North Elementary reports on science inquiries

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake School Board members and district personnel spun plastic tops on their desks at a board meeting Thursday.

The activity was part of a presentation about teaching children to inquire about science.

North Elementary School Math, Science and Technology teacher Kate Lindholm brought supplies to the board meeting, taken from a second grade activity in which students build tops using plastic sticks and disks. Board members and administrators were challenged to build a top that would spin longest.

Lindholm said after the students build tops, they set out to learn how the number of disks included in the top affect spin-time. They learned how to set up an experiment to test their hypothesis.

Science kits from the Educational Service District are a wonderful classroom resource, but they are mostly observational, she said. Supplemental activities were added to encourage inquiry.

Although students cannot take the supplies home, they continue inquiring on their own after leaving the classroom, she noted.

— Staff report