Building Education

The Importance of Early Education

About 30 students at Henry Ferguson Elementary School, Accokeek broke up into small groups and put on safety gear as they learned hands-on basics about pH balance and mixing acids and bases for almost an hour.

Here are some curious reactions from the young students:

• Ten-year old Camille Jones, a fourth-grader from Accokeek, wondered what the acid would taste like.
• On the other hand, 10-year old Gabriel O’Harran, Camille’s classmate, was definite that he would not drink the liquid at all because it was acid.

Chemistry Day at Accokeek School saw fun and science go hand-in-hand. For parents and teachers who think that chemistry was an uninteresting and complex subject for students, especially during higher years, the activity was both meaningful and effective for they saw that the students actually enjoyed.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in partnership with the American Chemical Society, arranged the Chemistry Day programs in classes in the whole region to familiarize grade school students with chemistry, which is a subject usually included in middle and high schools.

Tima Banks, one of the school’s parents, who is also a chemical engineer, said that since chemistry deals with a lot of math, students are usually apprehensive if taught to them at a younger age.

Banks added that science for the grade school is limited to space, the environment, and animals; she expressed hopes that the students will soon start to have a different perspective of it.

However, for the young students, mixing chemicals and watching the neutralized liquids change its colors was an amazing show. The transformation kept them glued to the lab beakers. It was both an educational and fun experience for them.

Nicholas Ohlson, a Ferguson teacher, said that interactive lessons like Chemistry Day help children retain and build on education they have learned.

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