Elementary classes study science with Unity College students
 
By Morning Sentinel staff
 
04/28/2008

UNITY -- Susannah Miller wouldn't have been more proud if she had been holding a medal.
Miller, one of nearly 20 Unity Elementary School fourth-graders to take part in a science trip to Unity College earlier this month, had been chasing wood frogs for several minutes and now her beaker was full.

"They're just cool," Miller said. "They quack like a duck."

It may not have been the most scientific observation, but Miller's excitement is exactly what those who created the partnership between Unity College and Unity Elementary School are hoping to create.

"I'm just really excited we get to come up here and do this kind of stuff," said fourth-grade teacher Martha Daniels. "It's just really cool having that resource." The partnership between the college and the elementary school was created to provide enhanced laboratory science opportunities for fourth- through sixth-grade students.

"The idea is we have resources they don't," said Jennifer Olin, community-service learning coordinator with Unity College and Unity Barn Raisers. "It gets them excited about science and it gives our students a chance to demonstrate they understand a particular concept well enough to teach it."

The biggest benefit for the college students, however, is spending time with the fourth-graders, said Kyle Vorpagel, a freshman conservation law major from Readfield.

"It's great to get out and do some community-service work," he said. "I think we get as much out of it as they do. It's rewarding to see the smiles on their faces."

Groups of four or five elementary-school students, working with the college's second-semester biology students, made the rounds to four stations: a seasonal wetland area, the greenhouse, the fish lab and a classroom with microscopes and mounted animals.

But clearly the biggest hit of the day was the vernal pool where small wood frogs croaked and clung to each other in an egg-fertilizing dance.

"Ms. Daniels, these two look like they're about to mate," one of the youngsters said excitedly after spotting two frogs holding on to each other.

"You're getting a treat," Daniels said. "You're getting to see stuff most of my (students) never get to see."

It would typically be too early in the season to see wood frogs, particularly during the egg fertilization process.

"It's very cool they actually get to see the frogs and they can touch them," Daniels said.