April 2022 Newsletter

Category: Newsletter

Steps-2-STEM students learned about chemical reaction – using potassium permanganate and glycerin to create fire! Thank you to our Curriculum Specialist Danika Garcia for this lesson.  Visit our YouTube Channel for STEM activities and experiences..

 

Arbor Day Leaf Chromatography

This year’s National Arbor Day on April 29, 2022 is the 150th Anniversary! In this activity, you’ll get to play with leaves to learn a little about trees! We are going to see just what makes these leaves so special as we explore the pigments deep inside a leaf’s cells!

What Do You Need? 

  • Leaves (collect fresh leaves, green or other colors)
  • Glasses or jars
  • Mortar & pestle or metal spoons
  • Coffee filters (cut into strips)
  • Scissors
  • Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover

What Do You Do? 

  1. Look at the leaves on trees in your yard or neighborhood. What do you observe about them?
  2. Collect some leaves and grind the leaves into a pulp using a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon against a plate or jar.
  3. Put the ground leaves into a jar or glass.
  4. Pour nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol to just cover all of the leaves in the jar.
  5. Use a spoon to gently stir the leaves.
  6. Put the short end of a coffee filter strip into the jar so that it just touches the liquid.
  7. Fold the end of the coffee filter over the edge of the jar.
  8. Allow the filter to soak until a yellowish/greenish color appears. This may take 20 minutes.
  9. Remove the coffee filter strip. What do you notice? What colors do you see?

Donor Spotlight: Al Giuliani

We appreciate the opportunity to connect with donors, learn why they support EIS, and show our appreciation for their generosity. This time we are shining the spotlight on Al Giuliani, a long-time supporter, and retired food scientist.

Al grew up on a 4-acre ranch in El Cajon and was active in 4-H, FAA and the HS vocational agricultural programs. He attended UC Davis for a degree in food science and technology, and earned an MBA from USC. Before retiring he was President at Ready Pac Produce. His interest in science was inspired in large part by his father, Serafino Giuliani, aka Giuli, who was instrumental in supporting the founding of EIS. Giuli was a Physics and Math teacher at Hoover High School, eventually becoming the specialist of science for the San Diego Unified School District. “Science has been woven throughout my life, and career in the food and beverage industry. I get a lot of enjoyment from fixing things, either in business or at home. That is something I feel was passed down by my dad Giuli, who was inventive and loved fixing stuff. He would take a “throw-away ” and make something useful out of it. It was his hobby on the side. I inherited that trait.” 

The love of science doesn’t end there. Al’s sister, Rachelle, was also bitten by the science bug, she was a Chemistry teacher and one of her daughters is a chemistry teacher. His wife, Margaret, also has an interest in science. She was at the top of her HS class in science and math prior to receiving an RN degree at the University of California San Francisco. Their son, Steve, is an 8th-grade science teacher and their daughter-in-law, Amanda, is an engineering teacher at HS and STEM coordinator. Recently his three granddaughters, Olive, Agnes and Greta, participated in the EIS virtual camp from their home in Ft. Collins, CO. “All three girls had fun doing the experiments as a family. Hopefully, they will be able to do it again. They made a stethoscope, volcanoes, sprouted seeds on the window sill, and learned about ecology and recycling.” 

Al supports EIS because he values how our programs help develop an appreciation for science and the real-world applications and career options it provides. “It’s related to almost everything in our lives. Supporting that opportunity and giving students who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to learn more about science is one of the main reasons why I do and will continue contributing.” We are so grateful for the generous support from Mr. Giuliani to provide quality hands-on STEM education for the youth who need it most. Thank you Al!

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You can become a supporter of EIS on our website with a one time or recurring donation or via check to 608 51st St., San Diego, CA 92114, or by pledging a donation through your company’s employee matching program. If you would like to add EIS to your estate plan or set up an endowment to continue your own science legacy, send an email to our Director of Development Charlene Browne.

 

Debra Roy Named in 50 Most Influential Women In Tech

Congratulations to EIS Board President Debra Sterling Roy for being named the Top 50 Women of Influence in Technology by San Diego Business Journal. Debra is a staff engineer at General Atomics We are so grateful for her time and energy volunteering at EIS. Click here to learn more about Debra and view all the honorees.

 

Join the Mathemagicians Homework Club at EIS!

There are two ways to get help with your math homework, either meet in person at EIS from 12:00-12:45 pm on Saturday afternoons or join the online meetup at https://meet.google.com/xsd-fnkh-nqc.

If you would like to participate send an email to info@mathemagiciansclub.com.
Include in your email, your child’s grade and math concepts they are working on (or share an attachment of their homework). For in-person tutoring, please register with the above information to info@eisca.org.

They will offer help, more practice problems or worksheets. This includes SAT math help as well. They will monitor this email daily so you don’t have to wait until Saturday to ask for help.

Try the Mathemagicians App!  In addition to joining the Mathemagicians every Saturday for math tutoring, students can now practice math on the new app. It’s available for free at the “Apple App Store” for download. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mathemagicians/id1557607923 or as a webapp at mathemagiciansclub.com/mathapp.faec

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CONTACT EIS

Use the form below to contact EIS staff, and we will respond as quickly as possible!

Elementary Institute of Science
608 51st Street
San Diego, CA 92114
619.263.2302