Say "science" to fourth-graders at Barnett Shoals Elementary 
School in Athens, Ga., and you might get excited accounts of 
making "ocean" waves or using Hula Hoops to section off 
schoolyard areas to count living bugs and plants. Science is 
hands-on and fun.

Last semester, these students and their teachers worked on 
different science projects with Eva Daneke, a University of 
Georgia student from Duluth, Ga., majoring in environmental 
health sciences.

Through Project FOCUS (Fostering Our Community's Understanding 
of 
Science), Daneke and 11 other UGA students were teamed up with 
Barnett Shoals teachers to bring hands-on science to 
kindergarten 
through fifth-grader students.

Project FOCUS is a new program of the UGA College of 
Agricultural 
and Environmental Sciences (CAES). It serves two purposes, said 
David Knauft, CAES associate dean of academic affairs.

"It allows us to do some community service," Knauft said. "And 
it 
also exposes kids to science that's fun and meaningful. Our 
students provide the teachers with a second pair of hands and a 
depth of science background that many elementary school teachers 
do not have."

Since much of the science in the CAES is applied science, he 
said, it's easier to simplify for young students.

"The kids liked all of the projects," said Daneke, who worked 
with two fourth-grade classes.

"Their favorite was probably making craters," she said. "We 
dropped marbles, golf balls and tennis balls from different 
heights into pans of flour to demonstrate the conditions in 
space 
that create craters. It made a big mess, and they loved it."

The idea to pair college science students with elementary school 
teachers was based on Elementary Science Education Partners, a 
joint project of Atlanta public schools and seven Atlanta-area 
colleges and universities, said FOCUS coordinator Jim Spellman.

"FOCUS has been a really good experience for the students," 
Spellman said.

"Many UGA students come from metro Atlanta, from affluent, 
mostly 
white schools," he said. "Barnett Shoals Elementary is really 
diverse. It gave them a much better understanding of the 
problems 
in education and the challenges facing teachers. It also allowed 
students to see how much work is involved in preparation to 
teach 
a class."

On Saturday, Jan. 11, a new crop of UGA students will spend the 
day at Barnett Shoals in a Project FOCUS orientation session. 
They'll learn some basics about elementary education, lesson 
planning and the classrooms where they will work.

The program requires that the CAES students agree to spend at 
least three hours per week in the classroom, teaching science.