Middle School Students Tour Brookhaven’s Polymer Science Program

Gifted fifth and sixth graders from the Quest program at Brookhaven School District’s (BSD’s) Lipsey Middle School toured the Brookhaven Technical Center’s polymer science lab in December to see what opportunities await them in high school.

Students in the Polymer Science I and II classes assisted the younger students with different experiments. Many students enrolled in Polymer Science I and II were in the Quest program while in elementary, middle and junior high. Quest is BSD’s intellectually gifted program and offers students a differentiated learning experience to meet their unique needs.

Polymer science is a two-year STEM pathway centered around experiential learning through hands-on labs and field trips. Not lacking in academic rigor, students explore general, organic and polymer chemistry as a basis for connecting observable material behaviors to molecular-level relationships. Materials surveyed over the course include polymers, ceramics, metals, composites and coatings. The science behind and practicality of these materials, various processing techniques and performance properties are explored. Students develop critical-thinking, problem-solving and communication skills through a variety of learning experiences, preparing them for the dynamic 21st-century workplace. Brookhaven Technical Center (BTC) Polymer Science I and II instructor Leah Ann Peavey (left) explains an experiment to Lipsey Middle School (LMS) fifth and sixth graders during a December tour of the center.

LMS sixth grader Hampton Smith participates in an experiment during a December tour of BTC’s polymer science lab. John Sones, a BHS freshman enrolled in Polymer Science I, assists his sister, Claire Sones, with an experiment. Claire Sones is a sixth grader at LMS.

Brookhaven High School (BHS) students enrolled in the polymer science program hold up vials during an experiment.