Five members from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Air Pollution Control Division visited all of Miller's 7th-grade science classes to lead interactive, hands-on lessons about local air-quality monitoring.
Classroom activities explored daily sources of air pollution — including vehicle idling, home heating, and industrial emissions — while showing students how personal choices and community monitoring can help reduce pollution levels.
Making predictions and testing theories
Students also used handheld air-quality sensors to measure fine particulate matter (PM2.5) both inside school classrooms and outdoors on campus.
Students in Leigh Gillette's 7th-grade science class at Miller Middle School conduct air-quality experiments with handheld sensors on Sept. 22.
Before taking readings, the young scientists made predictions about what they would find — some expected better air quality and less pollution inside, and others anticipated that outdoor air would be cleaner. Then it was time to gather data.
Will air quality be better inside or outside? Two 7th-grade students at Miller Middle School discuss their predictions with Science Teacher Leigh Gillette (far right).
Students measured air quality at multiple indoor and outdoor locations across the Miller campus, noted their findings, and returned to the classroom to share their discoveries. In almost every instance, the data showed that air quality was better inside than out — with one notable exception.
A surprising discovery
One group of students took a reading outdoors next to a plant, and was surprised to find that the PM2.5 in that spot was higher than anywhere else they measured. When they asked CDPHE Technical Outreach Coordinator Alina Pantano about the elevated reading, she said there's good reason for it.
"Plants and trees are really interesting," Pantano said. "When you guys are near pine trees, do you smell a lot of pine? That's because they're releasing volatile organic compounds — VOCs."
She added that the VOCs produced by plants are nowhere near as bad for a person's health as those from other sources, such as car exhaust or factory fumes.
"Plants actually suck in a lot of pollution," she said. "So what they do for us and our air quality is overall a net positive. It's really good."
Looking toward the future
In addition to Pantano, the visiting CDPHE team included Education Program Coordinator Erin Kendall, Environmental Protection Specialists Amelia Cole and Amber Mitchell, and Program Assistant Yuritzia Servin. As part of the state's air quality outreach efforts, the group works to help Colorado residents understand local air quality and actions they can take to improve it.
Erin Kendall, Education Program Coordinator with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Air Pollution Control Division, explains an air-sensor activity to 7th-grade science students at Miller Middle School on Sept. 22.
MMS Science Teacher Leigh Gillette, who helped coordinate the CDPHE visit, said the state team has expressed strong interest in continuing to work with the Miller community.
"Hopefully this is the beginning of an ongoing education partnership with CDPHE," Gillette said. "I am thrilled that our students get to connect with state-level scientists to learn deeply about the very air we breathe everyday."
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School Storytellers: Thank you to MMS Science Teacher Leigh Gillette for sharing this story tip.
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