BRADFORD – Bradford Exempted Village Elementary School hosted the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) on Wheels, Thursday, March 23.
A Midwest school tradition since 1982, COSI On Wheels introduces science topics to an entire school with a high-energy, 45-minute assembly followed by a day of hands-on activities that enhance science inquiry skills and encourage continued learning. Bradford Elementary students learned COSI’s Weather Program.
Fourth Grade Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher Jill Post was looking for another field trip for her students when she started researching COSI. She said she saw it done at another school and thought it would be a great opportunity and a way to get grades kindergarten through sixth involved. Post organized about 20 volunteers and brought COSI to the school for about $1,000.
“This will benefit K-6,” she said. “It was a little more than half that much just to bring one grade level to COSI,” she said.
Jessica Takos, of Columbus, has been working at COSI for eight-and-a-half years. She has worked with all ages, she said, and tailoring her lessons to the students has come natural with the job.
“I love everything about my job, such as: being in a different place every single day and meeting different kids that make me cards and notes that I treasure” she said. “Every time a kid comes up and says, ‘This is the best day ever!’, I get so excited.”
According to Takos, while students can learn a lot of what COSI brings in the classroom, COSI reinforces that learning with hands-on activities on unique COSI – built exhibits.
“These aren’t things you can go to the store and buy,” Takos said. “We have an exhibit called “Tornadoes” featuring tornado tubes where they can build a tornado like one is created outside. If we bring COSI in, kids can use their hands to learn more than just reading out of a book, looking at some pictures or learning a lesson. We are all about hands – on science.”