Skip To Main Content

Science

Empowering students to explore the interconnectedness of the natural world.

At Penn Charter, our science department is committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment rooted in Quaker values, where students are empowered to explore the interconnectedness of the natural world.

The Penn Charter science experience empowers students to recognize areas of growth, seek truths about the world they live in, and learn how to self-advocate to problem solve. A fun and engaging atmosphere that pushes the comfort level of students, while maintaining a very safe learning environment.Jeff Humble, Middle School science teacher

Lower School

In Lower School science, students learn by thinking and working like young scientists, building their understanding through hands-on experiments. Using a spiral approach, concepts introduced in kindergarten are revisited and expanded in each successive grade. Highlights include:

  • Third grade students build a model house that can withstand strong winds, a project that hones skills in communication and uses the engineering design process.
  • Fourth graders visit the Schuylkill Nature Center, where they conduct a stream study.
  • Fifth grade student build contraptions to keep an egg from breaking when dropped from two stories high.

Middle School

Through biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth and space science, students build critical thinking skills and learn to make evidence-based decisions in a changing world.

  • Sixth graders journey from the Big Bang to Earth's ecosystems, exploring the universe, plate tectonics and humanity's impact on the environment through hands-on labs.
  • From cells to body systems, seventh grade students investigate life science through microscopy, and by building and maintaining a live aquaponic tilapia system and hydroponic garden.
  • Eighth graders explore motion, energy and chemical interactions — culminating in the Physics 500, in which teams design and race gravity-powered cardboard cars carrying a 20-lb weight.

Upper School

Upper School students explore scientific concepts by analyzing data, conducting hands-on experiments and drawing evidence-based conclusions.

  • Students in Biotechnology learn techniques for transferring the genes for bioluminescence from a deep-sea bacterium, enabling a common lab strain of E. coli to glow under normal conditions at room temperature.
  • Advanced Studies Environmental Science students examine the interactions between all of the living organisms in the Penn Charter meadow, then create a massive food web depicting native plant and tree species.
  • Anatomy students explore how getting a tattoo impacts multiple body systems, connecting body art with the structures and functions of their own bodies.