NSU Horizons Spring 2016

4 NSU HORIZONS science experiments. She has been a role model for me to follow in teaching science,” remembered Lana Kriss, M.S., of the Mailman Segal Center. That was in 2008. When her son began at Welleby Elementary School in Sunrise, Schmitt Lavin related her previous hands-on effort with the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) teacher. (STEM education integrates concepts usually taught as separate subjects, with an emphasis on applying knowledge in real-life situations or projects.) Schmitt Lavin and the Welleby Elementary school teachers came up with a Science Alive! night, including a spaghetti dinner. “I always think the dinner helps,” said Schmitt Lavin, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the Halmos College. They called it “Supersonic Spaghetti Dinner.” As the people began signing up, her astonishment grew. More than 600 parents and children attended the event at the school. “It was truly awesome,” she said. Flash forward to 2016. From that one early volunteer effort at Mailman Segal and the spaghetti dinner at Welleby Elementary School, the Science Alive! program has expanded to 17 schools and educational groups including the Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood. An array of NSU professors, under- graduate and graduate students, and alumni from almost every NSU college have been tapped to assist. Science Alive! materials are used in some classes at NSU’s University School. Schmitt Lavin and other professors have now placed more than 450 NSU students in the programs. From that first year of working only with K–5 grade levels, she has expanded work through high school—and served upward of 7,500 school children in Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and even a school in India. Her method of pairing NSU students and lively hands-on instruction also has brought STEM programs to the Alvin Sherman Library. (See story on page 7.) Science Alive! also has its own Facebook page at facebook .com/Novasciencealive . While Schmitt Lavin would like to see Science Alive! grow even further, Left: Small robots, like this one, called Ozbot and Sphero are part of the science projects. Lower left: Krunal Patel, left, and Ahjay Bhatia prepare an experiment with Ozbot and Sphero. Below, right: NSU students Krunal Patel, left, Kristi Njaravelil, and Ahjay Bhatia plan afternoon activities at Nova Blanche Elementary. Bottom, right: NSU student Guy Merus shows youngsters how the crystals used in a diaper can absorb 800 times their weight.