Teacher makes learning fun

When the high school gym went pitch black last week on Monday, some elementary students cried out that they were afraid of the dark. But a few minutes later when a Black Eyed Peas’ song “I Gotta Feeling” started playing and the lasers begin to dance on the walls and ceilings, students were thrilled.

Expressions like “cool” and “this is awesome” were muttered across the gym.

Two tables, with a variety of items, and speakers behind that were set up in the gym as elementary students filed in for the “Mr. G Science Show.” Combining the dynamics of music, lasers, raw eggs, fiber optics, toilet paper and all other sorts of materials, Glenn Govertsen, better known as Mr. G, set out to demonstrate some physics principals to students.

Govertsen taught physics at Sentinel High School for 31 years before he retired. All of the things that he does in the show, he did at one point or another while teaching his class. After retiring in 2004, he traveled to Florida and other places in Montana trying to teach teachers more science. He would go to the schools and put the show together.

“It’s all basic physics that will show in a big way,” Govertsen said.

The show started out with a focus on light and sound. Govertsen had lasers attached to the speakers and when music played, the low notes would cause the speakers to vibrate, and the lights danced on the wall.

Govertsen handed out glasses that acted as defracters to the light. He talked with the students about sound, noting that sound is nothing more than a vibration of air. In fact, when you wave your hand through the air, you’re creating sound, but as a human you’re not able to hear it.

He sent sound through a laser beam to speakers and also amplified sound coming from an ear bud using a Rice Krispies box and a piece of Styrofoam.

After talking about sound and light for a good portion of the show, Govertsen used Newton’s law. He placed three eggs in three separate toilet paper rolls that sat atop a piece of cardboard, which was laid across three glasses filled with ice water. Using a broom, he knocked the piece of cardboard and toilet paper rolls out from underneath the eggs. The three eggs each fell into their own glass. He also demonstrated scientist Bernoulli’s effect by using a leaf blower to cause a toy ball to hover in mid air.

Govertsen didn’t bother with the many mathematical principles behind the experiments.

“That’s the daunting part about physics and it will come later when they find out there’s a lot of math involved,” he said. “And the math is there, but we need to show the excitement of it and not chill them with the math.”

Govertsen said that the main goal of the show is to get kids intrigued and to motivate them.

“Everything I did was about teaching, but if we don’t motivate children to learn, what’s the point? If I’m not motivated, what’s the point? Through this, I hope that a lot of these kids will get excited. Perhaps about science, but I don’t care if it’s science or literature. I want them to be excited about being in school,” Govertsen said.

Govertsen said that a lot of students will come to the assembly a bit unsure.

“They’ll come and say for example, ‘oh, it’s another science assembly, but then the lasers go and the music, and I’ve got them on my side,” Govertsen said.

And that, was certainly the case last week.