Weather Balloon Launch

NCCS students looked into the sky as their weather balloon floated up and away 20 miles into the stratosphere. On Feb. 22, second-graders launched the giant white balloon with the help of a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The launch was part of their science unit on the properties of air and weather. “The students got to see the job of a scientist and how it’s applicable to real life,” said Hannah James, Lower School Science Assistant, who organized the demonstration. James invited Lance Roth, a meteorologist and science technician for NOAA who has worked in Greenland, the South Pole and American Samoa, to her classroom to teach the children about how thousands of weather balloons are regularly launched around the world to track temperature, air pressure, humidity and wind. Although the radiosonde attached to the school’s weather balloon did not transmit information back to the school, it did have a note attached asking for its finder to contact the students upon its descent. They’re hoping the parachute doesn’t land in the ocean and they’ll get a call soon. “We believe in offering students opportunities to apply the concepts that they are learning in the classroom to the real world, so they can see and experience the concepts in action. The lessons are much more powerful that way,” said Head of Lower School Kathleen Holz. - by Brooke Springer

Animal Embassy in Kindergarten Science

Chris Evers from Animal Embassy brought some wild friends when he visited kindergarten classes!

play with a purpose

Eighth graders created a curious substance in the laboratory called Oobleck. Then they had some time to explore its very peculiar properties....

 

Into the Woods 

 Welcome back to school! Get excited, science students!! We are so lucky to have such an incredible campus, with acres and acres of places to explore. This photograph of NCCS alumns on the nature trail was taken some years ago, but imagine yourself in this picture. Keep your walking shoes handy - from Beginners to ninth graders, we'll be going outside and having adventures of our own.

Electric Carnival!

Sixth graders built electronic games and created a midway to finish their unit on electricity -- complete the circuit and win a prize!

Spring Chickens!

Thacher Building has some new residents...

Birds & the Scientific Method

Sixth grade bird research projects are underway! After learning how to identify the local avifauna that frequent bird feeders in the area, students designed original controlled experiments to investigate a question they had about bird feeding behavior. For the past few weeks, students have been monitoring feeders, either at home or at school, collecting data in an effort to gain insight with regard to their experimental questions. This year’s observations have included a bobcat staking out a feeder and a sharp-shinned hawk chasing a junco into a window! Soon, students will be analyzing their results, writing them up, and submitting them for possible publication to a student journal created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.