Photos: Roosevelt Students Get Hands-On Science Lessons at Geary Park

Kindergarten and first grade students from enjoyed hands-on learning activities at on Friday as part of K-1 Science Camp.

The annual activity brought together about 225 students for a fun-filled day of science experiments, including examining cells through microscopes, exploring types of metals and learning about static electricity.

Students also weighed items, made paper airplanes, experimented with light refraction and enjoyed a snack of "dirt pudding."

The event was made possbile by parent volunteers who led the 15 stations, helped supervise students and even brought along supplies.

For Roosevelt parent Deena Parks, her role as a high school science teacher at another district allowed her to contribute the microscopes to the event along with human skin and blood samples on slides.

"They're having a great time and they're learning," said Parks, who helped organize the event.

Though her children have already passed the grade level to participate, she chose to stay involved. "We find that kids aren't getting enough science education necessarily in the classroom," Parks said. "This is a way to get them kind of interested in the early years."

Anne Kelly, a school social worker and Roosevelt parent, led the efforts to organize K-1 Science Camp. "This is part of our yearly outdoor education that we do for the kids," Kelly said. "All kids love hands-on activities."

The students walked from school to the park and each brought home a bag full of their completed projects.

Beth Derigiotis, a first grade teacher at Roosevelt, said her students always enjoy the event and it offers a chance to explore topics outside the classroom and in different ways. "It's a great experience for the kids," she said.

Another station at Science Camp was digging for dinosaur bones in small pools of sand - a definite favorite for 7-year-old Lakayla Harris, who said her favorite dinosaur is the T-rex.

"I learned that dinosaurs used to live a long, long time ago but they passed away," she said.

She also got to experiment with what objects would sink or float. "That was really fun," Harris said.