Our Lower School science program engages children in the wonder and study of the natural world through topics covering biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences. Our program revolves around stimulating students to think, take intellectual risks, learn from mistakes, experiment safely, share information, and contribute new bits of knowledge or activities to the curriculum. Training in the scientific method begins as early as First Grade, and becomes a finely honed skill by the end of Fifth Grade. Children are nurtured to become keen observers, to ask questions, to formulate hypotheses, to develop experiments and projects to gain further understanding, and to analyze their new findings. Hands-on, individual and cooperative science activities utilize minimal starting information to encourage learning that is student driven and discovery based. In addition, each grade level conducts at least one controlled variable experiment. Science is taught weekly by the Science Specialist and classroom teacher together, with curriculum extensions and additional topics taught by the classroom teacher.

In the First Grade students are introduced to a variety of hands-on experiences in science. They learn how to care for mealworms and design experiments to learn about the larval behavior. They study design and construction by creating homes and vehicles for cottonball mice, following specific parameters. They also explore crystals, levers and scales, air science, and water science.

Second Grade Science is a balance between physical and life sciences. The study of gears and pulleys gives the students a solid background for designing their shoebox cars. The car project, plus the making of hovercrafts, encourages experimentation and the sharing of successes as well as failures. Introductory electricity is taught through the making of a question-and-answer game board. Studies of plants, an experiment with daffodil bulbs, and the collection and observation of slugs are all part of the study of the life sciences.

In Third Grade, chemistry, botany, design technology, crime lab, and anatomy and physiology are given emphasis. Observational skills as well as learning to test hypotheses are developed through basic acid/base chemistry and the bubbleology unit. Crime Lab requires teamwork, technical skills, and analytical thinking. Through design technology, students will learn to decipher parameters and work within them, while fostering a spirit of innovation and problem-solving. The reassembly of a rodent skeleton during the study of owl pellets, as well as games and models to aid in the study of the senses, begins the students' two-year studies of anatomy and physiology.

Fourth Grade science is partly integrated with the study of Northwest Coast Native Americans. Students study the wetlands, local fauna and the effect of our interaction on both. . This study culminates with a three-day field trip at the coast. Students also study human anatomy and physiology of the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems. The study of parallel and series electrical circuits is combined with a design technology unit that provides practical application of those concepts. Students also raise and study garden snails.

In Fifth Grade, emphasis is on refining students' application of the scientific method while furthering their studies of chemistry, physics, earth and natural sciences. For their study of chemistry, the classroom is transformed into a laboratory, and students don protective goggles and rubber gloves as they experiment with a variety of chemicals. Students study biomes and ecosystems, as well as astronomy and geology, culminating in a five-day experience at OMSI's Hancock Field Station near the fossil beds of eastern Oregon. Selected physics activities cover such topics as optics, gear ratios, gyroscopes and inertia. Students leave the Fifth Grade ready for the challenges of Middle School science.

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