Information about St. Martin’s is online at www.stmartinschool.org.
Going from former zookeeper to early childhood science teacher may at first seem like an odd career move. But Elizabeth Beckwith has made the transition from her jobs at the Birmingham and Atlanta zoos into the classroom to give youngsters a better understanding of nature.
In the seven years she’s been at St. Martin’s Episcopal in Brookhaven, Beckwith has created a living science lab with a strong critter component geared toward the school’s 186 youngest learners, ages 3 to 6. Given her background, it’s not surprising that the lab was the first in Georgia to receive a Nature Explorer Classroom certification by the Arbor Day Foundation and to be certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a wildlife habitat.
“The goal was to bring in small animals the children could interact with,” she said, “so we now have Buttercup a snake; Frank, a bearded dragon; Miss Muffett, a tarantula; and a number of frogs, turtles and crickets. There are saltwater and freshwater tanks the kids can stick their hands into and explore, too. Some just like to sit and watch the animals, but many ask questions about why the dragon has holes on the side of his head and the snake doesn’t. It gets them asking questions and making discoveries.”
Early science education doesn’t stop at the classroom door, either. The lab area extends into a half-acre outdoor area that incorporates a large grassy area, a pond, a fabric loom, a greenhouse, four raised garden beds for broccoli, beans and herbs. Beckwith buries fake fossils in the dino dig area where kids can uncover them. There’s also a pumpkin compost area, built on leftover fall gourds, that is now sprouting new growth.
“Having the indoor and outdoor component is very unusual, especially for students so young,” said Beckwith. “And they take care of it all. They do everything but mow the lawn.”
Having a science program for the pre-K set gets kids involved in research and inquiry that grows from their natural curiosity. At the same time, they’re learning to work with magnifying glasses and pipettes and acquiring a scientific vocabulary with terms such as “procedure” and “hypothesis.”
“This lab encourages them to ask questions around age-appropriate, hands-on experiments,” said Beckwith. “They may be working with slime and goo, but they’re also learning scientific methods such as what takes a solid to a liquid, from one state of matter to another. We also have laptops with digital microscopes that let them look at fabric, hair or skin, and we can take pictures of what they’re looking at and upload them so their parents can see them, too.”
The lab got underway 10 years ago, when parents and staff joined forces to create an environment to encourage that young curiosity. Since then, the scope of its offerings has won numerous awards and the concept copied by schools around the country.
“After Elizabeth and I spoke at the National Episcopal School Conference last year, we had 32 people come to look at our program,” said Cindy Alexander, the school’s early childhood principal. “We’re being copied over and over because it is very unusual to have this kind of freedom to explore.”
Getting the youngest students interested in science and inquiry has paid off in the long-run, said Beckwith. “We now have students in the fifth and sixth grades who learned in this space, and they’re still excited about science because of that experience,” she said.
Some of the older children in the 635-student school get to use the space again during their own science classes or in the after-school program, said Alexander.
“It’s the first thing the after-school kids sign up for,” she said. “It really sparks their imagination.”
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