Under the watchful eyes of their teacher Laura Brown, Churchill Road third graders Pranav Anumandla (rear), Ella Wolford and Avani Ranka learn that centrifugal acceleration allows a penny to stay on a coat hanger when force is applied. Kim Moran
Laura Brown’s third grade class at Churchill Road Elementary learned scientific principles via hands-on experiments conducted by optical physicist (and parent) Dr. Jinendra Ranka. Dr. Ranka wanted to show the students that “science is fun and everyone can do science at home” (with proper supervision of course). The students enjoyed creating ooblek, a non-newtonian fluid, which has properties of both a liquid and a solid. They also demonstrated centrifugal acceleration by balancing a penny on a coat hanger. Dr. Ranka also demonstrated a laser beam and the chemical reaction created by mixing soda and Mentos candy. The grand finale of experiments was a rocket launch on the school’s back field, capturing not only the interest of Mrs. Brown’s class, but all the fifth grade classes who were out at recess.