Researcher for a Day: St. Louis children get up-close look at cutting-edge science
Can a middle schooler design a better bouncy ball — and maybe, one day, a better plastic?
Can we produce alternatives to plastic from renewable sources?
WashU engineer Marcus Foston has devoted his life to that question. And today, 25 middle school students from Central Middle School in the Riverview Gardens School District have joined him on that quest. They are part of Washington University in St. Louis’ “Researcher for a Day” program, an immersive experience where young students spend a full day on campus, conducting experiments in WashU labs, exploring related science careers and meeting WashU students and faculty.
“There’s a lot of information that shows that science identity is formed as young as middle school, and so my goal today is to engage these students in real science that they can see this is something that they can do if they want,” said Foston, an associate professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering.
The students divide into teams, pull on white lab coats and get to work making bouncy balls, typically made of petroleum-derived plastic, with varying combinations of glue and natural additives such as potato starch, cornstarch and borax. The students drop their balls from a set height, record how high each one bounces and compare their results.
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