“If you get the knowledge, you can go to college.”

That’s the maxim children learn at Longcoy Elementary School that hopes to bring students and parents to the first Family Science Night at 6:30 p.m.

“A lot of schools do reading night, math night and we kind of wanted to do something in the science area because so many kids shy away from science and math careers,” said Janice Swan, the school’s principal. “We thought: Let’s get their interest sparked now, while they are young and maybe we will have more and more kids going into the sciences and math careers when they are older.”

Students and parents will experience hands-on science by interacting with scientific experiments, rocks and minerals. They will also experience demonstrations and have the chance have fun with science, Swan said.

Swan added that the event will also be an opportunity for the children at Longcoy, who are very diverse, to see college as a possibility.

“For some of our kids, they think college is not even a possibility, but we want them to know if you learn, if you do well in school, if you get the knowledge, you can go to college,” Swan said.

Susanne Pochedly, one of the 15 teachers involved in the project, said she expects the science night to be a learning opportunity for the children, but it is also an opportunity for families to see what their kids are doing at school.

Children, parents and relatives will also be able to buy books at the Longcoy Student Association fall Book Fair Night, also happening during science night.

“Any time you can get young kids excited about what they want to do with their lives and help them believe that they can pursue their dreams, it is an exciting thing,” wrote Scott Swan, regional campus center manager at Kent State Geauga campus, in an e-mail interview.

Scott Swan, Janice Swan’s husband, helped her find staff and faculty who wanted to participate in the event. Science faculty and staff, along with the Kent State Geauga dean will be attending to the event.

“Sciences are the backbone to so many jobs and careers and without sciences many people decrease the opportunities to explore many exciting careers,” Scott Swan said. “It’s a perpetual understanding, the more they know, the more they can do and the more advanced classes they can take.”

Contact Mariana Silva at [email protected].