The sun broke through the dull January winter just in time for a steady stream of future scientists to trickle into the Water Resource Education Center Saturday.
“A little bit of a mess is going to be made,” said one water center volunteer. And a little was — in the name of science.
Saturday’s activities were part of the monthly Second Saturday program at the water center. The first event of the year was titled simply, “Be a Scientist!”
Children learned how to be a chemist, geologist, engineer, wildlife biologist and veterinarian all in one afternoon.
Some couldn’t wait to test their skills after reading the informational sign posted at the entrance.
“I wanna be a veterinarian, I wanna be a veterinarian,” exclaimed one little girl before she bounded off toward the learning stations.
Suzanne Hebert, an educator at the water center, said they plan each month’s activities with either science or nature in mind.
“So this month we’re giving our visitors an opportunity to do some activities to illustrate what it’s like to be a geologist or a chemist or a wildlife biologist,” Hebert said. “We even have a vet tech that volunteered to come in and see what it’s like to be a veterinarian.”
Kids learned how to diagnose illnesses on stuffed animals — a skill many may take home and try on their real pets.
“Which is adorable to think about,” Hebert added.
Other stations included marshmallow molecules, catapult anatomy, a play-dough rock cycle and citrus volcanoes.
At the citrus volcano station, scientists replicated a common science experiment: mixing vinegar and baking soda to observe the fizzy reaction. But Saturday’s experiment featured a twist. The chemists tested orange, lime and lemon juice to see which had the best reaction with baking soda. (Spoiler: it’s lemon juice — at least according to the trial runs, Hebert said.)
Tammy Frace said she brings her children, 7-year-old Gabriel and 3-year-old Emma, to the Second Saturday events regularly.
“It’s awesome and it’s free,” Frace said. “You can’t beat that.”
Frace said her daughter is still a little young to fully participate in some of the activities, but the experiments are just about right for Gabriel. He may even have a future as a scientist.
“I think Gabriel wouldn’t mind being a vet,” she said. “He just loves, loves, loves animals and birds and nature.”
Wendy Fuller and her son Mason, 5, stopped by the water center for the first time Saturday.
“He says he wants to be a scientist right now, so we’ll see,” Fuller said.
At that moment, he rushed away from his career as a geologist and toward chemistry.
Others considered their futures in science as the experiments continued and the lab tables became just a little stickier. At least for today, the answer to “Do you want to be a scientist?” was a resounding “yes.”
