Last spring, Jenna Campbell enrolled in a UC Berkeley deCal class titled "Science in Oakland Elementary Schools," a program that brings hands-on science to students in some of the area's most academically challenged environments.
 
She enjoyed the course so much that she is now teaching it.
 
"I was never really a kids' person and I never really worked with kids beyond coaching a whole lot," said Campbell, a senior on Cal's women's swimming & diving team majoring in molecular & cell biology with an emphasis in neurobiology. "I went into the class and I didn't know what to expect. I just really enjoyed working with the kids and seeing how excited they were. I would come back and I would be super excited. It was the only thing I ever talked about to my roommates. I just loved it and I wanted to continue doing it."
 
Campbell developed her affinity for science during her own elementary school days in Palo Alto. She understands now that she had opportunities that aren't afforded to many other students.
 
"It was not just another subject," Campbell said. "It was fun and engaging and hands-on. It was always an option for me. But I think for a lot of these kids, that's not necessarily true. I think exposing them to more options is really important."
 
Campbell co-teaches the deCal class with two other students with a focus on exposing early learners to STEM areas – science, technology, engineering and math. On Mondays, Campbell and her fellow teachers gather in a Barrows Hall classroom to talk about the experiments they want to bring to the young students and discuss some of the broader inequalities that exist in schools, and how to possibly address them.
 
"We talk about different things that can help us better teach the students and give them a better education," said Campbell, a team co-captain this season who is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection.
 
Every other Wednesday, the Cal students head off-campus, with half of the class going to Garfield Elementary and the rest visiting Bridges Academy. The afternoon sessions are part of an after-school program sponsored by Super Stars Literacy.
 
"Both schools generally don't have these science programs that a lot of other elementary schools have," Campbell said. "We're trying to incorporate some science into their after-school activities."
 
At Garfield, which is where Campbell leads the class, more than a dozen first-graders eagerly await the arrival of the visitors from Cal. And when the group arrives at the classroom, the young students perk up with obvious anticipation for the 75-minute learning experience.
 
"Super Stars Literacy loves the day when the UC Berkeley's STEM program happens," said Claire Elowitt, senior program manager for SSL. "It adds balance to our program and provides the opportunity for our students to increase their reasoning and critical thinking skills with support from young adults, like Jenna."
 
"They really love it," Campbell said. "I don't know how much scientific knowledge they retain, but they really do enjoy when we come. Once they get to know you, you walk in and they just get so excited. 'Oh, the scientists are here!' They just love it so much, so it's a really good energy. Even the ones that are a little bit troublemakers, you can tell they get into it. If you kind of probe them, they enjoy the science as well."
 
Campbell and the other teachers start each session with a mindfulness exercise to get the first-graders ready to learn. They talk about what it means to be a scientist, the different types of scientists they can be and help them understand some of the vocabulary. Then, they move into the hands-on experiments.
 
On one particular Wednesday in October, Campbell led the class through learning how to create power and movement for a vehicle. The Cal group helped the Garfield students build a small car using a plastic bottle as the body, attaching wheels, and inserting a tube through one end of the bottle with a balloon tied on. To show how they could make the car move and understand the meaning of force, they went out to the playground, blew up the balloons and watched the projects scoot across on the blacktop.
 
Other weeks have featured planting for a garden or building a volcano. Campbell, given her major, tends to look for experiments from her biology background, while the other class leaders bring ideas from engineering and physics. They also ask their fellow Cal students for ideas.
 
"We draw from all over the place," Campbell said. "We obviously have a repertoire of experiments that have worked well. We're constantly trying to incorporate new things into it."
 
Ultimately, Campbell and her classmates want the elementary school students to get exposure to science in general and possibly consider it as a career option. The deCal class is in its third year of operation and shows no signs of slowing down.
 
"I think they see the kids get excited about stuff," Campbell said. "We bring in all the materials. We bring in enthusiastic students who are ready to work with some of these kids, even if they've never worked with kids before. They're really excited to go in and work with these kids. The students and the faculty have all expressed that they really enjoy having us there."
 
For the Cal students, the feeling is mutual, and together, they bring a sense of joy to learning.