First Graders Explore the Saint Louis Science Center

By Laura Pupillo, Lower School Science Teacher

What a great day first graders had at the St. Louis Science Center on Thursday, May 11. Students got to view a planetarium show called The Little Star That Could which was a perfect review of what we’ve learned about our solar system and our very own „average“ sun. I loved hearing the kids point out different constellations; they are all budding astronomers! Through our planetarium showing, we learned about the color of stars and which color is coolest to hottest. In addition, we learned about the sun’s gravity, supernovas, the Milky Way Galaxy, and our own eight planets, including two dwarf planets, Pluto and Ceres.

 

While exploring the other parts of the museum, we stepped back into the Paleozoic Era through the displays of ancient time periods and the many fossils. Seeing the 1.5-ton rock slab covered in horseshoe crabs and other fossils from St. Louis was pretty fascinating. The students especially enjoyed seeing the giant creatures of the past. Next, we entered the Mesozoic Era and got to see the life-size dinosaurs as well as some real dinosaur bones.

Moving on, we enjoyed connecting to what we have learned about chickens and plants. Seeing the adult chickens and the spring plants in full production mode was a great connection to our studies. We had baby chicks hatch last week, which made seeing grown chickens extra exciting. Furthermore, we got to climb into a giant combine and imagine the view many farmers have when they’re harvesting crops.

A trip to the Science Center is never complete without running in the energizer wheel. Students equally enjoyed watching the balls travel overhead while discussing force and motion.

Thank you to JK-12 Science Department Chair & Upper School Science Teacher Paul Zahller, our fantastic first-grade teachers, and our fabulous parent volunteers for helping make this trip possible.