Learning Practical Science

By Nick Pinto/Staff Writer
Thursday, November 17, 2005

Acton - For every student who has ever raised his or her hand to ask what possible use there could be for trigonometry, chemistry or physics in "real life," a parent-led science festival last week offered a bevy of answers.

More than 31 representatives of local scientific companies and organizations set up booths Nov. 10 in the R.J. Grey Junior High School cafeteria for the Parent Involvement Project Science Festival. The evening showed hundreds of Acton-Boxborough students just what you can do with a math and science education. The answer, it turns out, is quite a lot.

"There's a lot of cool stuff here," said ninth-grader Andrew Kappel. "It's exciting to see that they're using the same technology and knowledge that we're using and learning about in class."

At one booth, Acton resident Joe Jones demonstrated the intricacies of his most famous invention, the Roomba robot vacuum. The rapt attention of his youthful audience was broken only by the occasional collision of the swarming robots underfoot.

Another popular attraction was the booth run by Athlete's Edge, a Acton company that uses computer and video technology to improve sports performance. Participants were video-taped as they jumped as high as they could, allowing experts to offer suggestions on changes to their form that might improve their elevation.

Outside, Ken Sghia-Hughes offered tours of the hybrid electric delivery truck he is helping to develop with Azure Dynamics, based in Canada.

"The level of questions these students are asking is really impressive," Sghia-Hughes said. Underscoring his point, Sghia-Hughes shortly found himself discussing the relative utility of ultra-capacitors versus electrolytic batteries with a curious high school student.

"That's one of the things we're hoping will come out of this," said Parent Involvement Project Co-Chairman Carlie Krakoff. "Maybe some of these companies will say, 'Hey, these high school kids really do know a lot - we should hire some of them this summer.'"

Krakoff said the main goal of the fair, however, was to show students the world of science and technology that exists outside the classroom.

"Thirty years ago, everyone had science fairs," she said. "Mandatory testing has increasingly gotten in the way of that. We wanted to put students in touch with all of the adults who are using math and science now to do interesting things."

The fair was only the most recent effort of the Acton Parent Involvement Project, a coalition of the Acton-Boxborough schools, parents and community and business partners dedicated to offering math and science enrichment activities for local students.

Organizing the fair was made easier by the density of Acton-Boxborough parents and neighbors who work in science and technology.

"We're very fortunate," Krakoff said. "There's a similar group in Harvard, but they're having more trouble because they don't have the same density of technology companies around them."

With more than 70 student volunteers, dozens of participating organizations, and hundreds of parents and students in attendance, Parent Involvement Project Co-Chairman Karen Herther said the event was a big success.

"I think what it shows is how much of a demand there is for this kind of thing," Herther said. "Kids and parents want to know what's out there, and companies have an interest in a scientifically literate workforce. We look forward to doing more events like this in the future."

For more information about the Acton Parent Involvement Project and it's activities, visit its Web site at www.actonpip.org.

Nick Pinto can be reached at 978-371-5743 or at npinto@cnc.com

Shannon Flynn, 9, disassembles a central processing unit of a computer during the Nov. 10 Parent Involvement Project Science Festival at R.J. Grey Junior High School. (Staff photo by Karen Sparacio)