AIKEN, S.C. – Two engineers with Savannah River Site’s liquid waste contractor visited a local school to teach Newton’s laws of motion to several fourth-grade classes. 

   By engaging the students at North Augusta’s Hammond Hill Elementary School with interactive lessons and hands-on games, Savannah River Remediation (SRR) engineers Austin Chandler and Jeff Iaukea were not only able to maintain students’ attention but also spark interest in gravity, force and acceleration. 

   Chandler and Iaukea showed the effects of gravity by using small toy cars on a racetrack and acceleration by rolling a skateboard with a ball on top. The engineers also allowed the students to hypothesize the rate of speed at which a steel ball and a ping pong ball would fall. 

   “The kids were excited to be engaged and active in the learning process,” said Chandler. “They seemed especially interested in throwing the medicine ball, which showed Newton’s third law in action.”

   One teacher, Robin Patterson, said that the students were enthralled by Chandler and Iaukea’s presentation. 

   “By making the lab an exciting, hands-on experience, they were able to show the students that science is more than a page in a textbook,” Patterson said. “They made science come alive.”  

   The engineers said they felt a personal calling towards educational outreach through SRR’s READY program, or Reaching Engineers at the Development Years, which is an introductory, two-year development program for engineers who are newly hired college graduates.

   READY participants are empowered to become a more productive force for SRR by promoting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs among students in the Central Savannah River Area. SRR is a STEM-based company seeking to pique the interests of local students who represent the potential future workforce at SRS.

   Chandler and Iaukea said that the ability to promote learning and a love of science is one of the most rewarding aspects of educational outreach. For Iaukea, the look on the children’s faces when they are surprised by the results of an experiment, and then the ability to help them understand why that was the outcome, is one of the main reasons he participates in programs such as this. 

   “Sparking educational interest in a child can positively impact the rest of their lives,” said Chandler.