Greater Norristown PAL to Hold Family Science Night

The Greater Norristown Police Athletic League (GNPAL) will host its seventh annual Family Science Night, March 15, from 6:30 – 8 p.m.

The event will take place in the GNPAL gymnasium and feature scores of family-friendly, fun science and engineering experiments that youth in kingergarten through eighth-grade are encouraged to participate.

“The whole idea is to get the families out and together,” Maggie Hall, GNPAL board of directors member, said. “The science that will take place that night, is fun science.”

Hall, a retired secondary math teacher, said that GNPAL jumped at the opportunity to engage youth and their families through the science fair. She credits a GNPAL volunteer for coming up with the idea. She said that the GNPAL volunteer is also a Franklin Institute volunteer, and has designed the experiments at the GNPAL Family Science Night to be as fun and engaging as those that may be found at the Franklin Institute.

“It’s to capture the imagination of the child, and hopefully get them to explore science more in depth,” Hall said. “And, have fun in the meantime.”

According to Hall, family participants to this free event will have free reign to explore each of the experiments, which will be set up throughout the gymnasium in stations.

Among some of the fan-favorite experiments this year will be

• Alka-Seltzer Rockets
• The Bubble-making station
• Paper Airplanes
• Wet-cell experiments
• Properties of sound waves through non-Newtonian Fluids

Hall expects over 100 families to attend with over 30 volunteers to help guide the families at each experiment station.

Among the volunteers will be the founder of GNPAL’s newest youth-club, the Future Inventors of America with Rich Andrews. The club will make its debut to the public at the Family Science Night, and will feature six stations in of itself, including lessons on masonry, telecommunications, as well as a demolition derby, at which station a household appliance is taken apart to see how it functions.

Walking on Egg Shells

The March GNPAL Family Science Night will feature the second-annual Egg Drop Contest, where youth participants must construct a container to protect a raw chicken egg from breaking when dropped from a height of 15-feet or greater.

Participants must be present at the event to enter the contest. For full details, please see the .pdf in the media gallery with this article.

Heading to the GNPAL Family Science Night?

• When: March 15, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

• Where: Greatner Norristown Police Athletic League, 340 Harding Blvd, in Norristown.

• Who: For families with children in grades kindergarten – eighth. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at this event.

• Admission: Free

For more information, visit www.greaternorristownpal.org or call 610-278-8040.