By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
”Is that real blood,” asked Chaiyo Kosinski, as he examined the lungs and heart from a calf.
”Let me feel it. It’s really squishy. It feels soft and mushy,” Chaiyo said, as he handled the pink tissue in his gloved hands.
”I knew it was a heart. I don’t mind oozy stuff. I like how it feels,” the 8-year-old boy said, as other youngsters peered over his shoulder and grimaced as Chaiyo continued to explore the calf’s heart and lungs.
Seven-year-old Sonia Chakraborty started to touch it and quickly pulled her hand back.
”Eew,” was her response.
Building a tetrahedron from straws was more to her liking, which was the goal of a booth set up at a nearby table.
Chaiyo, Sonia and her 6-year-old sister, Anya, were among the dozens of elementary school children who learned that science can be fun at the Lawrenceville Elementary School’s annual Science and Discovery Night. The event is sponsored by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.
The youngsters wandered through the all-purpose room, the art room, the media center and a couple of classrooms, sampling the booths set up and staffed by parents, Lawrence High School students and even a group of Girl Scouts who belong to Cadet Girl Scout Troop 71071.
The children learned about the various types of light bulbs and how much energy they used, as demonstrated on a meter at the “Light Bright” exhibit. At the “It’s Tetra-rific” booth, they used string and straws to form a tetrahedron. It is used in engineering to create space frames.
Molly Lutolf said her favorite exhibit was “Follow the Bouncing Ball.” She poured polymer in powdered form into a round mold and dropped it into the water. After a few minutes, the 9-year-old girl retrieved the mold and opened it. Inside was a round ball.
”I liked it because you can make your own ball, any way you want it. You don’t have to buy one,” Molly said.
”Booo Bubbles” was a popular exhibit, in which dry ice was mixed with water. Smoke and bubbles flowed out of a beaker. That was one of Sam Lovvoll’s favorite booths. He also liked “Follow the Bouncing Ball,” “It’s Tetra-rific,” and “Build-It,” because he could make something with Legos. He likes to play with Legos.
Off in another corner of the school, The Peaceable Kingdom petting zoo brought an assortment of animals for the children to pet. The zoo included everything from pygmy goats to a wallaby, a raccoon, a turtle, a porcupine, ducks, rabbits and a snake.
The children loved to touch the soft, furry animals, but the porcupine was pretty much left alone in his cage for obvious reasons. The bravest among the children even picked up the snake and wrapped it around their necks, like a necklace. It felt cold and slimy, they agreed.
The goal of the annual event which has been produced for so many years that organizers can’t remember when it was first held is to educate children in grades K-3 about the various aspects of science and to help them discover more about it.
”It is open to all children in the school district,” said Jennifer Hsiao, who coordinates the event.
”We try to stick with hands-on activities,” Ms. Hsiao said. “They get to play (with objects). We want to get the children involved in science.”

