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Frankenmuth High School physiology teacher Jessie Bassett normally teaches juniors and seniors, but through a collaborative project sponsored by the Saginaw Community Foundation, she expanded her science reach into our second grade this spring. List Elementary and FHS students explored the effects of various chemicals (caffeine, epinephrine, ethyl alcohol and nicotine) on a daphnia's heart rate. (A daphnia is a tiny, semi-transparent freshwater crustacean that can be viewed under a microscope.) Students conducted the experiments on a control daphnia as well as one given a chemical. The high school students guided the second graders as they observed and calculated the average heart rates. Second graders learned how to use microscopes, document their data and utilize graphing calculators to display their findings. The tests led to rich discussions among the groups. Mrs. Bassett commented that she was pleased with the conversations as the second grade students were noticing the effects and making parallel "wonderments" about what happens to people when they used these chemicals. She said, "One of the things that I enjoyed most out of this experience was seeing my students at the high school be very concerned about the way the experiment was conducted. ey know that they need several standards and controls for the experiment to be valid and reliable. ey are thinking and acting like scientists." This project gave physiology students the opportunity to model their practices and grow excitement with future scientists as well. Growing Scientists with Heartbeats FHS and List Elementary students join together to study the effects various chemicals can have on the body through controlled experiments in the classroom. Looking through the microscope at the daphina's heart FHS students Duncan Grazyck and Bethany Saltzgaber and second graders Adam Wilinski and William Felske 16 FHS student Drew Martin and second graders Landin Suppes and Callen Kolka << Bringing hope to hurting people, Stephen Ministry is one-to-one care for people going through a difficult time in their life. Do you need someone to talk to? Please call Rev. Shawn Fenske at St. Lorenz Church to request a Stephen Minister, (989) 652-6141 All situations and conversations are kept confidential. Serving Frankenmuth and its surrounding communities.