Students from Paragon Charter Academy recently joined forces with Mad Science of Detroit to host their annual Science Fair, where students engaged with hands-on, interactive, science experiments.
Sixth- through eighth-grade students from the school, in collaboration with the school’s Robotics Club, presented their inquiry-based experiments during the event. Paragon’s teachers worked alongside a representative from Mad Science of Detroit, which allowed students to explore interactive learning stations focused on STEM curriculum.
“When students have the opportunity to explore engineering practices and state-of-the-art technologies in addition to traditional math and science concepts, they are more likely to pursue STEM-related careers,” said Sue Delie, dean of middle school at Paragon. “Our Science Fair offers students the opportunity to explore the investigative process with a scientific question of their choice.”
Activities included a Superball Station, where scholars learned the science behind chemical change and polymers as they created their own bouncing superball. Students also explored potential and kinetic energy, the laws of motion, and other forces such as gravity and inertia by using catapults, rubber band boats, tornado tubes, and vortex experiments at the Super Physics Station.
About Paragon Charter Academy
Paragon Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Jackson, Michigan, serving students in Young 5s through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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