A ‘Traveling Science Show’ For St Rose Students

By Eliza Hallabeck

St Rose of Lima students learned a bit of history along with different aspects of science when Paul Taylor displayed the Franklin Institute’s Traveling Science Show in the school’s Gathering Hall on Wednesday, April 25.

Mr Taylor explained at the start of his presentation for kindergarten through second grade students that they were about to experience a science show about flight.

The show was kicked off with Mr Taylor sending a bird contraption, fashioned after a design by Leonardo da Vinci, soaring above the students’ heads. Laughs and shrieks filled the school’s Gathering Hall as the contraption landed among the students, softly on the ground.

Mr Taylor explained the Earth is so big it pulls everything down by a force is called gravity.

Another demonstration Mr Taylor shared with the students showed why the first gas used to fill a balloon to make it lighter than air was dangerous. When Mr Taylor brought a heat source toward his balloon, it burst into flames, igniting a response from the students. The first gas used to fill balloons was hydrogen, Mr Taylor explained.

Throughout Mr Taylor’s show students learned a mix of history with the science behind flight.