Our school has many great annual events, such as Arts Day, Book Fair, and a Valentine’s Day Dance, but a group of motivated parents worked with our wonderful science teachers earlier this year to create our first-annual Science Day. The event was held in our school gymnasium and was completely organized and staffed by parents and teachers in our community. It was held on a Saturday in January and was a huge success!
The planning committee consisted of parents and science teachers and they decided on the stations, as well as made decorations and hand-made “passports” for the kids. We recruited volunteers to work the event from our school community using an online tool called Sign-Up Genius. This made it easy to set up shifts and track volunteers. We then put up posters around school and sent the flyer home via backpack to advertise. Admission was a “suggested donation” at the door and most families willingly gave.
The event had multiple hands-on stations to experiment with science (medical testing, cabbage pH testing, make your own silly putty, Q-tip skeleton building, magnets, marble run, gears, stomp rockets etc). Each child was given a “passport” book upon entry and got a stamp at each station they completed. To keep things organized and running smoothly, we had sign-up sheets at each station so a set number of kids could participate during each time period. Timing the periods made it easier to control crowding and ensure that everyone was able to participate in each station. We also had food and drinks for sale, as well as some entertainment, which helped keep people there for hours of fun.