Kids soak up science at this camp

As professor Joann Chickering stirred liquid nitrogen into the sugar, vanilla and cream witches' brew, the fifth- and sixth-graders let out squeals, giggles and "oohs" and "aahs" as a gaseous cloud covered the lab table.

The students, who are enrolled in Bellevue Community College's one-week summer science camp, were examining how the extreme cold of liquid nitrogen affects the properties of various substances — a far cry from the more routine summer enrichment of amusement parks, sprinkler runs and action flicks.

The 3-year-old program uses logistical help from the Urban League and a grant from Boeing to make the classroom one of the most diverse in the region. Science-loving kids from the Eastside mix easily in their enthusiasm with children who take a van from inner-city Seattle.

Although anyone can attend, program director Jim Ellinger said he seeks out racial and income diversity. Scholarships offset the $175 cost.

"We wanted to reach kids who don't get this opportunity," he said. Gender diversity is also a priority. He chose fifth- and sixth-graders because "that's an age when young girls get turned off by science," he said.

The 32 students — split into morning and afternoon sessions — cover a different discipline each day, using experiments to learn how scientific laws manifest themselves.

During an oceanography lesson, the students re-created an oil spill by pouring oil into a tank and then tested solutions such as grass, hay and detergents for cleaning it up.

On this day, they watched as Chickering dropped an inflated balloon into the liquid nitrogen. She explained that the balloon shrank because the cold air slowed the molecules' movement.

The students nodded knowingly.

Chickering then used a set of lab tweezers to drop a racquetball into the nitrogen. When she threw it against the wall, it smashed, and a few students jumped.

But the denouement of the morning nitrogen bonanza was the instant ice cream. As the creamy soup began to resemble that favorite summer dessert, the anticipation seemed almost unbearable for the students.

As they shoveled the icy snack into their mouths, they were enthusiastic, if concise, about their interest in science.

"I like it because you get to learn a lot of new things," said Rachel Gebhart, 10, of Bellevue.

"I like the experiments, and I'm good at it," said Jeremiah Horton, 11, of Seattle.

As he slurped his remaining ice cream, Patrick McMillon, 11, also of Seattle, said merely, "It's fun."

J. Patrick Coolican: 206-464-3315 or jcoolican@seattletimes.com.