While teaching physics to high school students a few years back,
Judson Wagner had an idea: How about recruiting some of his more
enthusiastic students to visit elementary school classes to get
younger students excited about science? He figured that K–5
teachers would view such visits as intrusions that would disrupt
instruction. But as he later learned, “That wasn’t the case at
all.” When Wagner took over as the STEM program manager for the
Brandywine School District in Claymont, Del., he found that the
elementary school teachers welcomed high school students into
their classrooms. Thus, Wagner’s idea became a reality. “The
elementary kids are so excited about these high school kids
coming in,” Wagner says. “The esteem that the young students
have for the older ones is incredible — sometimes more than any
adult in their lives. They’re like rock stars.” Often, the high
school students break kids into small groups — about four per
group — to show them that science is interesting and
approachable. In one lesson