The Pearl River Interpretive Plaza was filled with the sights and sounds of children and their projects earlier this week.
A group of home school students from the JNA Academy and DKX Bullock School spent part Monday and Tuesday learning about a variety of things using the Plaza behind City Hall in Columbia as their classroom.
“We wanted to do a history lesson on the Pearl River and we decided to have a boat activity to go along with it,” Evelyn Bullock of the DKX Bullock School said. “We created boats from foil, craft sticks, toothpicks, straws and glue. We have about a dozen boats made by students of all ages.”
Carolyn Burton of the Marion County Development Partnership said the agency has developed lesson plans for groups of all ages to use the landmark, located on the site of an artesian well in downtown Columbia. The Plaza features a scale model of the Pearl River from its beginnings north of Jackson to the Gulf of Mexico.
“We have lesson plans on our website (www.mcpd.info) or here at the office,” she said. “We had three local teachers, Ms. Donald Hales, Shelley Putnam and Angela Johnson, devise the curriculum. We’ve had several classes come to visit the Plaza, but these were the first ones to use the lesson plans. We’re glad they took advantage of it.”
The students had the chance to see how much weight their boats held as participants dropped cargo in the form of pennies, a sucker and a Tootsie Roll onto the boats. Many held more than 50 pennies before sinking. The boats were then sailed down the river to see how quickly they could make it from one end to the other.
“The lesson plans include a variety of things from history to a watershed talk show,” Burton said. “This group was going to do the talk show as well; they’re the first to take advantage of it.”
Bullock said the program helped teach the children a variety of lessons and prepare them for an upcoming event.
“Each year, we’ve hosted a fundraiser for various organizations,” she said. “Last year, we held our Gator Race here at the Interpretive Plaza. This year, we’ll have another race here on Oct. 21.”
For more information on the lesson plans, visit www.mcdp.info or call the Marion County Development Partnership at (601) 736-6385.
Pictured Above: Students and instructors from area home schools gathered at the Pearl River Interpretive Plaza earlier this week. Participants included, front row from left, Mason Bridges, Xander Bullock, Christina Alexander, Jonah Dunaway and Maya Dickson. In back from left are Jaydon Dickson, Paige Davis, Alex Vargas, Anna Stephens, Melissa Corral, Clayton Powell, Taylor Morris, Adam Alexander, Jonathan Bullock and Kyra Bullock. | Photo by Mark Rogers
