A former Vestal Hills Elementary student, Stephanie Schwartz is now a pharmacy student in Binghamton University's new School of Pharmaceutical Science. As the President of the B.U.'s chapter of the American Pharmacists Association, she leads a group of fellow pharmacy students in several community outreach projects. Mrs. Dattoria talked to her about coming into her second-grade classroom to work with the young elementary students, and they discussed specific goals that the teacher felt would be good for her students. They planned three hands-on, highly interesting activities for the students, as well as a presentation and a handout outlining the afternoon's activities.
Stephanie and her fellow APhA members arrived in Mrs. Dattoria's classroom on October 9, and impressed the second-graders with their professional white lab coats. They taught the second-graders about proper hand-washing, many types of germs, and the importance of math and science skills in real-life applications.
Next, the students were separated into groups to explore different stations. At the first station, they learned about the need for precise and accurate measurements as they skip-counted M & M candies. At the next station, the children measured and mixed various ingredients under the supervision of the pharmacy students as they made colorful slime mixtures. At the last station, they did experiments with germs using petri dishes.
The second-grade students were highly engaged in all three activities, and had a wonderful time working as "Scientists" in small groups with the APhA students.