NT_022218

28 | February 22, 2018 | The Northbrook tower school
northbrooktower.com
GBN students present eclipse findings in California
Martin Carlino, Editor
Glenbrook North students Clarissa Carr and Jacob Rosenberg
present their total solar eclipse findings at the American
Association of Physical Teachers national conference held Jan. 6-9
in San Diego, Calif. Photo Submitted
Most viewers of the Aug.
21 solar eclipse called it quits
shortly after witnessing the
highly anticipated event. But,
for Glenbrook North students
Clarissa Carr and Jacob Rosenberg,
the fun was just getting
started.
Carr and Rosenberg’s experiences
with the solar eclipse
concluded on Jan. 6-9 — nearly
five months later — with a trip
to San Diego, Calif. to present
their eclipse findings at the
American Association of Physical
Teachers national conference.
Near the end of the 2017
school year, Carr and Rosenberg,
students who both have
an affinity for physics, began
to wonder if any special eclipse
experiences were lined up.
Through a mutual physics
teacher and sponsor of the GBN
club Colossal, the two students
got word of a planned research
trip to Hillsboro, Mo., a zone of
totality. Enticed by the opportunity,
both students quickly accepted
their invitation.
The two GBN students embarked
on the more than 300-
mile journey on Aug. 18. Once
they arrived, they spent the first
couple of days conducting preliminary
research, setting up
equipment for the eclipse and
touring the campus of Jefferson
College.
“A lot of it was preparing for
what was going to happen,” said
Rosenberg of the early stages
of the trip. “On the day of the
eclipse, we working the whole
time, except for the few moments
when totality was actually
occurring.”
And, for Rosenberg, those
few moments are ones he’ll
never forget.
“At that point, we kind of just
had to marvel at the incredible
sight of what was happening,”
he said. “It was probably one of
the coolest things I’ve ever seen
in my life. It was an incredible
experience ... something that
you think you’d never really
ever see. ... It was a breathtaking
scene.”
After the moments of totality,
the students continued to collect
data for their research. Per both
Rosenberg and Carr, their data
collection focused on studying
cosmic rays, high energy
particles that come from space
and more specifically, analyzing
the rate at which muons — a
particle similar to electrons —
entered the Earth’s atmosphere
during the eclipse.
The students hypothesized
that the rate would change during
the eclipse. But, through
their research and data collection,
they discovered that was
not the case and determined the
rate was nearly identical during
the eclipse.
Both Carr and Rosenberg
were surprised by their findings.
“We went in trying not to expect
anything because we didn’t
want to bias the data, but we
were expecting something to
happen a little bit,” Carr said.
“It surprised all of us that the
data seemed pretty consistent.”
Several months after their trip
to view the eclipse in Missouri,
the two students got word they
would be presenting their findings
in California at the American
Association of Physical
Teachers national conference.
“It was always an idea, but
in five seconds, it became like
it was really going to happen,”
Carr said. “I was super excited,
but also a little bit nervous.”
GBN physics instructor Anthony
Valsamis helped eased
the two students’ nerves be ensuring
them they were experts
in what they were presenting.
And, more than a month after
their presentation in California,
Carr and Rosenberg both recall
the moment as unforgettable.
“Not only did we get to experience
what it was like to be
in a professional setting doing
physics research, but as a student
it was incredible because
there were no other high school
students who were presenting
there,” Rosenberg said. “Just
being able to be amongst those
people was incredible. … It was
cool to see something that I can
continue to do in the future.”
Hickory Point students collect $1,200, donate books
Submitted by Northbrook
School District 27
Students from Hickory
Point School collected
$1,200 during a coin collection
drive to donate to
an organization that provides
books for needy children
around Chicago.
On Feb. 7, members
of the Kind Kids Club at
Hickory Point selected
the books to be donated to
Bernie’s Book Bank from
the many choices available
at the school’s annual book
fair. Additionally, Scholastic
Books, which sponsors
the fair, will match
the students’ donation and
buys books for its “All for
Books” program.
Hickory Point Principal
Sheila Streets said students
and staff have been focusing
on kindness throughout
the year. Students
also held other drives this
school year, including
making toys for cats and
dogs at area animal shelters.
“Our students are aware
some children don’t have
the good fortune we do
when coming to school,”
Streets said. “They have
opened their hearts to help
others.”
Hickory Point student Abigail Jackson looks over
books to donate to Bernie’s Book Bank. Photos
Submitted
Hickory Point student Leah Jorbin smiles as she places
one of her books into the donation box for Bernie’s
Book Bank.