Riverside Elementary pupils delved deep into space exploration this week, taking a ride through the Milky Way galaxy and channeling their inner astronauts in hands-on, interactive activities during two special events that took place Thursday, Feb. 27, and Friday, Feb. 28.
Thursday night, the elementary school hosted its annual STREAM Night and Art Show, with the theme, “Reach for the Stars,” which was attended by a record number of more than 155 students and parents. Many staff members, as well as high school students, worked together to make this night spectacular, allowing for hands-on learning in science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math and music. An art display featuring projects created by preschoolers through fourth-graders Abby Steinke’s art classes were part of the evening as well.
“STREAM Night was a big hit and allowed parents to explore many space-themed activities with their children,” school officials said.
The week was capped off with a mobile planetarium visit Friday by Mobile Ed Production’s SkyDome Planetarium, led by presenter Doc Grist of Columbus. The special visit was made possible funds from the AAUW Grant provided by the Logan County Education Foundation and supplemented with funds from the Riverside PTO.
Students and their teachers climbed inside the inflatable planetarium and blasted off for a tour of all the planets in the Milky Way, as narrated by Grist, who presents this program and several others as an independent contractor through Mobile Ed Productions in five different states. Throughout the past week, he’s been to other Ohio schools in Lancaster, Youngstown and New Albany, and next week, Grist is heading to several schools in Michigan.
A retired Columbus City Schools theater teacher, he holds a Ph.D. in leadership from Antioch University and is greatly enjoying this “retirement gig” for the past four years.
“It’s great because I still get to interact with the kids. Only this is easier than teaching — we get to have fun in our assembly and then I send them back to class; it’s a little like being a grandparent in that way,” he said with a laugh.
Sharing about astronauts and research conducted by NASA, he told the Riverside pupils that the chance for expanded space exploration in their future is a real possibility.
“By the time you’re in college, just think of all of the opportunities there will be. If it’s something you want to do for a career, keep your options in mind,” he said, also showcasing the $22 million NASA space suits that are worn by current astronauts, which weigh about 280 pounds each (but are manageable when weightless in space with less gravity).
The journey through outer space began with a look at the constellations, with Grist noting how the ancient Babylonians used constellations to mark important times of the year and to make predictions about the future. Some of the constellations they used include the Crab, the Lion, the Twins and the Bull, which were displayed in a rainbow of colors on the planetarium ceiling.
Then the students traveled to the sun and to each of the planets in their order from the sun, beginning with Mercury and the hottest planet Venus and continuing to home sweet home, Earth.
On Mars, pupils learned that scientists have determined that the Red Planet previously supported life.
“We’re able to study Mars to find out what happened there, so that the same thing doesn’t happen on Earth,” Grist said “We don’t go to outer space just because it’s fun; we also go to learn something.
“So far, we’ve only scratched the surface of what we know in outer space.”
Their travels then took them to Jupiter, Grist’s favorite planet, checking out Jupiter’s beautiful moons, and also stopping by Saturn and its mesmerizing rings. Finally, their trip concluded at the ice planets — Uranus and Neptune, and now dwarf planet Pluto.
Grist encouraged the students as they get older, to never lose their love of playing pretend and exploration.
“Keep using your imaginations; we need you to take us to a new planet or a new galaxy,” he said.
