Of all the hours I volunteered at Perryville Elementary School, I’m most proud of the science night and book swap programs I put together. These photos are from our first science night held in February 2009.

I had the idea for science night during the previous school year because I wanted families to come to school and enjoy science together. This wasn’t about having the family spend time on a project at home; it was about having fun and learning something at the same time. I researched the way other schools handled science nights and I was excited to put an evening together but the other PTA members weren’t so sure our small group could handle such a program.

The next year, I made sure to get science night on the calendar and worked on it from just after Christmas until the night itself. The boys and I spent evenings and weekends testing and adjusting experiments and I put together equipment lists and instructions for each station.

On the day of the event, I spent most of the afternoon pacing and feeling nauseous. Hinda Smith, the principal, had asked me to speak at the start of the night which I normally wouldn’t have had a problem doing but I was too nervous. I don’t think I was that nervous on the day I got married!

We kicked off the evening with PTA parents and teachers manning each station and the students and families eagerly jumped in. The stations that drew the biggest crowds were Balloon Skewer where skewers were pressed through inflated balloons and Balloon Blow Up using soda and vinegar to inflate balloons.

It was a bigger turnout than I had ever hoped for with 103 students and family members participating. The next day the school was buzzing with excitement as everyone talked about what a great time they had. My mission was accomplished.

The 2009 event was such a hit that it really put the pressure on me for the 2010 science night. I tweaked some of the experiments, replacing a few of the more pedestrian stations with more interactive options. Because our first science night drew so many people and we wanted to make sure that everyone could attend the second time, we actually had to cut off registration a few days before the event.

Science night 2010 was another success and was attended by 115 students and family members.

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