Exploration at Clarmar

Students at Clarmar Elementary School learned a different version of the familiar children’s song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” on Thursday.

“Head, thorax, abdomen,” was what the children were singing as part of a lesson on insects.

The session was just one of several stations students at the Fremont school visited as part of Clarmar’s annual Exploration Day.

Students also got to learn about everything from bird migration to how bubbles are made.

One demonstration had students making ice cream to show physical changes and another had them making banjos and tambourines to show how sound works.

“A lot of times kids just aren’t excited about science, and it’s one way to get kids interested and enthusiastic about science,” said Joanne Lehman, a fifth-grade teacher at the school who organized this year’s Exploration Day with second-grade teacher Lori Schenck.

Lehman said the activities switch every year, but added there is one constant to the presentations.

“We try to have things that are highly interactive for the kids because that is what good science is all about,” she said.

A number of parents also were on hand throughout the day to help at the different stations.

“A lot of this hands-on stuff takes a lot of hands to help,” Lehman said. “We’re fortunate that we have great parents that are willing to volunteer their time.”

While this year’s event focused on science, Lehman said the school also has had a history day and career day in the past.

Money to fund the Exploration Day was raised at the school’s Monster Bash carnival in the fall.