As we work our way into the last six weeks of the semester, procrastination starts to sneak up on students all over campus. That huge project your professor assigned in the first few weeks of the semester is suddenly almost due. It seems like just yesterday we were returning from Christmas break, bright eyed and ready for another busy semester.
I can say taking 7 classes is starting to catch up with me for sure. Some weeks I have two exams on the same day, followed by at least one more in the week, at least one project or presentation due a week, and a different paper, on top of normal reading and homework... what a crazy semester!
This past weekend, I volunteered through the Honors program to work at the local science fair Trine was hosting. At first I thought it would be pretty boring, but the kids all got really into it, with their adorable little suits and ties, talking about decomposition and solar energy and all sorts of things. They loved everything we were doing for them and we loved working with them.
My particular station was on how to make a biomass gas depressor. Using a graduated cylinder with some water in it, we added beads, to simulate organic materials. Then the kids put a "bacteria" powder into a funnel and down into a party balloon. When I helped them put the balloon over the graduated cylinder, the kids shook the "bacteria" down into the water. This resulted in a reaction that produced a lot of cool fizzing and a gas that blew up the balloon. The reactions on their faces, especially the younger ones, 1st and 2nd graders, was absolutely adorable. It was so rewarding to be able to talk to them about biomass and how through decomposition we can harvest a natural energy, in this case, the second most widely used renewable energy source.
It was a great opportunity to volunteer my time.
Now it's back to papers, tests, and projects.
~Til next time,
Sarah
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