TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Science was the focus on Monday at Kanza Education and Science Park.
“It’s just a day of hands-on science, where they get to have some fun and learn,” said Elementary Science Coordinator Lindsey Noonan.
Over 100 fourth graders from across Topeka Public Schools gathered for the first Kanza Science Day of the year.
“I feel good, because, like, there’s a lot of fun stuff to do outside,” said Kambree Salter, a student at State Street Elementary School.
The day’s activities included various stations covering a slew of topics, including coding, animal ecosystems, scavenger hunts, and snap circuits.
“I think it just keeps them going all day, and they look forward to coming and seeing what else is next,” Noonan said.
For Noonan, also a local teacher, the events’ importance goes beyond getting kids outside of their classrooms.
“I think the importance of being here is just learning about science and how science is in your everyday real world, and how it applies, and how things happen the way they happen,” she said.
Kanza Science Days are also a chance for future educators like Parker Villanueva, a student at the Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers (TCALC), to step into the role of a teacher.
“The experience is just wonderful, learning about all the different kids and schools,” Villanueva said.
Noonan says these events are also a partnership between everyone involved.
“It’s just bringing the schools and the community and the students, whether it’s fourth graders or high schoolers, all together,” she said.
A total of 14 elementary schools will participate in the Kanza Science Days over the next two weeks. Noonan said seventh graders will get their chance to attend in the spring.
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