The 2nd annual Fifth Grade Scholars Project took place on Saturday, November 23rd at Duke. This is the second year that a student team in Tony Brown’s Enterprising Leadership course has been assigned to plan, implement and host this event in union with Durham Playworks (www.playworks.org). The event is a field trip that brings fifty Playworks 5th graders from five different Durham Public Schools to Duke’s campus for the purpose of exposing them to various aspects of college life and inspiring them to pursue higher eductation. This year’s student team, Georgia Swee, William Overton, and Ryan Houghton-Berry used their connections on campus to create a fun-filled and educational day for the kids!
Activites were organized around the following themes:
- ATHLETICS- Led by Mary Clayton and other varsity athletes, students were able to tour Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, Wallace Wade Foodball Stadium, and the Duke Basketball Museum and Hall of Fame.
- SCIENCE- Led by Dr. Kenneith Lyle and student volunteers from Duke Chemistry Outreach, the fifth graders were able to observe four fun experiments and conduct an experiment of their very own in the laboratory.
- DANCE-Duke students in the dance group DEFMO choreographed a dance to teach the fifth graders and performed a few of their favorite numbers for the students.
- TOUR- The students were walked through Perkins and then brought inside of Duke Chapel. Some were even able to listen to the Chapel Choir rehearse!
- JOURNAL REFELCTION and QUESTIONS- The students were asked to write down their favorite classes and greatest strengths. The Duke students explained how their answers corresponded with college majors and answered any questions the fifth-graders had about college life.
Not only does the Fifth Grade Scholars Project inspire children to realize their potential, but the day also nurtures the relationship between fifty Durham families and Duke.
The 2nd annual Fifth Grade Scholars Project.
The 2nd annual Fifth Grade Scholars Project.