Discovery on Wheels takes science on the road

WEST POINT — It's comparable to a carnival, only instead of coming away with a bellyache and motion sickness, students leave with a better understanding of how the world of science connects to everyday life.

Discovery on Wheels, a traveling hands-on science center operated by Utah State University Extension and Utah 4-H, made a stop at Lakeside Elementary in West Point this week.

The center is designed to bring the state science curriculum to life. With its bright colors and 35 different interactive exhibits, excited students couldn't seem to get enough of the activities and games.

Among other stations, the center had velocity ramps to illustrate gravity and speed, rock formation exhibits, earthquake simulators showing how buildings are affected in earthquakes, bridge and arch building, a gravity well and a star lab.

"I think the best thing about it is the students going from a boring textbook to hands on," said Kendal Bates, Discovery on Wheels site coordinator. "It puts a face on what they have been learning."

Lakeside Elementary PTA funded the event, which cost about $1,100. PTA President Julie Lundell said it is something every school should experience.

"Anything we can do to make their learning more exciting and more hands-on is important," she said. "This is something we could do for the whole school but (which) an individual teacher could never do in their classroom."

Science teachers at the school said Discovery on Wheels is an extremely effective learning tool because, unlike reading from a textbook, the concepts they learn at the center are directly applied in the exhibits. And students remember the concepts.

"I have kids come tell me 'I don't really like science,' " said sixth-grade science teacher Renee Nicholls. "I always tell them, 'How can you not like it, everything in the whole world is science,' and when they see these things like this they learn how science plays a role."

Discovery on Wheels will be at Lakeside until Friday and will host a parents night on Thursday from 5-7 p.m., when families are invited to participate.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com