At Glenside Elementary School we have participated in the Fall Festival and the Math/Science Night. The second event we did at Glenside Elementary was the Math/Science Night on November 19, 2015 from 5:30-7:00 pm. During this event we engaged the kids in a math hopscotch activity. This is when we gave them various math questions such as 3 x 2 = 6. The kids answered these questions by playing hopscotch and hopping over the number they got as their answer to the equation. Another activity we did was a science activity which included a introduction of physics. We filled cups with water, placed a paper clip at the bottom of each of the cups. We then used a magnet on the outside of the cup to attract the paper clip and bring it outside of the cup of water. This activity was showing how magnets worked together to enforce gravity. The kids enjoyed participating in both activities. We had a great time working with the kids!

Our research topic is climate change. Climate change is when the earth’s gases are warmed and trapped in the earth’s atmosphere. The green house gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor. A lot of people consider climate and weather the same thing. However, weather is the current temperature (more temporary). While climate is over time, and harder to predict. According to NASA earth’s temperature has only risen about one degree Fahrenheit in the past 100 years. However, climate change is predicted to rise 3.2-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The green house effect is causing global warming today. Although many people consider the greenhouse effect a bad thing, it is not all terrible. In fact, it can be considered a good thing. Without the greenhouse gases, the temperature on earth would be too cold to support life. The green house effect becomes bad when the gases are trapped in the atmosphere. Overall the United States releases more carbon dioxide than any other country. If everyone on earth lived like the United States it would take five earths to provide enough resources for everyone. There are many effects on people, wildlife, and on the planet since climate change has risen. Sea levels have increased, ice glaciers are melting, and 20-30% of the plants and animals are at an increased risk of extinction.

On Wednesday October 28th, we went to Glenside Elementary School to participate in the Fall Festival. We had two tables per activity, the activities were a big hit! The kids loved matching the animals with the food they thought that the animal ate. Additionally, kids were given a fun quiz in which they learned even more about the animals. The kids loved the bird-feeder activity. As take aways we let the kids keep the bird-feeder they created so they could hang it at home or at school. We had a great time working with the kids and helping them learn more about the environment and how they can contribute. It was very exciting to see that many kids were eager to learn and participate. We look forward to working with the kids in late November for the math and science night.

For the Fall Festival, which will occur on the evening of October 28th, we have decided that we will have one activity and two variations of it- one for the younger kids (starting at age 4) and one for older kids (up to fifth grade) The variation for the younger age group will require kids to match an animal with the food they think that animal eats. For the older age group, we will have the kids do a quiz regarding animals/the environment/hibernation. We will have a poster which will include more information for the kids to learn. We will use the poster board for facts about the animal and then the older kids can make-up their own story about one of the animals. Lastly, we will have the pinecone bird-feeder activity for everyone, in which kids will make bird-feeder using pinecones, honey and birdseed- these will be placed in the school garden. The kids will be able to help contribute to the environment by participating in this activity and learning more about how animals survive in their environment and what foods mainly sustain their life. We will have candy and quizzes as a takeaway they can keep. We are excited to work with the kids and help them learn.

Yesterday we met with Ms. Karen Houck, the Assistant Principal at Glenside Elementary. She gave us some information about the events coming up that we will be helping with, the Fall Festival (October 28th 5:30pm-7:00pm) and the Math and Science Night (November 19th 5:30pm-7:00pm). Glenside Elementary teaches children from Kindergarten age up to Fifth Grade so we will be working with a variety of age groups and must plan accordingly. Some ideas Ms. Houck gave us for the Fall Festival included: discussing the parts of an apple and the life cycle of a pumpkin as well as a leaf printing activity and creating pinecone bird feeders for the children to put in their school garden. As for the Math and Science Night she told us that the faculty and staff still have some more planning to do for this, but she said that we can do activities that include math games, engineering challenges and some Fall STEM activities. Ms. Houck also informed us that we will need to get clearances because we will be working with children. These clearances can be obtained online and results will be printed and given to Elizabeth Fey to give to Ms. Houck as soon as possible.

In the Funky Monkeys Team there is Keerti Sharma, Angela Feick, and Elizabeth Fey. We will be assisting in the Fall Festival and Mathletics. Keerti is a Finance major and a sophomore, Angela is an Advertising major and a sophomore, and Elizabeth is a Human Development and Family Studies major and a junior. We chose to work with Glenside Elementary because we enjoy being creative, doing crafts, and helping kids be aware of the environment. We think the Fall Festival and Mathletics will be a great way to do so.