The Imperial March played as Darth Vader \u2014 lightsaber in hand, flanked by storm troopers \u2014 entered the room. Only this scene didn\u2019t take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away; it took place in the Mendenhall Valley Public Library Friday afternoon. Standing in for Vader\u2019s usual audience of nameless, quivering Imperial lackeys, were about 30 or so excited kids who ran to greet and take pictures with the masked villain.<\/p>\n
So concluded the new Library\u2019s inaugural Science Friday, the latest in a series of semi-regular events usually held in conjunction with teacher work days. For the past three years, Science Fridays have offered kids an educational outing, and each event has a theme. Friday\u2019s theme, if you haven\u2019t guessed, was Star Wars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe usually try to plan ahead for themes,\u201d Library Program Coordinator Beth Weigel said. \u201cThis one we decided because of the Star Wars excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n
If only for a few hours, the Valley Library was transformed into a Jedi temple of sorts, as Weigel and a few other staff members began instructing about three dozen kids in the force \u2014 force and motion, that is. Though the Star Wars theme helped get kids in the door, the scientific lesson of the day had a theme, too: Newton\u2019s laws of motion.<\/p>\n
With the help of library staff and some parents, kids built \u201cstarships\u201d out of foam takeout containers, CDs, straws, balloons and all sorts of other materials. Kids suspended their home-made Millennium Falcons from strings and released the air from the balloons attached to them. The air from the balloons, when done right, propelled the ships along the strings, illustrating Newton\u2019s third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.<\/p>\n
Science Friday participant Sione Tupou, 9, said that the experiment was his favorite part of the day (though this was before Vader made an appearance).<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking the rockets and letting them fly was fun,\u201d he said although he said his ship would be no match for the Millennium Falcon in a race. \u201cEven if it got a head start, I wouldn\u2019t have enough string!\u201d<\/p>\n
As in Star Wars, not all ships flew as well as others. Maddie Roemeling, 10, had better luck with her Styrofoam starship than her friend Nancy Liddle, 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cMine did good on my second try,\u201d Roemeling said, adding it broke on its maiden voyage. \u201cNancy\u2019s didn\u2019t fly at all, but it did look good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liddle didn\u2019t mind, however. Either way, it was a good review of Newton\u2019s laws, and she got to be creative, she said. <\/p>\n
Though the library typically tries to involve \u201clocal scientists\u201d in each Science Friday, Vader and his minions, a local chapter of a worldwide network of Imperial cosplayers, were the special guests Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d seen the Star Wars guys downtown before, so I thought they\u2019d be a good connection,\u201d Weigel said.<\/p>\n
The most important thing about Science Fridays, however, is that the kids are engaged in learning, said Juneau Libraries Director Robert Barr, who was at the event Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople of all ages learn best when they\u2019re engaged and interested in what they\u2019re learning,\u201d Barr said. \u201cThis is just kind of our little way of getting kids engaged in STEM fields.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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