Farmingville Elementary 'Mad Science' Loud, Exciting, Educational

Farmingville Elementary School's cafetorium echoed with screaming, jumping and smiling students Wednesday evening.

All the excitement was for "Mad Science," a program that provides hands-on experiences and educational shows for children. Farmingville parent Amy Janzon, who was responsible for bringing it to the school, welcomed over 130 students and parents registered for the event.

“Science Night is right on the heels of Math Night this year,” principal Susan Gately said as students and parents poured into the cafetorium. She was just as excited as her K-5 students were, and for good reason.

“We haven’t had a Science Night in four years," Gately said. "We usually do it every two years."

With the floors in the midst of renovation, the event was held at Branchville Elementary School last year.

The PTA-sponsored event brought volunteers and parents who were happy to have the Science Night incorporated into the curriculum. Therese Vandemerlen watched the Mad Science show put on by Jess French, known to the children that evening as “Jupiter Jess.”

“He couldn’t wait for Science Night,” she said of her son, Charley, a first-grader at Farmingville. “He just started science and he likes it a lot, especially this toilet paper demonstration,” she joked in regards to “Jupiter Jess’s” display.

“What boy wouldn’t?” laughed fellow Farmingville parent, Cathy Smollon. As the parent of second-grader, Tristan, she was familiar with Mad Science prior to joining the festivities Wednesday evening.

“He actually took a Mad Science class in Richmond last year,” she said. “It gets him excited about science and how things work.”

After each grade watched “Jupiter Jess’s” show, they were led into the gymnasium where four science stations were set up. Terry Wright, also known as “Techno Terry,” explained how optical illusions work. At one point during the evening she attracted such a large crowd of excited students that she had to ask them to step back.

The students were just as excited about her son Brandon’s station.

Brandon Wright, who has been with Mad Science “off and on for the past four years,” demonstrated the fact that dry ice never reaches liquid form, as well as the way the human body works when burping.

“Basically this is hands-on science,” he said. “We are making it fun, but we are teaching [the students]. The hands-on activities occupy them while they learn something.”

Jessica Medoff, a volunteer, looked on as students watched, wide-eyed, while Wright displayed condensation pouring from a glass beaker.

“The dry ice event seems to be a hit,” she observed. Medoff and her fellow volunteers ensured that the evening was organized properly, students were accounted for and everyone remained safe.

“I’m just happy to be helping out,” Medoff said.

As students moved from the show to the stations, each Mad Science demonstrator had the opportunity to see a new group of excited faces. Carolyn Richmond assisted students in making “air-zookas.”

The “air-zookas” showed children that “fast-moving air creates a low-pressure area,” according to Richmond.  Hailey Brown, a third-grader showed her friends the creation she was proud to have made, and the lesson she had learned from constructing it.

 As she playfully popped a cotton ball in the air with her “air-zooka,” “Mad Murf,”  the fourth Mad Science demonstrator showed students how ultraviolet light affects pigmentation. With plastic beads and a large UV light, children were able to see the change that occurred -- he got across the importance of sunscreen through this experiment.

“I think it’s a lot of fun for kids,” said parent Cynthia Ye.

“The kids were so excited. It is the first time for them and the first time for me also,” Ye said of her children, Alex and Mollee. “The exposure they are getting from Mad Science is good.”

Each station maintained equal popularity among students throughout the evening. “Jupiter Jess” was able to excite each crowd of students that walked through the cafetorium doors.

One student was so amazed at her demonstration that he yelled out “you’re like the guy from Star Wars!”

The evening, chaotic at moments, provided a learning experience that a student would not normally receive in the classroom. Boys and girls were able to shout out questions and answers, and parents were able to see their child take in new knowledge.

And the Mad Science demonstrators of Fairfield and New Haven were collectively thrilled to provide the children with the opportunity.