Department of Physics and Engineering Physics

Giving the gift of science

Undergraduate physics student Libby Crain and physics applied assistant professor Jerry McCoy became "Wizards of Science" to help overcome the barriers of teaching deaf children about physics.

Science teachers in deaf education face tough challenges because they cannot conduct an experiment and sign to their students at the same time and the properties of sound waves are difficult to explain to someone who can’t perceive them.

Crain and McCoy organized and presented a workshop for a 2009 summer camp offered by the Total Source for Hearing-Loss and Access (TSHA). The camp, called “Wizards of Science” was designed for children who are either deaf or have a deaf sibling.

“We did an experiment in which we filled a pop bottle with liquid nitrogen and capped it,” said McCoy. “As the liquid boiled into vapor, it popped. They could feel the concussion and they loved it.”

By tapping into the children’s other senses, Crain and McCoy were able to teach them a variety of physics lessons that helped them better understand the world in which they live.