VALPARAISO — Instead of spending the summer burning their toes on hot beaches, some Okaloosa County middle schoolers are learning how long it takes sand to trap heat and how quickly the heat is released.
Kennedy Gray hypothesized that sand would retain heat longer than water or air, but he and his lab partners, Shoal River eighth-grader Sylver Campbell and Bruner seventh-grader Brandon Meza, quickly learned that air stayed warmer slightly longer than the sand.
“It was so close I’m not really disappointed,” Kennedy, a Shoal River seventh-grader,said Wednesday after his theory was proved false.
The experiment was one of several that about 40 rising seventh- and eighth-graders are exploring at the STEMM Academy this summer in a newly redesigned program designed to inspire minority students called the Scholar’s Summer Institute.
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“They had the potential, but they hadn’t tapped into it yet,” said Cheryl Seals, who is overseeing the program. “I’ve seen some of the kids blossom.”
The 14-day program was offered to students who scored a 3, 4 or 5 on the reading or math section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, regardless of their academic standing.
Seals enlisted Blanca Galindo, who is a translator for the school district’s English as a Second Language program, to ensure that students whose parents speak only Spanish understood the opportunity and took advantage of it.
“In our countries, they charge for everything,” Galindo said. “(But) this is a free program. There is no second agenda.”
Parents have been delighted with the program and haven’t hesitated to involve their children, she said.
“They like to feel part of the learning community,” Galindo said.
In addition to the sand, air and water test, students are learning about aerodynamics with paper airplanes, energy with bouncy balls and what type of helicopter propeller works most effectively.
“In the beginning … we were all like, ‘School? Summer school?’ ” Davidson eighth-grader Ashley Montano said. “Now, from our point of view from being here, it’s fun.”
Floris Cash, one of four teachers who oversee the experiments, said the program helps answer the constant question in any math class: Why is this important.
“You have to take time in the summer to do science stuff with them so they know what they’re learning in class has some purpose,” said Cash, a math teacher at Crestview High School. “ … Who knows? These people might build the next Dreamliner (airplane). It could be a spark we lit in a summer program.”
The program won’t end Friday when the students present their findings during a symposium. It will continue as they go through high school, Seals said.
Educators from the Scholar’s Summer Institute will touch base with the students when they register for classes to ensure they’re enrolling in advanced classes, and will check with them two times a month. They’ll also bring the students back together every other month or so for more projects.
“We can’t just put them out there; we’ve got to support them,” Seals said. “We want them to think like scholars. We want them to talk like scholars. We want them to act like scholars.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.