2/14/08
Parents, students and teachers team together for MJHS science, math Fun Night
By Eric Goold

ERIC GOOLD/Manning Times

Manning Junior High seventh graders Nia Strothers (seated, left) and T’Erra Felder (standing, left) work a booth at the annual science and math Fun Night last Tuesday evening. The young scientists taught about ph levels and acid bases in their booth.

There was something for everyone at the annual Manning Junior High School science and math Fun Night last Tuesday evening in the junior high gym.

Want to learn about plants? Go to booth one. Ever wondered about snowflake crystals and how they form? Take a look at booth two.

Or you can learn about gravity, acid and pH levels, computers and the seasonal rotations of the earth, sun and moon. If you have a hankering for stargazing, there were even some telescopes set up outside.

Or you could go the old fashioned route and play some science and math Jeopardy.

It was all part of the annual event at the junior high, where seventh and eighth grade students helped conduct experiments in the booths along with their teachers. Younger students and their parents walked around and learned just like the students learn during class.

Manning Junior High Principal J. Preston Threatt came fully prepared for the evening and wore a custom Manning Junior High science laboratory coat.

“This has become an annual event,” said Threatt. “It started with math and science, but incorporates all of our departments like agricultural science, visual arts and special education. Everybody participates.”

The school faculty pitched in and donated over 100 door prizes to hand out to families, which were admitted to the event for free. The whole purpose was to educate parents and students about the science and math programs at the junior high.

“We want to get students and parents interested and motivated in the sciences,” said Threatt, who himself minored in biology in college. “This helps everyone focus on math and science and allows us to offer our support.”

South Carolina is like most states in America, where science and math education is slipping and students are losing interest in those vital subjects.

“Events like these offer a way to encourage students and parents to get involved,” said Marian Marlowe, a math and science coach at the junior high. “Parents get to experience exactly what their children experience. It’s important to create hands-on, minds-on experiments that engage student learning and don’t just come out of a boring textbook.”

Marlowe came to Manning Junior High from the South Carolina Coalition for Math and Science with the help of a grant from Clemson Extension Services.

“I serve the science and math teachers here,” said Marlowe, who helped direct the Fun Night. “My primary goal is to coach teachers and serve as a science consultant.”

The Fun Night originally came about after the tireless efforts from a former science teacher at Manning Junior High.

Peggy Brewer, who worked for many years as an eighth grade science teacher before she retired, played an instrumental role in making the Fun Night a reality and her passion for science education was spoken of throughout the evening.

Nia Strothers and T’Erra Felder were two seventh graders from Manning Junior High who got first-hand experience in one of the booths, teaching families and students about pH levels and acid bases.

“It’s fun running these experiments,” said Strothers. “Social studies is my favorite class but I enjoy learning about science, too.”

Felder also liked working in the booth.

“It’s fun to be part of it,” she said.