Have you ever wondered where light comes from or why water evaporates? Maybe you wonder why you weigh differently on the moon than on Earth. Or maybe, you just want to see different colors of fire or crystals form from silver. You’ll find all of that in the science department at EBHS.

Science classes at EBHS include learning about how chemistry, physics, and nature play a part in your everyday life. Most science teachers realize that their subjects can be challenging for students to learn and understand on a normal day, but online learning has completely changed the game.  Junior Sophia Macciocchi agrees with this sentiment: “Last year in Chemistry, the labs were so interesting. We made s’mores and mixed different chemicals. I was looking forward to cool labs in Physics too, but now I just watch them through a Teams meeting.”

Most students look forward to learning about these things through interactive labs. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic and online school, for remote learners labs have now become virtual.  EBHS Physics teacher Mr. Vendome explains that the pandemic has “made it way tougher to connect with the students and to do labs. I end up performing the activities for remote students, so I feel like I’m just putting on a show.” But Mr. Vendome is motivated to find solutions to make sure the students feel like more than just “2 letters in a circle, in a box on [a] screen.”

While the hands-on aspect of science has disappeared, it doesn’t mean the teachers’ effort has. Ms. Chao, another Science teacher at EBHS, says that she became a teacher to “make topics that were hard to understand easy to grasp and teach them to students,” and that’s exactly what the Science department is continuing to do.

Now more than ever, the Science teachers are coming together to make sure their students are learning as much as possible. They are filming videos, having extra help sessions after school, and demonstrating labs with their hybrid students. Through all this instructional hardship, the Science department is stepping up and doing as best as they can to make sure students are getting a similar learning experience as they did last year.