Science fair brings third graders, UMF students together

FARMINGTON – Third graders at Cascade Brook School had the opportunity to learn all about the inner workings of the human body on Thursday morning with an in-house science fair lead by students of the University of Maine at Farmington.

The first annual “Wonders of the Human Body” science fair brought together aspiring young scientists and education major students from UMF for experimental, hands on learning. The UMF students prepared each of the ten learning stations focusing on different aspects of the human body. Third graders from five classes learned about how the hear pumps blood, how optical illusions can trick your eyes and how food moves through the digestive system along with many other lessons. The science fair fulfilled the science education requirement for the aspiring educators.

“This is a great experience for them. They have all taught in the classroom twice and this is the end to all of it, so they are really getting the classroom experience as well as the science fair experience,” UMF Associate Professor of Science Education Carole Lee said.

Several of the third grade teachers in the room also graduated from UMF’s education program and knew first hand the benefits of the experience.

“It’s awesome to have a connection with UMF. This gives students the opportunity to explore all these things and then bring it back to the classroom to talk about it. We can only do so much in the classroom,” Cameron McAllister said .