In the wake of the oil spill that resulted from the explosion and sinking of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico last month, students at Old Colony Montessori School learned just how difficult it is to contain and clean such an environmental catastrophe.

OCMS science specialists, “Science Sizzlers,” armed elementary program students with a bag of potential tools and a tub of water that had experienced an oil spill. Students were then asked to unite and, utilizing the various items in the bag, attempt to contain the oil and keep it from spreading to the clean water in the tub. Yarn, used as buoys, was eventually the most successful tool used to control the rapidly dispersing oil within the container. Students discovered that the harder they tried to control the oil spill using all of the materials in the bag the more difficult it became.

Tess Simkus, OCMS elementary class head teacher, read the book “Oil Spill!,” written by Melvin Berger; illustrated by Pat Mirocha, to her students prior to the experiment. Once the students were exposed to the hands-on situation in the classroom, they came back to revisit the book, on their own, again and again, each time further understanding and appreciating the difficulties such an event has on the environment.

“Through our science program, the entire class was able to see a catastrophic world event, in a way that their eyes could see it and their minds could understand it. The fact that the students were able to use their own ideas and imaginations to solve a serious threat to the environment – this is why we are here; to expose, encourage and open wide the world of education and, even more importantly, the entire world around them,” said Mikey Walker, head of school at OCMS.

Walker said, “this is a true testament to the validity and importance of science in our curriculum. Science is a very important component of our elementary program at OCMS”.

For more information about Old Colony Montessori School, visit the school’s website at www.oldcolonymontessori.org or call the school at 781-749-3698.