Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 135 No. 4 Summer 2014 | Page 18
Total Disappearance
Kasen Lopez, son of WSD staff members Carlos Lopez and Karen Turcsany-Lopez, put together a project for
his school science fair. Based on the fact of the black hole that exists in our galaxy, he developed something
tangible for anyone who visited his demonstration to get the full picture of how gravity plays a big part.
Kasen brought his project to WSD to share with the elementary and middle school boys on B-3. In one gravity
demonstration, Kasen used a blow dryer and a Ping-Pong ball. He turned on the hand-held blow dryer and
placed a Ping-Pong ball in the path of the blowing air.
In another gravity experiment Kasen used an hourglass shaped
vase. Everyone was encouraged to release a coin or a marble on
the very top and watch it spiral down towards the narrow base.
Kasen explained to the students that the objects released in the vase
represent the stars and the vase represents the black hole. Stars that
get too close are pulled into the black hole and will never be seen
again due to the gravitational force being so strong that even light
cannot escape.
Students shared their fear that our solar system will get too close
to the black hole. Their imaginations ran wild as they shared their
fears. Kasen assured them that it will not happen during their
lifetime or any time soon due to the fact the black hole has been in existence long before anyone could
acknowledge it. John Michell and Pierre-Simon Laplace first considered objects whose gravity fields are too
strong for light to escape in the 18th century. Kasen did a wonderful job showcasing his research on gravity
and his science project at WSD. Kudos to Kasen!
Circle of Trust
Jamie Chapin meets with the elementary girls on Tuesdays after school. This group was set up to develop
trust among the girls. The goal of the activities is to reduce tattling and bullying. The girls made tattle monster boxes in order to help the girls learn to solve their own problems rather than diverting staff from their
time on the job. Each girl decorated a box and labeled it, ‘Tattle Monster.’ When an issue arises, the girls are
encouraged to write the problem on a piece of paper and put it in her Tattle Monster box. At the end of the
day after attempting to resolve it on their own, if the issue has not been resolved, then they may present the
issue to a staff member who was there at the immediate location to see if mediation can solve the problem.
BELOW: Caitlyn Buchman-Pozca
adding some feathers to her
dream catcher.
2013-14 Summer - 18
BELOW: Erian Danke, Tania Rooker, and
Ra’Nell Smith creating their dream catchers.
Another activity was making a
dream catcher. Some of the girls
confessed to going to bed with
negative thoughts and some even
had nightmares and lost sleep.
Jamie explained to the girls that
they should hang the dream
catcher on the wall near their bed.
Before they go to sleep they are to
state their negative thoughts to the
dream catcher. Hopefully the girls
will have a good night sleep and
sweet dreams!