By Mason Vosmek, age 15
First Graders, Future Inventors
By Tracy Clark-Peele, HES teacher and special guest to HyattsKIDS
First graders at Hyattsville Elementary School (HES) have been learning about inventors, and what a great way to wrap up the unit than to bring in an inventor to show us an amazing creation: the Catnip. As we were learning about inventors and how people decide on things to invent, Marighny thought about the cool device her dad invented to make sure their cat was fed while her family was away. Mr. Wilson showed the first graders his invention and gave the students the opportunity to touch and explore the materials he used. He shared the steps of getting ownership of your invention. We were very excited to meet a real inventor and also to get to experience using the invention. The students had a great time exploring the parts used to assemble the invention, and we all got to see a real patent.
After this presentation, the kids thought about what new things they could imagine and create. Our first graders’ creativity went to work. Some students said they would invent robots to help the world. Christian’s wheels started to turn when he was given a tool to take apart the Catnip. He liked the tools and gadgets so much that he started connecting many of the pieces to try to make a new machine. Way to go, first graders! And watch out, world: HES has future inventors.
Courtesy of Tracy Clark-Peele, Hyattsville Elementary School
Food critic speaks to HAP
By Evan LeFevre, age 15
Route One Corridor Conversations, a program started by Hyattsville Aging in Place (HAP) in tandem with other local aging organizations, is a Ted Talk-esque presentation to help older adults keep in touch with the community. Each month, anyone from the Rte. 1 area can call in or join a Zoom meeting to hear an expert presenter speak on a different topic. This month, award-winning food critic Tim Carman, who writes for the Washington Post, joined the meeting to discuss his job. He talked about the ins and outs of the food industry and how he picks the restaurants to review.
With our area’s quickly growing restaurant scene, there are so many new places to review! A couple of years ago, Tim wrote an article about Taqueria Habanero which my mom cut out of the Post and added to our stack of restaurants to try out. I can definitely say, after eating there a couple times, Tim Carman is the man to trust with good restaurant recommendations. But beyond looking to him for your next destination, anyone with an interest in food writing can learn a lot from him.
Although the meetings have a goal of including seniors in the community, anyone is welcome to join. Corridor Conversations has had presenters cover the topics from nature, art and astronomy to racial justice, literature and poetry. The team encourages anyone with an interest in the month’s topic to listen in for a bit and learn something new. In addition, if you have a grandparent who would like to hear a bit about what’s going on in their favorite grandchild’s neighborhood, suggest you watch one together. They’d love to hear from you!
You can find the information for upcoming Corridor Conversations, as well as recordings from past events on HAP’s website, hyattsvilleaginginplace.org.
Amazing STEM fair at Hyattsville Elementary
By Evan Muynila, age 9
Hyattsville Elementary School (HES) held their annual STEM fair during the first week of spring. Students got to present their projects to their class. If they received a good grade, they went on to present to STEM fair judges from other schools. Ms. Robinette Boone is the 4th grade science teacher at HES and this is what she had to say about this year’s fair: “I thought it went well this year. Everyone did a good job on their project and [it] was better because it was in person and not online.”
This year’s fair was interesting because students were allowed to choose their STEM projects themselves about anything they wanted. In previous years there was a required theme. In the fourth grade class, projects included the growth of brine shrimp, packaging for apples, and even a simulation of the Earth out of orbit! Many schoolmates agreed that presenting to their friends and teachers in the classroom was better than virtual and good practice for public speaking too. The STEM fair ended with a picnic where everyone that had a project was given a certificate. Students that placed in their grades were given ribbons. There was even music and ice cream. I think it was a wonderful experience for everyone that was able to participate and we all hope it can happen again next year.
