web1_TTL102817Trunk-or-treat1.jpg

Wilkes-Barre ‘Trunk or Treat’ combines awesomeness of cars, candy

web1_Columnshot-1-1-.jpg

Beyond the Byline: Would Fats find his thrill on Capitol Hill?

<p>DALLAS &#8212; Science enthusiast Hannah Gozikowski, 10, had a ball Saturday when she got a chance to build her own mini-rocket and launch it.</p><p>Gozikowski was one of many children participating in various Halloween-themed science activities at Misericordia University&#8217;s &#8220;Things That Go Boom in the Night.&#8221;</p><p>The event, which was sponsored by the university&#8217;s Dead Alchemist Society, a science club, featured a great deal of hands-on experiments, including making slime and foam that the children could take home with them, designing fake blood, designing constellations with pretzels and marshmallows, and Periodic Table bingo.</p><p>Hannah&#8217;s mother, Amy Gozikowski, brought her children to the program for the first time and was quite pleased with it. &#8220;So far, I think it&#8217;s great,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The kids are having fun.&#8221;</p><p>Dr. Anna Fedor is the chair of Misericordia&#8217;s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and also serves as the faculty adviser for the Dead Alchemist Society. She helped organize the event and thinks it&#8217;s a good way for children to get excited about science and get exposed to it at an early age.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s inspiring the next generations of scientists,&#8221; she said.</p><p>A show was also put on by faculty and Alchemist Society students, featuring vomiting and fire-breathing pumpkins, breaking things with liquid nitrogen, and the much-anticipated shooting cannon, which was a first this year.</p><p>Jeff Stephens, an assistant physics professor, was the mastermind behind both the cannon and the rocket launch activity. He launched a Ping-Pong ball through a pipe at a speed of over 200 mph into some aluminum cans.</p><p>&#8220;They should make one big heck of a boom,&#8221; he said prior to the show. The activities gave Stephens a chance to tap into his inner child.</p><p>&#8220;It gives me an excuse to build the toys that I always wanted to build,&#8221; he said. Stephens had been thinking of constructing the cannon for quite some time, hoping it &#8220;would bust through some stuff.&#8221;</p><p>In regard to the rocket launch activity, Stephens said it&#8217;s enjoyable for the children, but they are also learning some complex engineering skills as they figure out how to launch the rockets from different angles.</p><p>Like Fedor, he believes that if children can get interested in science at an early age, they might pursue science-related careers.</p><p>&#8220;You want to establish the kid&#8217;s curiosity and feed it a little bit,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102917Boom_1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia University science majors in the Dead Alchemist Society demonstrate soda geysers on the campus in Dallas Township during the 26th annual &#8216;Things That Go Boom in the Night&#8217; event Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102917Boom_1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Misericordia University science majors in the Dead Alchemist Society demonstrate soda geysers on the campus in Dallas Township during the 26th annual &#8216;Things That Go Boom in the Night&#8217; event Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>University hosts &#8216;Things That Go Boom in the Night&#8217;</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kulsoom Khan</p><p>kkhan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Children learn science at ‘Things That Go Boom in the Night’