“It’s alive!” fourth grader Harris Hardy yelled as he jumped out of his seat in the Hill Elementary STEM Lab.
Harris watched as his cup of baking soda fizzed up, a chemical reaction to the dish soap and vinegar inside.
Harris, who was dressed as the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, was just one of many fourth graders dressed in costumes as Hill Elementary teachers hosted Frankenstein Day at the Arlington school on Halloween.
“They always say kids learn from people they love, and who wouldn’t love teachers that create this environment for them,” Principal Kasie Longoria said.
The leader of the event was Kellie Pringle, a fourth-grade teacher who dresses as Frankenstein’s monster each Halloween.
Pringle, who joined Hill Elementary seven years ago, said the event was inspired by one of her mentors, who would go all out in decorating her classroom for Halloween.
“I kind of stole that idea,” Pringle said. “I was like, ‘That’s the kind of teacher I want to be.’”
Each year, parents, teachers and volunteers help transform the school’s STEM Labs into Frankenstein’s laboratory overnight. They use donated supplies and decorations to bring the spooky lab to life.
Students work on experiments during Frankenstein Day at Hill Elementary in Arlington on Halloween. (Chris Moss | Arlington Report)
“We have an excellent community at Hill,” Pringle said. “We send the call out and people show up.”
In the two adjoined labs, teachers and volunteers walked students through hands-on experiments each representing a different science concept.
Evelen Hartkopf, 9, said her favorite experiment was the DIY lava lamps that display states of matter.
“Whenever we did our lava lamps, we put like oily stuff and mixed it,” Evelen said. “When we put the oil on top, they would be separated.”
Jayce Ray, 10, enjoyed the potion station the most because he put what he had learned about mixtures into action.
“It’s water, cotton and powder, then you mix it up and it makes this,” Jayce said, holding out a vial with a purple liquid.
Allowing the kids to use concepts they have learned in the real world is not just fun, but it also helps them grasp what they are learning better, Pringle said.
A volunteer shows students a chemical reaction during Frankenstein Day at Hill Elementary in Arlington on Halloween. (Chris Moss | Arlington Report)
“They’re able to hold on to that, retain it and recall it later on,” Pringle said. “Having those hands-on experiences and experiments just makes it a little bit easier to come to life and click.”
Students play with a toy circuit board during Frankenstein Day at Hill Elementary in Arlington on Halloween. (Chris Moss | Arlington Report)
Experiences like Frankenstein Day shape the memories of elementary school for students, Longoria said.
“At 8:30 a.m., it’s a big reveal,” she said. “They walk in, see Ms. Pringle dressed as Frankenstein and they’re floored. Our kids here are from pre-K to sixth grade, and this is probably one of their core memories out of their whole experience in elementary school. They love it.”
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
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