Photo by Stephanie Elverd Matthew Smith of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources shows Selah McGraw, 4, and Jace Morrow, 9, aquatic life fished out of Beaver Creek near Negley during a multi-agency sponsored day of science and fun held at East Palestine on Tuesday.

By Stephanie Elverd

Special to the Times

EAST PALESTINE — In keeping with famed philosopher Jean Jaqcues Rousseau’s words, several organizations came together at East Palestine High School to “not teach children the sciences, but give them a taste for them” with a day centered around science, music and fun on Tuesday

The multi-agency event began in the afternoon with student demonstrations about agriculture, animals and rocket-propelling chemical reaction. It concluded with hands-on activities for East Palestine students and a concert for students and their families put on by the Columbus Symphony.

As a part of the event, every student in East Palestine received a free “Learning Lunchbox,” a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) kit that provides five activities aligned with Ohio’s learning Standards.

As part of the event, AT&T provided 250 free Chromebooks to the East Palestine City School District to help accelerate learning and close the digital divide.

Support for the programs is provided by the state of Ohio through the Ohio Distance Learning Initiative, an innovative program led by COSI and a collaboration of statewide libraries, museums and cultural institutions to deliver free, hands-on science kits.

Joining forces for the day of fun and science were the East Palestine City School District, COSI, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, OH Wow! Science Center, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Education, AT&T and the Columbus Symphony. Directors of the Ohio EPA (Anne Vogel), Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Mary Mertz) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture (Brian Baldridge) were present to inspire the future scientists of tomorrow.

Stephanie Elverd can be reached at selverd@mojonews.com