the child signed their name on the card and turned it in to win fun prizes to conclude their fun-filled morning.
I was one of the biology students who took part in this event. The figure I portrayed was an African American ophthalmologist and philanthropist, Patricia Bath, whose invention of the Laserphaco Probe utilized laser technology to revolutionize cataract removal surgery (cloudy areas forming in eye lenses resulting in blurred vision).
Initially, the large group of children crowding the booths was a bit intimidating, but the more I gave my speech and saw children excited to learn about my character, the more excited I became.
Throughout the event, I learned to have fun with my speech and improvise a little to make things more exciting (the laser pointer I had certainly helped to spice things up a bit).
Ultimately, I was proud to teach children about an African American figure in history, and I was delighted to see them learn from all of my friends.
My favorite part of the event was when the children asked more questions regarding Patricia and her accomplishments or when they excitedly chimed in with their own information. These kids have a bright future ahead of them if they continue with this thirst for knowledge.
