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OH WOW! program gives participants a closer look at things
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Suffice it to say that a short examination of a handful of tiny objects has gone a long way toward magnifying Teagan Kiehl’s interest in and appreciation for science.
“I learned about cells in my science class,” the 9-year-old Horizon Science Academy fourth-grader said. “I learned about the outsides and insides of cells and how they reproduce.”
Teagan, however, found herself able to do more than merely deal with cells in the abstract. She got to actually see numerous ones, thanks to Saturday’s Microscope Mayhem event at OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, 11 W. Federal St., downtown.
During the two-hour science program, the Youngstown girl was among those who enjoyed using a compound-light microscope to closely examine cell samples, pieces of hair and other minute objects. Several settings allowed the items to be magnified 40, 100 and 400 times.
The purpose of the fun-filled biology-based program was to give children and adults an opportunity to compare a variety of common materials and draw their own conclusions. It also was to allow them to explore and more deeply understand and appreciate part of what’s invisible to the naked eye, noted Sorina Fatu, the museum’s program specialist and an educator.
“Wow, cool! Look at it,” an excited Teagan said, referring to having seen a small, thin strip of paper that, under the microscope, revealed a vast network of fibers.
When magnified 40 times, the tiny fibers intersected one another in a manner that resembled a complicated road map. Under 400 times magnification, various bacteria cells could be seen.
She also was intrigued to see what appeared to be an ordinary, uniformly smooth purple feather that showed tiny spikes when examined under the microscope.
Teagan and other participants also experimented with pieces of pipe-cleaner fiber, food coloring and yarn of several thicknesses. At one point, she added water drops to slides on which were pieces of yarn and noticed each reacted differently.
“I learned that if you take three different kinds of yarn, one absorbed the water, one floated and one stayed down,” she observed.
Teagan, who lists math as her favorite subject, came with her father, Brian Hodge, and 6-year-old brother, Braden.
When she was finished making her observations and scientific conclusions, Teagan adjusted the microscope and helped 12-year-old Zach Hutchison of Warren get started.
Zach, who is home-schooled and came with his parents, Kreg and Heather Hutchison, didn’t take long to get down to business. He enjoyed looking at the same items and making various observations.
During the program, some participants saw individual and clusters of cheek cells under the microscope.
The process calls for rubbing a toothpick inside one’s cheek 10 to 12 times, placing it on a blank slide and adding sodium chloride, which protects the cells from rupturing. Then food coloring is added to stain and highlight the cells before the solution is placed under the microscope, she explained.
“Always start with the lowest magnification,” Fatu noted.
In addition to providing youngsters with a fun way to see several scientific principles in action, Saturday’s gathering gave them an added tool that likely will serve them well in school and beyond, she continued.
“I hope they’ll be a step ahead in science class when [their teachers] introduce them to this,” Fatu said, adding that the fun activities also can build participants’ self-confidence. “It helps them become the leaders we need in today’s society.”