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      ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gathered around miniature lab stations,
the second-graders tried to predict what would happen if they left
water in the freezer overnight.


      It's the latest experiment in Katie Dehnicke's class at
University Avenue ACES in Blaine, an Aerospace, Children's
Engineering and Science magnet school.


      "I think it's going to turn blue," one student said, while
another argued it would turn into ice.


      The Anoka-Hennepin School District revamped the school, formerly
University Avenue Elementary, and opened it this fall as a Science
Technology Engineering and Math school, focusing on aerospace.


      From a "Sun, Moon and Stars" lesson theme for third-graders to
learning the laws of motion and building rockets in fifth-grade
classrooms, University Avenue integrates aerospace and engineering
into nearly every aspect of the K-5 curriculum.


      It is the only STEM program in the Anoka-Hennepin district with
a concentration in aerospace. The only other program in the state
is Farnsworth Aerospace, an elementary and middle school in St.
Paul.


      The University Avenue program has attracted 550 students, said
Amy Oliver, curriculum integrator. About 75 percent come from the
neighborhood; the others chose the school for its aerospace
program.


      NASA and the Space Foundation provide resources and training for
teachers who are learning alongside the children.


      The curriculum isn't the only part of the school getting
revamped. A 7,000-square-foot addition was built over to house the
science lab, music and art rooms, and a new cafeteria.


      Dehnicke's second-graders look forward to their regular trips to
the new science lab.


      "It's better than gym day now," she said. "Even kids who
think they don't like science enjoy the hands-on experience."


      When Deya Engfer of Blaine heard University Avenue was becoming
an aerospace magnet school, she was encouraged.


      Her daughter Katrina liked reading but cared little for math and
science.


      "They present it different now at the school," Engfer said.
Now, second-grader Katrina talks at home about how excited she is
to do experiments in the lab.


      "She was so excited," Engfer said. "She said `I'm finally
going to see the lab.' "


      The school is integrating science into all parts of its
curriculum - math, reading and language arts lessons are approached
in new ways. A fifth-grade poetry lesson takes on a cosmic touch
with students writing their own haiku about the planets. One read:


      The new program is a great fit for the students at University
Avenue, said Angela Voves-Anderson, a third-grade teacher known
throughout the school for being "crazy about science."


      The students' enthusiasm is great, but what Voves-Anderson finds
most rewarding is that it empowers children to problem-solve on
their own.


      The scientific method, which she calls a community process,
isn't about finding a set of facts. It teaches students not to give
up when something doesn't go their way. Solving problems with each
other, rather than bringing in an adult right away, gives them
responsibility, she said.


      "It's really a change in attitude about how you approach a
problem."

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Education News

The Anoka-Hennepin School District revamped the University Avenue ACES school and opened it this fall as a Science Technology Engineering and Math school, focusing on aerospace.

New lab at Blaine school gets students excited about science

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