Scotland students will be exposed to the amazing world of science and nature in the coming months.

All students in grades 1 through 5 will be visited by High Touch, High Tech, a company which has been providing fun, interactive, hands-on science and nature experiences for children since 1994.  These visits are made possible by donations from Scotland PTA.

Kindergarteners aren’t being left out either.  During the spring, they will have science programs organized through the Pratt Nature Center and the Maritime Museum.

The mission of High Touch, High Tech is to expose children, at an early age, to science and nature by providing innovative, educational, hands-on programs that are presented in a fun manner.  They run programs specifically designed for elementary age students, as they understand that students learn best when they are involved in first-hand exploration and investigation.  The science experiments allow students to make direct observations and to manipulate materials and equipment. 

The Scotland program began for second graders on October 25th with Nutty Nutrients.  Students learned the essentials about the food groups, tested for protein, starch and fat and climbed the great food pyramid. 

In “Dig It”, third graders learned about gems, rocks and minerals.  They uncovered the mysteries of rock formation and crystalline structure.   Ava Walker, said "I loved the science program called “Dig-it" because I got to dig up rocks and I got to keep the really cool ones!  We learned a lot of information about the earth, rocks and minerals in a really fun way.  It's a lot of fun to learn about rocks and minerals by digging for them and holding them." 

In “Currently Attractive” fifth graders felt the power of magnets and used them to make electricity.  

Jake Walker said, "Currently Attractive” is about learning how electricity and magnetismwork.  I learned that electricity can be turned into a magnet.  The best part was when we turned electricity into a magnet, it was so strong, two people playing tug-of-war pulling on the magnet couldn't pull it apart.  We are so lucky to have these extra science activities to show us new things from a real scientist."  Eddie Alexandroff said “The scientist put two copper rods through a pickle and then plugged it in.  When they turned the light off, the pickle lit up and started smoking and you could hear the pickle sizzling.  I can still smell the burning pickle.”

Almost all of Scotland’s students will have a chance to participate in a program, whether it is learning about night and day in “Clockwork Orbit”, sound in  “Vibes”, light in  “The Shadow Knows”, plants in “Smarty Plants”, electricity in the “Edison Workshop” or energy in “Finally Fun Machines”.

These programs are great fun while being educational and give our elementary students a taste for science.