With his Play-Doh before him and wire circuits in hand, Old Orchard Elementary School third-grader Dashawn Greely worked to use the modeling compound as a conductor to connect a circuit from a battery.
Fortunately for him on Tuesday, he was sitting beside KeyBank Toledo Market President Jim Hoffman.
Easily standing out in his suit and tie among the roughly 10-year-old students during the Imagination Station electricity presentation, Mr. Hoffman sat beside the young Greely and assisted him as he worked the connections before — voilà! — he had his light bulb moment when the circuits connected and LED light came on.
“It refreshed my memory about science experiments in the classroom,” Mr. Hoffman said with a laugh following the presentation. “We didn’t have science centers like this, so I imagine having this as a child I wouldn’t be a banker today. I’d rather be doing some science work.”
He was on-hand to see the by-product of Project Discovery, a collaboration between KeyBank and Imagination Station center to provide Toledo Public Schools third-graders a chance to experience science and experimentation first-hand at the nonprofit science center and museum. Throughout the day, students from seven Toledo elementary schools participated in similar circuit experiments, watched a 3D film about space in the KeyBank Discovery Theater, and were given free reign to explore other science-based exhibits.
The Project Discovery program was originally launched in 2019 as part of a three-year grant from the KeyBank Foundation to make hands-on learning more accessible through student visits to Imagination Station, as well as visits by Imagination staff to Toledo Public Schools to hold “science festivals” using classroom kits. But the pandemic forced the groups to put the program on hold until this year, said Sloan Eberly Mann, Imagination Station’s director of education advancement.
“Nothing is better than having kids back in this building,” she said. “The energy and excitement that they bring, it’s every little moment... We did our think tank workshop where the kids are lighting up their LEDs, and just when they finally have success and the light bulb goes off, it’s just the best feeling in the world, and you can’t replicate that on the screen. It’s just not possible.
“We’re really excited to be able to implement this program this year and we have a vision to continue and grow it over the next two-to-three years,” she added.
Tuesday’s field trip to Imagination Station was actually the second visit by Toledo third-graders to the science center, with the first slate of schools visiting earlier this month. Also planned for later this year is a family science night for Toledo Public Schools’ students and families at Imagination Station that will include a meal and books for every third-grader.
First Published April 26, 2022, 10:20 p.m.
