Science is Hands On at Mountain Park Elementary

Students at Mountain Park Elementary School (MPE) in Roswell are excited about science - really excited.

As one of only two elementary schools in North Fulton to offer a dedicated science lab as a unique twist to science education, the MPE Science Lab is run by award winning Georgia Tech faculty member, principal research scientist, and MPE parent Michael Knotts, Ph.D. With the help of parent volunteers, Knotts allows students to join in a science discovery on a scientific concept rather than reading about it in a book.

"I thought there was something missing in the way science is usually taught, and that bothered me," said Knotts. "We often teach facts and call that science, but science is not just a collection of facts. It is a method of asking questions, conducting analysis, and solving problems."

The program at Mountain Park started out as "Science on a Cart," which encompassed a group of six carts complete with everything needed for experiments for first through third graders. In the 2011-2012 school year, MPE Principal Stacy Perlman offered Knotts a whole room deemed the "Mustang Science Lab." 

The advantage is that classes are able to go to a dedicated room for experiments. To give kids a true sense of science, Knotts created the Fifth Grade Cell Biology Research Experience, an inventive instruction for kids to tackle real science projects in groups of three with a dedicated facilitator. Children worked on a variety of biology of topics given catchy names like "A World in a Drop of Water," "Yucky Poo Organisms of Decay," "Cells Are a Bag of Goo," and "We Eat This Stuff?" When fourth and fifth grades were added, Knotts explains how he thought having them mimic what a scientist does would be a great experience.

In the real world, scientists usually work on topics in which they can obtain funding. They write proposals, design experiments, document their procedures, analyze their results and publish their work or present their findings at scientific conferences.

At MPE, these older students followed a similar process: Choosing a topic, setting up experiments, collecting data and making conclusions. Each group used a digital camera to record their experiments and take pictures through their microscopes. After the final lab session, each classroom held its own scientific conference during which eight or nine teams presented their results to their peers with parents or teachers serving as moderators.

"We tried to keep a distinctly research-oriented flavor,” said Knotts.

Knotts’ inventive three sessions for fifth grade include topics, "A World in a Drop of Water," "Yucky Poo Organisms of Decay," "Multi-cellular Magic," "Cells are a Bag of Goo," "Whose the Cleanest?" "We Eat This Stuff," "Too Much of a Good Thing," and "A Population Explosion." Fourth graders also had an experience more representative of research, during which they focused on a single topic in the science of mechanics for two, hour-long sessions and then presented a demonstration to their classmates while explaining what they learned. Knotts enlisted the help of a Georgia Tech colleague, Jack Wood, to craft instructions for the students and train volunteers.

 Perlman praised Knotts and the incredible volunteer participation for the Mustang Science Lab.

"This has been heavily volunteer -driven," she said. 

In addition to MPE parent and grandparent volunteers (80 percent of volunteers) three Georgia Tech (3 percent of volunteers) and 50 Roswell High School students (17 percent of volunteers) assist. In fact, Mustang Science Lab has become so important that Roswell High School Science National Honor Society students are obligated to volunteer at MPE for Mustang Science Lab.

"A conservative estimate is 250-350 volunteers in total are utilized every year," Perlman said.                                                      

She also recognized Rebecca Meyer, PTA vice president of curriculum enrichment for the Mountain Park PTA, in addition to past volunteers Warren Smith and Kris Mock, who have been pivotal in the success of the Mustang Science Lab.                                     

Knotts and Curt Peterson, former West Virginia University professor with a long history of research, administration, and a skilled plant biologist, worked side by side tirelessly to bring the ‘cell’ lab to fruition, said Meyer.

"They have worked morning and night for six days over a course of three intense weeks, plus they spent an enormous amount of time preparing and testing the labs," she said.

Peterson’s expertise has been a welcome addition to MPE, according to Knotts.

"It’s been an all-consuming but rewarding endeavor. It took very extensive work to pull this together,” said Knotts.

When asked about next year, he said they learned an incredible amount this year and next year will be even better. Although his daughter is moving on to middle school, Knotts and his team will continue to improve and support the MPE Mustang Science Lab and possibly help set up similar opportunities for other schools.

To learn more about the Mustang Science Lab or Mountain Park Elementary in Roswell, go to www.mpes.org.