The 5th and 6th grade students participated in a science lab in collaboration with high school students and staff from Saint James School, a traditional co-ed Episcopal boarding school located in Hagerstown, Maryland.
As the Maryland students were planning their weekend of service at St James School, math department head Kate Cerruti graciously suggested lab equipment could be brought from Maryland to allow the Philadelphia students a chance to experience a temperature lab they would not otherwise have been able to complete.
Less than a week later, 11 high school students arrived with hotplates, beakers, ring stands, thermometers and lots of patience! The students worked in groups of two with a lab assistant from the Maryland school at their side, helping them gather and record temperature readings, make observations and enhance their understanding of how temperature affects molecular movement.
The lab was a wonderful experience for both St. James School and Saint James School. One fifth grader summed it best when he said, “When are they coming back? I want to do labs like this every week!”
