Why a newspaper skyscraper is science

Article shown courtesy of The Okanagan Sunday.

It might not look like it at first, but that’s a scale model of the Sears Tower in Chicago, made out of rolled-up newspaper.

“It’s definitely a skyscraper, but our version will end up to be about six-feet tall,” said Joshua Penner, 13, who was doing the project as part of a Community Science Celebration at Dr. Knox Middle School in Kelowna on Saturday.

“You take newspaper roll it around this stick, tape it, take out the stick and you have this newspaper tube that’s pretty strong,” said Penner’s brother Michael, 11. “That’s what we’re building with.” The elder brother added that by attaching the newspaper tubes in squares and triangles, the model highrise is stable. While the brothers and dozens of other kids doing similar newspaper tube projects were having fun, they were also learning about science. Another girl left the session with a newspaper tube replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower.

That’s exactly what the Community Science Celebration is designed to do — give kids a fun outlet to get excited about science. “Fewer kids are interested in science in school and fewer high school graduates are going into science and technology based post-secondary programs and careers,” said celebration co-ordinator Jo-Ann Coggan of Vancouver’s Science World. “We want to let kids know that all the fun things they did today is science and science is everything from engineering and research to high technology and computers. ”Science World’s outreach program had been in the Okanagan all week doing twice-a-day camps at Kelowna elementary schools and even hitting pre-schools and daycare centres in Penticton and Vernon with Big Science for Little Hands.

“For pre-schoolers, we have them paint by dropping and rolling marbles dipped in paint,” said Coggan. “It teaches them about gravity and momentum.” Eddie Durech, 11, was at the centre testing how movement makes two pictures attached back to back on a straw appear when spun around.“After this, I’m going to make some edible DNA with licorice and marshmallows,” he said. Other centres covered balance using wires and weights, astronomy and genetics. Male nursing students from UBCO were there debunking the myth that nursing is for girls and female forestry students were also there, saying the profession isn’t just for men.