Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Aneles Esparza, a first-grader at Greenfield Bilingual School, assembled and decorated a replica of an early 1980s cell phone. Jenice Brands, a first-grader at La Escuela Fratney, and her brother, Wells Brands, a K5 student at Fratney, learned about physics while building circuits that powered small fans.
Meanwhile, a Siefert School student persuaded her little brother to lie on a bed of nails, without being injured, which demonstrated a physics lesson: A body’s large surface area means the weight is evenly distributed over the pointy nails, so that little pressure is felt in one place.
The children were having fun while they learned, and their families had the opportunity to become involved in the lessons, too. They were among 240 MPS students and their families who explored Discovery World Science and Technology Museum on Saturday, November 4.
Students from Greenfield, Fratney, and Siefert Schools were the most recent from Milwaukee Public Schools to attend ELO Family Engagement Days at the museum, located on Milwaukee’s lakefront. Continuing into February, MPS students and families will have opportunities to visit Discovery World for a day of hands-on learning and a sprawling scavenger hunt.
Family Engagement Days are sponsored by the MPS Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) office and the Department of Strategic Partnerships and Customer Service. Funding comes from federal pandemic relief funds intended to help make up for the national disruption to learning that was caused by the pandemic.
MPS schools will have a chance to sign up for specific dates so their families all attend on the same day. Family Engagement Days, which are free to MPS families, are held when school isn't in session.
ELO offers an extensive list of hands-on learning opportunities to students, many taking place outside the classroom on students’ days off. ELO programs include Summer Academy, for accelerating learning and to provide opportunities for high school students to be college and career ready. Registration for those summer classes opens in March. ELO also offers virtual tutoring for students.
Families should speak to their school leaders for more information on ELO Family Engagement Days. Admission to the event is by school invitation only.