Professor Gizmo makes science 'cool' Resident scientist helps Richmond pupils enjoy learning

By Kathy Walsh Nufer
Post-Crescent staff writer January 12, 2007

APPLETON — All eyes were on goofy Professor Gizmo on Thursday as he unloaded a block of dry ice from a red cooler.

For the next 45 minutes, Richmond Elementary School second-graders bantered with the lab-coated science guy about solids, liquids and gasses, and watched him demonstrate how dry ice floats on a cushion of air as gas leaves its surface.

They oohed in amazement when he produced a cloud of steam by mixing hot water with ice, and they were riveted when he spooned chunks of ice into a deflated balloon, causing it to expand as the chunks turned from solid to gas.

Then it was their turn to conduct an experiment by making an "air elevator" capable of lifting a table and two classmates.

"This is really going to be cool, you won't believe this," Professor Gizmo said before showing them how to accomplish this seemingly magical feat.

"I was so scared. I was thinking they couldn't do it," Alexis Rangle, 7, said afterward, describing how eight classmates lifted her and Alex Seidl, plus an upside down table the two were seated on, by blowing into straws encased in plastic bags placed beneath the table.

Ethan Jenks, 8, watched in awe. "It's pretty cool that they could lift that," Jenks said.

The dry ice experiments impressed him, too. "I learned a lot about how solids can turn into liquids and liquids turn in to gasses."

Professor Gizmo spent four days at Richmond as resident scientist, highlighting both the school's science theme this year and the school district's rollout of FOSS, a new science program for kindergarten through sixth grade.

FOSS puts more emphasis on hands-on, activity-based science rather than textbook instruction. "The premise is that one learns science by doing science," said Chris Warrick, a district curriculum coordinator.

"Hands-on, you can't get better than that," said Gary Krueger, a retired Appleton science teacher who has taken his Gizmo presentations into area schools since 1989.

Krueger is glad to see more elementary instruction move in that direction.

"I'm seeing more elementary kids knowledgeable and interested in science now," he said. "Years ago I'd go into schools and some weren't even teaching much science because the teachers were afraid of it."

Second grade teacher Linda Schroeder said she likes the hands-on emphasis along with content reading. "It's a wonderful way for children to discover and learn, and Professor Gizmo just ignites their enjoyment and joy in science that much more."

After seeing Professor Gizmo, Madison Maloney, 8, said she was eager to take her "air elevator" home and try it out. "First of all I'm going to put it on the carpet and put a book on top and blow it (straw) so the book lifts up."

Tania Hernandez, 7, also had a plan. "I'm going to take mine home and when my mom's asleep I'm going to put it under her pillow and blow into it. That should be fun."

Professor Gizmo's residency, funded with an Appleton Education Foundation grant and a donation from a school volunteer, concluded Thursday with a presentation at Richmond's Family Science Night.