Hood River New School Launches Spectacular Space Museum Event, Showcasing Student-Created Exhibits and Inspiring Science Education
By Cole Goodwin
Hood River New School’s Space Museum event, was an exciting experience that combined education, creativity, and hands-on learning for students of all ages on May 17th, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 220 Clearwater Lane Hood River, OR 97031.
The event showcased interactive displays created by students. These exhibits aimed to engage visitors with the wonders of space, drawing inspiration from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) experience. Students explored photographs and scientific concepts, fostering an understanding of how to communicate complex ideas effectively.
Claire Gilchrist, the Head of the New School says the Space Museum event aligns with Hood River New School’s educational philosophy of relevance, emphasizing the importance of purposeful learning. Students not only acquire knowledge about space but also develop the skills to effectively communicate and teach others. By engaging with younger students and the general public, the event offers valuable leadership opportunities, empowering the middle school students to become mentors and science communicators.
Claire Gilchrist
“One of the founding principles of our school is relevance,” said Gilchrist “We want to teach kids there’s always a meaningful purpose for learning. And sometimes it’s just because it’s a beautiful thing to know about and that is a purpose in itself. But in this case, we want to teach them how to teach others what they are learning, and make it relevant. So they’re not just learning about space for them, but they actually get to teach kids that are younger than them and make it interesting and meaningful for others.”
Kids ages 0-5 toured the school from 1-2 p.m. to learn about space from the New School middle schoolers.
“What we want to teach them is how they can be in a leadership role because middle school is a really good time to try that on. They’re very nervous, but they get to become the bigger older kids in this and figure out how to communicate their knowledge to someone who is littler than them. It’s just a great leadership opportunity,” said Gilchrist.
Sawyer Smith teaches another student about rogue planets and gravity using magnetic marbles.
Students than had a short break before the Museum opened to the public from 3 to 4 p.m.
Gilchrist said that as a part of their preparation for the “Space Museum” event students took an overnight field trip to Ekone Ranch and the Goldendale Observatory in March as a part of their space education.
“It was a really transformative experience for a lot of our kids to meet people who were so passionate about space, and to actually get to see the moon in all its glory up close,” said Gilchrist.
Gilchrist said that students' passion for learning and interest in the subject shows through into the work they have produced for the event.
Welcome to the Womhole
Kiah Dienberg inviting guests to visit the wormhole.
One highlight of the event was a wormhole display, where participants can learn about these cosmic phenomena and immerse themselves in the experience by grabbing a glow stick and walking through a tunnel filled with streamers, painted cardboard to simulate light bending around you as you approach unfathomable speeds, as well as the black hole and white hole on either end of the wormhole. A white hole is a black hole running backwards and time. A white hole spits things out as opposed to sucking them in with gravity like a black hole.
Inside the wormhole.
A connected pair of black and white holes creates an Einstein-Rosen Bridge or maximally extended Schwarzchild metric, more commonly known as a wormhole.
Bennett Becker, the 6th grader who built a wormhole in collaboration with their best friend Kiah Dienberg said that both their project and the entire Space Museum event took a lot of teamwork.
“It was a lot of fun and a lot of teamwork,” said Bennett. “Some people had little projects, some people had big projects but no one was like," Oh, your project is so small, mine is big.” There was a lot of teamwork and a lot of that support there.”
Bennett said the key challenge of the event was communicating the key concepts around wormhole theory to a range of age groups.
“It was kind of hard teaching the little kids cause they didn’t really want to hear about all details like when wormholes were theorized and all that they just wanted to go through the wormhole again and again and then the adults they just wanted to hear a big long speech…So it was kind of tiring,” said Bennett.
It also gave her a new perspective on the work teachers do everyday.
“I don’t know how they get through a day without taking a big long nap,” said Bennett.
Another exhibit utilized the school's coat room, which was transformed into a stargazing hub, inviting visitors to lie down and witness stunning projections of various star constellations.
The event also offered several opportunities for visitors to unleash their creativity. Attendees could build their own satellite, create their own interpretation of the mesmerizing Northern Lights using paint, and craft their own artistic representations of the awe- inspiring nebula known as the Pillars of Creation.
Miah Li Keller-Caveny leads an activity on the Pillars of Creation.
Some art made by students depicting the pillars of creation.
Wren Carlson teaches some young students about space trash.
Additionally, there were other hands-on experiences, including a program coded by one of the students. This interactive display allows visitors to discover their weight on different planets, showcasing the power of coding and physics.
“That was really cool because he did that himself and had to struggle through kilograms vs pounds and spelling errors with Mercury,” said Gilchrist.
Step (or crawl) into the anti-matter machine to play an educational game!
Another student built an immersive gaming experience for attendees by coding a video game that teaches you about anti-matter as you play it.
“I made it using Scratch. Do you know what Scratch is? It was created by MIT. It's a coding site for kids. It’s surprisingly powerful you can basically make anything with it,” said Judah Tsypin, a student of Hood River New School.
These two students really knew their stuff about the theory of dark matter and dark energy.
Yet another student built a hydroponic system to illustrate how humans might survive in space and on other planets, (provided there is gravity or artificial gravity where they are located).
The Space Museum event aligns with Hood River New School’s educational philosophy of relevance, emphasizing the importance of purposeful learning. Students not only acquire knowledge about space but also develop the skills to effectively communicate and teach others. By engaging with younger students and the general public, the event offers valuable leadership and teamwork opportunities, empowering the middle school students to become mentors, collaborators, and science communicators.
Science Museum Review
The Space Museum event was an enriching and inspiring occasion, highlighting the power of science education and the creativity of young minds continues to demonstrate its dedication to fostering a love for learning and nurturing the next generation of leaders and innovators.
This journalist gives the experience a 10/10.
I honestly learned so much from all these student teachers!
They were thoughtful and knowledgable and present in the moment. Every single student I talked to did a fantastic job presenting on their topics. I also really enjoyed all the fun interactive learning tools they used in their presentations! Overall the whole event was fun, engaging, and educational! Well done Hood River New School!
About Hood River New School
Hood River New School is a small non-profit school with approximately 50 students, that prioritizes blended age groups, small class sizes, and providing a safe learning environment that fosters deep exploration and personal growth. Their interdisciplinary approach enables students to make connections across subjects, nurturing their curiosity and allowing for project-based learning.
With its flexible tuition program, the school aims to make education accessible to families of various financial backgrounds, further enhancing its commitment to the community. The school accepts students from across the Gorge including White Salmon, Mosier,Hood River, and The Dalles catering to a diverse range of learners.
Learn more at HoodRiverNewSchool.Org
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