Members of the science club at Evergreen Park Community High School regularly share their knowledge with younger students in the community, and it’s not all about test tubes and lab experiments.
There’s a place for activities such as a reading of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” — and a way to tie that to science, too.
About 25 students are members in the science club, which uses a variety of activities to broaden science knowledge and foster a love of the subject. The club meets twice a month and goes on at least five field trips during the school year.
“The purpose of the club is to inspire students to learn more about all areas of science, not just what is learned in the classroom,” said science teacher Anna Tsoukatos, who co-founded the club with fellow science teacher Kathy Augustyn.
The approach gets the endorsement of Evergreen Park junior Kristine Hernandez.
“The science club is a lot of fun because there are a lot of science experiments and we get to interact on a regular basis with other science fanatics,” she said.
One of the events that has club members interacting with younger students took place earlier this month, when the fourth annual Science Story Time was held at the school, 9901 S. Kedzie Ave. There’s also a Science Family Fun Night set for later in the school year for kindergartners through eighth-graders.
Science Story Time gathered 20 children from the community, up to fifth-graders.
“I started this event, and Science Family Fun Night, four years ago to increase community involvement both for our students and community members,” Tsoukatos said. “Sometimes I think our students gain more from this experience than the younger children.
“We began the story time activity to combine children’s literature with science. We begin with a story and then explore the science from the story to a science experiment or activity. Science and literature have always been a good fit. Hence the science fiction genre.”
Science teacher Mike Brahm volunteered to read “The Lorax” to children in the science commons area. After the reading, children went to a science classroom to take part in a related science activity.
“This year, we had students learn to plant seeds that they will take home,” Tsoukatos said. “They planted sunflower seeds to represent the trees in ‘The Lorax.’ We look for different science themes that are associated with children’s literature that we feel would interest students.”
“I brought my little brother last year and he really enjoyed this program, so I decided to bring him again this year,” said Jocelyn Bernstein, 16, of Evergreen Park, who attended the event with her 7-year-old brother, Ivan.
Students from the club helped keep the event running smoothly by greeting families, serving popcorn and lemonade, and helping small groups in the science lab.
The popularity of the science club has grown over the past few years, according to Tsoukatos.
“Students realize how much fun they have while learning new things,” she said. “Also, a lot of students get involved with our family nights because they like to help young children complete science activities.”
“We really enjoy hosting science-related activities for the public,” junior Sarai Salazar said. “It is a great learning experience.”
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Kelly White is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.