A Bridge of Fire electrified
students and senior citizens
alike last week as RCS students
and volunteers in the STARS
Helpers program visited the
Schenectady Museum Planetarium
on Dec. 12.
Nineteen RCS students
attended with several of their
senior friends from the Van
Allen Senior Apartments.
The visit was paid for by a
mini-grant provided by the
Community Foundation for the
Capital Region's Standish Family
Foundation.
The students seemed to love
the visit, which gave them
opportunities to try many
interactive experiments, said
Karen Harmon, executive director
of the STARS Intergen Program.
The Bridge of Fire was a big
hit as students stood up on the
bridge, felt electric sparks and
could see the effects of the
static electricity in their
hair. The students also were
able to play "mental soccer"
where they would put a strap
around their hit and try to
mentally push a little ball down
a glass-encased board into the
opponent's goal, all by trying
"not" to think, Harmon reported.
Winning depended on the brain
wave activity of each player.
The students also were able
to see themselves on TV as news
reporters and tried on a green
jacket, which made their bodies
disappear on the TV that was
wired nearby.
