Slime and mold got After School Program (ASP) students at Sara Harp Minter Elementary interested in learning more about science.

Clayton State University assistant professors Dr. Fran Norflus (biology) and Dr. Rich Singiser (chemistry) visited the students last month to show them the fun of science. The professors brought slides of mold and bacteria for the students to examine as well as showed them how to make slime and gave out samples to take home.

Finding ways to keep students interested in learning is what led ASP Site Coordinator Dianna Robertson to call on the professors to present the science activity. She says she is always on the lookout for activities that disguise learning as fun.

“My staff and I enjoyed the presentation as much as the children. The children were so engrossed in the experiments, they are still talking about them,” says Robertson.

Norflus says she enjoyed the opportunity to talk to the students about science, noting that the United States is in critical need of more scientists and technical professionals.

“There is an obligation to instill a sense of wonder and excitement for science in young students so they may opt for science majors as they advance in their studies,” she says.

Because of the students’ interest in the presentations, more science programs are in the works including one on plants that will be presented by Marion Smith, a horticulturalist from Fayette County High.