About
1,200 third- and fourth-graders from across Oregon came to the College
of Forestry to take part in Oregon Wood Magic, a hands-on educational
program about the use and value of wood in our lives.
In lessons with such titles
as “Bubbling Bazookas” and “Dr. Fire,” the young students observed
the operation of a portable sawmill, learned about fire retardants,
watched a video about house construction narrated by a talking 2X4,
and tested the strength of a wood beam loaded down with rocks
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placed in a bucket.
“The program lets students and
their teachers move through a series of nine stations covering aspects
of science and technology that relate to wood, wood products, and
natural resource issues,” says Margie Hoover, assistant program
coordinator in the Department of Forest Products. “All the lessons
are tied to the Oregon Benchmarks, and schools are encouraged to
do science lessons relating to the material before they arrive on
campus. The event is always very popular.”
Participants in this year’s
program come from elementary schools in Portland, Beaver Creek, |
Veneta, Lebanon, Salem, Junction City,
Springfield, Philomath, Albany, and Corvallis.
How many stones will break this board? Rakesh
Gupta, Forest Products, helps Wood Magic
students fill the bucket with stones.
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