Apr 08, 2010 - Claremont, CA - Giving a robot commands is much like telling someone how to make a sandwich, Isabel Santa Maria - a fifth grader at Allison Elementary School in Pomona, CA -learned at Harvey Mudd College’s Science Bus annual science day.

"We made it do things ourselves!" she exclaimed, after helping guide a robot through a maze using similar commands she had just given an HMC student to spread peanut butter on bread. "You have to tell it just what to do."

One hundred fifty local elementary students gathered at HMC for World Science Cup day on Saturday, March 27 to take part in hands-on demonstrations of scientific principles. The event was hosted by Science Bus, a HMC student-led organization that coordinates teams of students to teach participatory science lessons to local school children, especially those from groups underrepresented in scientific fields.

The participants cheered as HMC students and Science Bus volunteers Grant Ukropina ’13 and Will Ferenc ’13 dropped a Gummi Bear into a test tube to demonstrate sucrose combustion. The crowd was delighted when the two chemistry majors poured brown liquid into clear liquid and produced a bright rainbow in a long test tube – the colorful effect of an acid-base concentration gradient.

In the physics segment, Johnson Qu ’12 and Neal Pisenti ‘11, shot fog rings from a vortex cannon made out of a drum and a fog machine. The students squealed as the rings floated above their heads. "I wanted to make sure the kids saw how cool science can really be, so they would want to pursue it for themselves in the future. I love it every time I hear a kid say, ‘when I grow up, I want to be a scientist’", said Qu, the lead organizer of the day and an active member of Science Bus. "Inspiring these kids is the reason I dedicate myself to organizing these events."

Gripping two large water bottles, Neal Pisenti ’11 spun in an office chair to explain the principle of "conservation of singular momentum," helping a group of children understand why figure skaters spin faster when they draw their arms closer to their bodies. The children experimented with the bottles and chairs, controlling their speed by extending and contracting their arms. They witnessed the same principal in action by spinning a Hoberman sphere, a large wire ball that collapses quickly, accelerating its speed. Pisenti joined Science Bus his freshman year at HMC. "I like working with kids," he said, "and helping them really enjoy science."

A group of boys from Roosevelt were certainly enjoying themselves as they spun balloons with pennies and tiny metal washers inside, emitting high pitched buzzes and watching centrifugal acceleration in action.

"All the hands-on experience is so wonderful," said Janice Raby Neely, 4th grade teacher at Allison Elementary. "Our kids love Science Bus. That’s what they wait for every Friday. Many don’t get these kinds of experiences regularly, so hopefully they’ll take this with them into college."

Raby Neely admires the strong community service ethic among the HMC students in Science Bus. "It means so much that they take time out of their busy schedules to do this," she said, smiling at a group of children crowded around a robot.

"I love Science Bus at my school. I like the way we talk about chemicals and do the experiments," said Isabel Santa Maria. "I really want to be a scientist."