Students in the Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy (BCSVA) Science Club recently traded screens for hands-on discovery during an in-person learning experience with KidSenses Children’s Interactive Museum.
Students in grades K-6 participated in two interactive activities: “3, 2, 1 Blastoff!” and “Light Up the Dark.” During the rocket challenge, students explored force and motion by designing, building, and launching their own paper rockets. The exciting lesson demonstrated push and pull, gravity, patterns of movement, and Newton’s Laws of Motion.
In the circuits-based activity, students constructed their own “lightsabers,” gaining hands-on experience with electrical circuits, a key component of North Carolina’s elementary science standards.
For BCSVA students, who primarily learn in a virtual setting, the opportunity to collaborate face-to-face added an extra layer of value.
“This collaboration with KidSenses offered a fantastic opportunity for our students to engage in hands-on science, which has been the primary focus of our social meetups this year,” said Kim Ransom, BCSVA third and fourth grade teacher. “It was especially vital for our virtual students to have this face-to-face setting where they could practice problem-solving and develop crucial social skills alongside their peers.”
As first grader Eli enthusiastically shared about the rocket activity, “My favorite part was the rocket because you get to shoot them!”
