Science As It Happens - Students meet Secretary
How do you make science real and interesting to an eighth grader? A visit to Glen Canyon Dam on the day its jet tubes were opened as part of the 2008 high-flow experiment is a good start. Standing on the dam as the water burst from the jet tubes seemed to engage the students, as did an impromptu visit from Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.
With the intent of interesting local middle school students in science, USGS Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center scientists visited classrooms in Flagstaff and Tuba City, Ariz., to explain the science associated with the high-flow experiment during the week before the proposed release. The same students were invited to visit Glen Canyon Dam for the opening of the jet tubes on March 5, 2008.