“I want to be a scientist or engineer when I grow up, so this is great,” said Hunter Thompson, a third-grade student at Spring Hill Elementary in Huntington. “I really like meteorology because the weather changes all the time.”
Lauren Arvon, Thompson’s teacher at Spring Hill Elementary, said some of her students had been looking forward to the Sky Festival for days. “In the classroom, we study basic concepts of subjects like math, English, and science,” Arvon said. “This opportunity allows my students to see a broader view and real-life applications of scientific methods.”
Mandee Wilson, a research associate/outreach coordinator with the College of Science, was teaching students about the implications of nonpoint source pollution and acid rain. She said she hopes students walk away from her activity armed with knowledge and the desire to have a positive effect.
“I feel the more they learn as children, the more they’ll change their habits as adults to be more responsible,” Wilson said.
Dr. Charles Somerville, dean of the College of Science, said the hope was that children would engage in science. “Whether they plan to go into the field or not, I think learning about science—the effects of runoff, actually observing a sunspot—is exciting for them, and it’s exciting for us,” Somerville said.
Equipped with a telescope and a filter to view the sun, Dr. Brian Kinghorn, assistant professor in the College of Education and Professional Development, showed the students a speck of black on the surface of the sun and explained that in reality it is a massive storm. He provided students with a pair of glasses that enables direct solar viewing.
“I’ve been telling students to use these glasses during the Total Solar Eclipse in August,” Kinghorn said.
Local meteorologist Brandon Stover, as well as partners from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Natural Resources joined students, along with faculty members from the university’s College of Science and College of Education and Professional Development.
The Sky Festival event was sponsored by The National Science Foundation grant (EPSCoR RII Track-1: Gravitational Wave Astronomy and the Appalachian Freshwater Initiative award).
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Photos: (Above) Dylan Dial, a third grader at Nichols Elementary in Barboursville, West Virginia, observes a storm on the sun’s surface through a telescope with a special filter. (Middle) During the Sky Festival, Mandee Wilson, a research associate/outreach coordinator with Marshall University’s College of Science, (far right) used a model to teach area elementary students about acid rain and nonpoint source pollution in watersheds and the pollution’s effect on streams via precipitation. (Below) Students from Cabell and Lincoln counties were able to ask questions during their time at one of fourteen stations at Marshall University’s Sky Festival.