After School Program Makes Science "Mad" Fun

Attending science class is not what some children would choose to do after school, or even during school hours. But if it’s a Mad Science class, taught by a teacher named Mad Mark, it apparently makes a huge difference.

The Mad Science Program offered at Sickles School is apparently a hit—as the Fair Haven Recreational Commission, which provides the program, had to add another class to meet the demand for the program. Originally, the commission had one class scheduled, and once that sold out, it added another.

Now the Mad Science program, which runs for six weeks, is held on Wednesdays and Thursdays for one hour directly after school in the Sickles School’s art room, according to Charlie Hoffman, director of Parks and Recreation.

“It’s a hands-on program,” said Hoffman. “The recreation commission has given the green light to life-enrichment programs,” he said, adding that Mad Science is one of those programs. “It’s convenient for the parents, as the children go straight to the classroom directly after the school.” And, Hoffman said, the program has been getting positive feedback from the parents. “It’s nice to offer more life-enriched activities for the kids, especially this time of the year,” he said.

The Mad Science program is offered for students in kindergarten through third grade. For the children, it’s a chance to be with friends, and do “cool” stuff.

When asked about the class, one second-grader named Max said, “I think it’s cool.” He said he does fun experiments. Another student, Arabella, is also a second grader. She said, “It’s good. A lot of my friends go to it, so it’s fun.”

Mad Mark, a pharmacist by trade and Mad Science teacher on the side, said, “I enjoy doing this.” He said that seeing the reaction of the kids to the experiments is something he enjoys. “I hope I am giving them something that they can learn, while having fun,” he said. It’s was clear from a recent visit that he certainly has the patience and drive to teach science to twenty energetic children.

Each week of the six-week program has a different theme and lesson. This week’s lesson was about chemical reactions and was called “Chem in a Flash.” 

A lot more boys than girls were in the class, at a ratio of 15 to 5. But all eyes were on the experiments when they were able to take part. First, Mad Mark explained the lesson for the day and asked the children if they knew of any chemical reactions. He prompted them to tell what happens when you leave a bicycle outside in the rain. “It rusts,” one child called out. “That’s right, and that’s a chemical reaction,” Mad Mark said. After explaining what is needed for a chemical reaction to occur, he then proceeded to show the students, in beakers, how the chemical reaction of rust occurs.

Then the children did their own experiment with rust—that involved pennies, which were put in two different beakers---one with soap and water and one with vinegar and salt. They learned that the beaker with vinegar and salt made the penny shinier. The teacher then put hydrogen peroxide on the pennies to show the students that result.

There were many examples of chemical reactions that the children were prompted to provide. Mad Mark said that another example is a big statute sitting in New York Harbor. “The Statue of Liberty,” one child called out. “That’s right,” he explained. The Statue of Liberty is green, but is really made out of copper, so a chemical reaction has occurred.

The next experiment was the one that all the children seemed to enjoy and involved baking balloons. The children were separated into five groups and each had a balloon, a flask filled with vinegar, and various amounts of sodium bicarbonate—or simply referred to as baking soda—were added to each group’s balloons. The students learned that the balloons with more baking soda filled up more when interacting with the vinegar.

Sam, a second-grader, summed up the program. “It’s fun and interesting… and it’s awesome.”

And that says it all.