Upper School Science Day

Students rotated through classrooms, lab spaces, and the library as each presenter gave a presentation about their field of expertise. Sessions included examining healthy lungs versus those impacted by smoking, the development of the human body during adolescence, and looking for indications of neurological diseases on brain scans. Throughout the day, students had plenty of time to ask questions, engage in hands-on exhibits and imagine a career path in science and medicine.

 

The sessions covered topics around:  

 

 

“Our traditional 5th-grade science field trip to UCSF has had to be canceled for the past three years due to Covid, so we were thrilled to bring the field trip to Burke's for ALL Upper Schoolers, said Susan Deemer, fifth and sixth-grade science teacher. As they circled around the exhibits one student said, “When my mom asked what I did at school today, I’ll say, ‘Oh, I saw a brain!’” 

 

Sitting in on several presentations with students, Upper School Director Sheena Tart-Zelvin noted that “students were excited to learn, ask questions, and share their previous knowledge with presenters. Each space had an atmosphere of engaged learning and curiosity and the presenters commented over and over again how impressed they were with the questions students posed.”

At the end of the day, fifth-grade students were fortunate to attend an hour-long Q&A session with 10 of the presenters. Each student was then presented with a personalized stethoscope and a lesson on how to listen to our hearts from Dr. Dawn Rosenberg, the primary planning physician for the event.