News

Physics really is 'phun': Program aims to turn kids onto science

  • Published
  • By Julie Imada
  • Air Force Academy research publicist
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Exploding hot dogs, the shock of a human electrical circuit and making lightning are all, well, "awesome!" in the mind of West Elementary third grader Annione Platten.

Two Air Force Academy instructors, Capts. Evelyn Schumer and Justin Spring, visited Annione and his third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classmates Dec. 4 to put on a show as part of the Academy's "Physics is Phun" program, which seeks to excite schoolchildren about physics, science and mathematics.

The Academy instructors arranged several simple physics experiments using a Van de Graff electrostatic charge generator, a Thompson Tower and a vat of liquid nitrogen to demonstrate how fun science can be. With each experiment, the students' excitement level rose, and their desire to participate in the experiments became more palpable.

Captain Schumer, a 2000 Academy graduate, said she got involved with the program because she wanted to change young students' perceptions of science and to serve as a mentor for girls who might consider science "uncool."

"Young ladies and minorities are always told in grade school that they can be anything they want, but it's hard to take that to heart when you rarely see people like you in certain fields," said Captain Schumer, adding that she is aware of the need to offer young people role models to whom they can relate. "I wanted to be part of the 'Physics is Phun' program to ... get them to believe a career in science and math is attainable for them."

To demonstrate the extreme temperature and danger of liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of minus-320 degrees, Captain Schumer placed a hot dog into the liquid nitrogen and then dropped it to the floor, scattering the hotdog into a half dozen pieces. The resulting "whoas" and peals of laughter were tempered by the idea that it's important to be careful around science experiments.

The students who took part in the workshop vied to answer science and math questions and sat awed as the Thompson Tower's electrical current turned on a light bulb underwater.

"Don't do this at home," Captain Spring reminded the children.

The human circuit was the most popular experiment. Using the Van De Graff generator to create a charge, the group held hands in a circle, with one end holding a metal and plastic conductor. When the last person touched the conductor, the electrical charge traveled through the whole group, but if one hand broke the chain, the reaction stopped.

Some of the students leapt at the chance to shock their classmates, but they all laughed, jumped and ran around one another every time one reached out to touch the conductor. They learned that the plastic in the conductor, not the metal, stored the electrical charge. Captain Schumer gathered the crowd around her to listen to the electricity -- the lightning -- that was inside the conductor.

That is the spark the two Academy officers hope catches on with the students as they line up to participate in another "Physics is Phun" experiment.