FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 29, 2017 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
kids & education
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Queens community center connecting
students with top scientists
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BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Richmond Hill community center is
putting local kids face-to-face with some
of the country’s leading scientists for a
one-of-a-kind learning experience.
Simcha Waisman, president of the One
Stop Richmond Hill Community Center,
has been running the video conferencing
program for 16 years. First approached by
a local teacher with the idea, the two have
worked together to grow and expand the
program.
“We’ve made big strides,” Waisman
said. “Talking to NASA, astronauts, engineers.
And slowly but surely, that’s how
we developed this great program.”
Th is year, students in the program will
have the ability to speak with scientists
from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and
the St. Louis Zoo through video conferencing
technology, putting a wealth of
scientifi c knowledge at their fi ngertips.
During the video conferencing sessions,
Waisman explained, the kids are
in charge.
“Th e kids are the only ones asking question,”
Waisman said. “Th e kids have to
do research, come up with questions they
want answered. Th ey make the questions.
We only supervise them.”
Th rough the experience, the young students
learn valuable life skills, including
problem solving, teamwork and public
speaking.
“Th ey learn how to talk; how to communicate,”
Waisman said. “It’s not easy
for the kids to stand in front of the microphone.
But by the time they fi nish the
program, they are fl uent.”
Aft er each session is done, the organizer
said, students are buzzing with excitement
as they wait for their parents and
guardians to pick them up.
“Th ey are so excited, you can hear them
on the way out explaining to their parents
what they learned,” Waisman said.
Th e program, which is completely free
to students, is kept going with funding
from local politicians and generous donations
from the community, Waisman
explained. Each year, the organizer
approaches local schools and churches
about the program. Interested students
then go through an application process,
which includes a recommendation from
a teacher.
“It’s not for me; it’s for the kids,” he
said. “Nobody else has this kind of program
around us. We are the only community
center in eastern corridor in the U.S.
doing what we’re doing.”
Th is summer, the program will run
from July 18 to 27 at the center on 110th Street and Jamaica Avenue.
Photos courtesy of One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center