1/26/2009

The class is called Science Projects and that is exactly what the eight seniors in Mr. Lance Argano-Rush’s class do. Using a range of basic materials from balsa wood and glue to rubber bands and plastic water bottles, the students are putting scientific principles into action through a variety of hands-on projects and they are having a great time doing it.

Mr. Argano-Rush offered Science Projects for the first time this fall. It is a one semester elective taught both semesters and everyone with room in their schedules signed up to take it again the in second semester. “It is the best class ever,” said Holland M. ’09, who is planning to study either robotics or nautical engineering in college next fall. “This class definitely solidified my interest in physics. It is a better version of woodshop. It is a place to be creative and put our knowledge of science into practice. We are all having so much fun.”

“This class gives the students the chance to develop hands-on skills,” said Mr. Lance Argano-Rush. “Most science classes tend to be theoretical, but the difference between a good science program and a great science program is practical application. In all of our science classes we try to do as many labs as possible, but time is always tight. Science Projects is all about practical application. You don’t necessarily have to be a scientist, but you do have to be precise. The success of these projects often depends upon the small nuances.”

Last semester the projects included building a balsa wood bridge that had to span a gap and hold weight; launching bottle rockets, where the students measured the maximum time the rockets spent in the air; mouse trap cars to see which car could go the longest distance on the floor of the Rasmussen Family Pavilion; and rubber band airplanes that had to fly, if only for a few seconds. This semester Mr. Argano-Rush has a number of different projects in mind: a Rube Goldberg machine; a boom lever; a solar car; and a wind-powered drag boat.

“I create the projects, but the students really set their own goals and there is definitely some friendly competition,” said Mr. Argano-Rush. “The students work on each project individually, but there is also a lot of sharing of ideas and working through the challenges of construction together. If they ask for help, I will give it, but the class is really driven by the students’ enthusiasm and curiosity.”

“Projects can require knowledge of compression, geometry, or torque, but the success of a project is more often about using common sense and our hand skills,” said Holland. “By working through these projects we have definitely learned how important it is to be precise. When you are working a problem out on paper, if something is a little bit off you still think it is pretty close to being right. But in the real world of these projects, the impact of that small margin of error becomes very clear.”

A number of the students in the Science Projects class are part of the team that will compete in the World Vex Robotics Competition in Dallas, Texas in April. “Between preparing for the Vex Competition and this class, I am in Mr. Argano-Rush’s classroom every free period,” said Ryan G.’09, who plans to study either mechanical or aerospace engineering. “I just hope that I can find this type of lab experience when I get to college. This class is amazing.”