Estabrook notes that an elementary school setting can be a bit more of a challenge than a college classroom. "It can get a little chaotic. I’m glad there are teachers in the room to settle the students down --- it’s like herding cats. But it’s a lot of fun!"

The partnership program obviously draws on the expertise of the College’s staff and faculty, but it also allows them to work outside their usual discipline. While you might not be surprised to learn that associate professor of music Verna Brummett offers workshops in choral rehearsals and a presentation for music teachers called "Alternative Assessment in Music Classrooms," you might not expect to find her dressed in a galabeya (a long, black Bedouin marriage dress covered with colorful cross-stitching), presenting a program called "From Pharaohs to Felluccas: Egypt Yesterday and Today."

"It’s good for us as teachers to put forth something different," Brummett says. "I have other facets that are fun to share. I lived in Egypt for three years and taught at the international school in Cairo, Cairo American College. As a result, I have a lot of artifacts and things to share with the students." Brummett sometimes brings in balady bread, hummus, or honey-sesame candies for the students to try. She might teach students a few Arabic words, like the ones for yes, no, thank you, and numbers. Usually the students have been studying ancient Egypt, so she might bring in some papyrus or talk about the differences between ancient and modern Cairo. She likes bringing something new and "strange" to the students and making them feel connected with it. "It’s exciting," says Brummett. "To some, Egypt might as well have been the moon. I love being around these inquisitive minds."

John Schwartz (photo, left), associate professor and chair of physics, teaches about astronomy and offers presentations with such intriguing titles as "Why Does Frost Appear on Car Windows before the Car’s Body," "Why Do Metal Desk Legs Feel Cold When the Wooden Top Doesn’t," and "What Are Sonic Booms, and How Do They Happen?"

Recently he brought a computer program called Starry Night to Dewitt Middle School. The software simulated the motion of the stars across the sky. "You pick the date and location, and it shows you the sky," Schwartz explains. "You can speed it up, so we can sweep across the whole night sky from dusk to dawn in 20 minutes. You can click on an object, like Jupiter, to see what it is, and then you can zoom in to see it enlarged. It’s like having a really powerful telescope in your own backyard." And the children really become interested when things are so readily accessible.

One reason Schwartz is involved with the partnership is that, simply, it’s fun. But he also sees a loftier purpose. "I think those of us in higher education have an obligation to help our colleagues --- the teachers in the grade schools, middle schools, and high schools," he says. "They have a tough job. Anything we can do to be helpful is appreciated and is a good thing to do."