Agilent classroom program gives kids hands-on lessons in pressure-free environment
by Steve Hart
The Press Democrat
''Every day, you guys use mechanical energy," Matt Foster told a dozen curious third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Helen Lehman Elementary School in Santa Rosa recently.
Foster, 24, is an engineer at Agilent Technologies in Santa Rosa and a volunteer with Agilent After School, a program that teaches kids to love science.
Their eyes widened as Foster told them how they were all going to demonstrate mechanical energy: "We're going to make a catapult."
Using pre-cut wooden parts, each student assembled a simple model catapult. A rubber band attached to the catapult arm supplied the mechanical energy to send foam balls soaring.
Continue reading Learning Science the Fun way.
