Holy Trinity in West Orange recently offered a unique summer program for children: “Science and God,” led by Holy Trinity's Priest-in-Charge, the Rev. Miguel A. Hernandez, who is also a telecommunications engineer.
The program was held on Saturday mornings in July, with the first meeting taking place on July 5. We thought that turnout would be only a few students. However, nine children showed up on the first day, and the group soon grew to 15.
Most of the students, whose ages ranged from 10 to 18, were from Holy Trinity, but there were also a few from the neighborhood. Both boys and girls participated in the program.
The philosophy of the class was to teach the students some physical laws using practical examples. Fr. Hernandez used a string attached to two poles to show how vibrations can travel to affect the elements touching it. The concept of frequency was shown by pulling on the string and showing how it created waves. In addition, students were presented with simple explanations of electronic components so that they could be assembled to work in various projects.
Fr. Hernandez and the children review diagrams on the whiteboard. PETER JACKSON PHOTO
The students were asked to work in teams of three or four so that they could experience the benefits of team work and sharing ideas as they worked on various projects.
One of our discoveries when working with the students was that they were very dedicated, focused and enthusiastic to the point that they voluntarily worked through the recess to advance their projects.
A father of one student was concerned that his son was not going to enjoy the projects. To our surprise, this particular student was so dedicated that as soon as the electronic kit was given to him, he diligently started to work on his project.
The cost of the program was only a few hundred dollars. Holy Trinity purchased a white board, and the rest of the materials – RadioShack Snap Kits – were provided by a generous donation. Leonor Molina-Hernandez, Fr. Hernandez's wife, and I volunteered our time to work with the students.
The Science and God Summer Program demonstrated to us that the children are eager to learn, and that we need to offer them the opportunities so that they can be co-creators with God.
