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Talawanda School District's elementary school students practiced at being budding explorers, zoologists, chemists and scientists of all stripes when they participated in the second annual Miami/Talawanda Science Week.

To the kids, however, the event is known as Science Day, because grades one through five participated in science week on separate days. On Tuesday, May 13, second-graders went to the Oxford campus to hike, study chemistry and study science in other ways.

Barbara Hamilton, an environmental education specialist, led the students on scavenger hunts through the Robert A. Hefner Zoology Museum at Upham Hall. She gave the students cards with pictures, telling them to see if they could find what was pictured in the museum.

"I bet you guys would rather explore than listen to me," she said.

Then, she upped the ante, giving the students close-up shots of objects, asking them to see if they could tell what that object was, and find it.

The students eagerly explored the museum, intently trying to match their cards with what they could see. They weren't allowed to touch most objects in the museum, but there was one trunk with a sign that said "please touch," and the kids delighted in playing with the artifacts there, with some of them using animal horns as head gear.

Some tried to help each other out, although one boy protested, "Stop helping me so I can find it myself!"

All told, approximately 1,100 students participated in 155 different activities throughout the week, according to information provided by the district.

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