BY CAROL MOSLEY
Special to the Telegraph
Once again, the Science Bus of the Cultural Arts Coalition made a visit to Bradford County. This time campers at the RJE Center got the chance to tinker with experiments and demonstration items.
Thirty students rotated in groups of ten through three stations. Paul Still and Ok Sun Burks from Bradford Soil and Water Conservation District demonstrated how different soils seep water. First the campers were encouraged to feel five different moist soil textures, ranging from sand to clay. Then they were instructed to pick a card for the type of soil they think would “win the race” to drain water through it.
As they watched the water seep through, those with the winning cards squealed. Still talked about which soil would be best for a garden. He also had turtle shells to show along with two types of cypress trees. Still left enough cypress trees for each camper to take one home at the end of the day.
Capt. Kevin Mueller from the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office gave a workshop with handouts on “stranger danger,” because it’s crucial that youngsters be aware of signs of danger and know how to cope with any strange situation they might encounter.
The Science Bus is always a big hit. Science Director Marvin Wilson encourages the visitors to “touch everything.” The converted yellow school bus has counters along the side of the bus with the science demonstration models laid out on top. The different objects set out for exploring have names such as Plasma Ball, Upside Down Inversion Goggles, Music Bottles and Biology Through a Microscope. The Clean Water experiment is a plastic tower that represents the different layers of rock and soil that lead down to the aquifer, our source of drinking water in Florida. The students insert eyedroppers full of dirty water and watch as it seeps through the layers, coming out clear at the bottom.
According to Alica McMillian, president of Concerned Citizens of Bradford County and director of the summer day camp, the campers were “ecstatic” over the opportunity to learn new things about science.
“They talked about it all day long,” she said.
County Commissioner Carolyn Spooner, who initiated the request to have the Science Bus visit the camp, gleefully claimed, “I think I had as much fun as the kids did!”
“They had a great time and were fascinated by the many things they saw and experienced doing,” she said. “I love science, and it was one of my favorite subjects as a kid in school back in the day. [It] brought back many childhood memories for me, like when we collected water samples from nearby ponds and looked at paramecium and amoeba on slides under a microscope.”
The visit was made possible by donations from local Bradford Environmental Forum and Bradford Soil and Water Conservation District Board. Regional funding came from Our Santa Fe River and the Suwanee/St. Johns Chapter of the Sierra Club.
