Students Learn Lessons in Science and Teamwork

By Sarah Bahari, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

COLLEYVILLE - Long after the other cars had sputtered, slowed and taken their last, labored breath, Car 5 was still zipping across the gym floor.

Team 5 leader Josh Reber crawled on his hands and knees behind the car, shouting encouragement. His teammates stood on the sidelines yelling, "Go 5! Go 5! Go 5!"

The secret to 5's win in the longevity race? Baking it underneath a solar lamp for a long time gave it an extra dose of energy.

"We realized that would cause the hydrogen and oxygen to split more, making it go farther," said Josh, 13.

Houses have used solar energy for heating and cooling for decades, and high school physics teachers have been talking about the technology for what seems like forever. Scientists are hard at work on the prototype for a full-size solar car.

So Crown of Life Lutheran School in Colleyville decided to join the work.

The assignment this week was simple: Create a solar car - one that works. The big race was scheduled for Friday morning in the school's gymnasium. Nine teams would compete.

While building, problems ranged from small "the car wouldn't go fast enough” to big ”the car wouldn't go at all."

The back wheels of Team 4's car kept sliding across the floor.

Team members pondered the problem. They tried gluing the wheel and tire together, but that didn't do it. Then they placed plastic washers "to reduce friction” around the wheels.

Bingo.

On Friday, Car 4 zoomed across the floor faster than the rest, beating Team 5 by about three seconds.

"It went faster than we expected," said Team 4 member Jonathan Long, 14.

After the race, when all the cars ran out of steam, the winning teams were crowned with medals adorned with toy cars.

TCC President Dunks Crown of Life Middle School Students

Dr. Larry Darlage, President of Tarrant County College Northeast Campus, recently hosted middle school students, teachers, and parents from Crown of Life Lutheran School, Colleyville, for a day of scientific water experiments at his backyard pool.

"I enjoy the teaching and learning process and particularly enjoy working with students that have inquisitive minds," Dr. Darlage said. "Most kids at the elementary and middle school levels still have this burning desire to learn how things work. I enjoy sharing this with people that are interested in knowing about the way the universe works."

The students studied the density of objects by measuring the mass and volume of each and predicted whether the objects would sink or float. They used a device to measure water pressure at one, two, three, and four feet, then constructed a graph to determine the water pressure at the bottom of the pool. One of the instructors, equipped with a scuba diving outfit, took the water pressure device to the bottom of the pool to check the graphing results.

Jennifer Gillam, a science teacher at Crown of Life Lutheran School, said her students get extra opportunities to do this type of experiential learning because of smaller class sizes. "We have high standards, and our kids excel because we set them up for success," Mrs. Gillam said.

The students' favorite part of the day was discovering their own buoyancy in water by determining their own mass and volume. Sixth grade student Carter Berry said, "We got to dunk ourselves in a trash barrel under water. It was so cool!"

"Most of these experiments could not be done in a classroom setting. It is impossible, for example, to demonstrate the effects of buoyancy on a human body without a large container of water," stated Dr. Darlage who holds an A.B. in chemistry and math, a PhD in Organic Chemistry, and is a member of Crown of Life Lutheran Church.