Twice each week, as classes draw to a close at the Bromfield School in Harvard, a dozen or so students wend their way through crowded corridors to a brightly lit storage room.
Surrounded by pallets of boxes filled with supplies for the campus, the pupils practice their kick shots on pool tables donated by Brunswick.
But the real challenge for these youngsters is not sinking the right ball into the corner pocket. That's just a ploy.
The real work is in figuring out how to master the mechanics of the shot - by applying classroom geometry and physics lessons to the game.
Outlining the boundaries of a triangle with cue sticks, instructor Roy Pastor tells his aspiring trick-shot artists to "look at the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection" to determine where the cue ball must strike the rail in order to hit its intended target.
A few of the students seem perplexed, their brows furrowed, until one player solves the problem: "It's a perpendicular bisect!" exclaims Matt Zimmer, 14, with a smile. He sinks the target ball on his third try.
As pressure mounts for students to do well on standardized tests - a passing score on one of four MCAS science tests will become a graduation requirement starting with the Class of 2010 - a growing number of local school districts are turning to nontraditional programs to inspire a passion for mathematics, science, and engineering.
Billiards, or pool, the more commonly played game using similar equipment, is the latest craze to catch fire. Educators from Ayer and Groton-Dunstable have come calling to find out how they, too, can tap their students' passion for the game to reinforce critical thinking skills and classroom lessons. In response, Pastor, a certified instructor with the Billiard Academy of New England LLC, is planning to hold an informational meeting for educators at Bromfield on Dec. 5.
"Educators throughout the state are looking closely at the new science curriculum and what direction they are going to go in," said Mike Gilbert, field director for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, noting that students must demonstrate a command of either biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering-technology to meet the new MCAS graduation requirement. "Many districts are upgrading their labs and enhancing their science programs with more hands-on experiments. Experience has shown that the best way to differentiate instruction in science is through the hands-on environment."
In Andover, Superintendent Claudia L. Bach said educators are using a program developed by the Museum of Science, "Engineering is Elementary," to engage students in kindergarten through grade 8 in a comprehensive engineering program. The goal: Integrate science, math, and hands-on fun. For example, some middle school students master the different disciplines by building a patio.
In Burlington, Wendy Pavlicek, the "animal lady" at the Burlington Science Center, brings live birds to pupils to enhance the district's natural science program. An up-close encounter with a red-tailed hawk drives home class discussions about the engineering of a bird's body, and the many elements that make it possible for a bird to fly, from its hollow bones to the shape of its wings.
And in Bedford, high school students use computer software to collect real-time data on static and kinetic friction and experiment with heart-rate monitors in science class - and during physical education.
"We want to go beyond chalk and talk and teach the kids how to use technology," said Michael Griffin, program administrator for Bedford's science curriculum for grades 6 to 12. "Hands-on is the way to go."
In Acton, kindergarten students soon will be able to monitor barometric pressure and wind speed and direction with the aid of a weather station, mounted on the roof of the concession stand at Leary Field. The weather station sits next to a $20,000 solar array, a series of 10 photovoltaic panels with the ability to generate up to 1.9 kilowatts of power, enough energy to meet the needs of the small concession stand, power the scoreboard at Leary Field, and defray the district's energy costs by as much as $500 a year.
For a district that spends roughly $1 million on energy costs each year, the savings is meager. The true value of the solar array is the educational benefits it offers. Using a data acquisition system that's connected to the district's computer network, students are able to see how much energy the solar array is producing in real time.
"It's updated every second, so the kids can see what happens to the solar array's energy output when a cloud passes in front of the sun," said Kate Crosby, a volunteer with the Acton Parent Involvement Project, or PIP. Together with her son, Ben Kilburn, a senior at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Crosby spearheaded a grass-roots campaign last spring to secure funding for the solar array.
In April, Acton was one of six communities statewide to be awarded a free solar panel by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative after securing local support for the project and thousands of dollars in donations to the nonprofit New England Wind Fund. Lexington was the only other area town to qualify for funding.
Acton was the first to get its solar array operating. The panels were installed in August and began generating power in September. But the solar project isn't the only renewable-energy project underway in Acton-Boxborough.
Seventh-graders in Jeanne Goulet's general science class at Raymond J. Grey Junior High School are learning to harness the power of the wind, transforming an odd assortment of household items - bamboo barbecue skewers, index cards, yogurt containers, kite string, a wooden dowel, and a piece of plumbing pipe - into hand-held wind turbines capable of lifting a plastic cup filled with 2-inch nails.
The assignment: Lift at least 75 nails using nothing more than the wind generated by an industrial tabletop fan. The real goal: Fuel a passion for engineering. The project is not one of the required elements of the general science curriculum, noted Goulet. She incorporated the assignment into her class to spark her students' imagination.
"They wouldn't gain much from a lecture," said Goulet. "I'd lose them after three sentences."
Indeed, for many students, hands-on projects like these are key to keeping them interested in their coursework. "We got to invent something from nothing, and experiment with different designs to see which worked best," noted Petie Zuckerman, 12, who worked with three other students to design a wind turbine that ultimately lifted 135 nails.
It took several tries - the students experimented by bending the "blades" at different angles - but the effort was well worth it, Zuckerman said. "It was so exciting when we finally got it working," he said. "We were able to do it without any instructions."
According to Barbara O'Keefe, curriculum coordinator of science and technology engineering for the Chelmsford public schools, hands-on projects help students grasp the complex math and science concepts they must master for the MCAS exams.
"I'm not sure the kids really understand what engineering is all about," said O'Keefe. "They have a picture in their minds of someone working with pencil and paper. We want to show them that engineering is much more than that. If they do it, they can understand it."
For the first time, sixth-graders at Chelmsford's McCarthy Middle School this year are being given an opportunity to explore engineering by building their own air-powered rockets in Adam Felzani's general science class.
On a recent cold, rainy day, dozens of 11- and 12-year-olds braved fierce winds to test their designs, fashioned from water bottles and bits of cardboard held together with glue. Engineering teacher Barry Dyment volunteered to help with the exercise.
Donning red-rimmed safety glasses, Dyment pumps air into each rocket until it reaches 100 pounds of pressure, then signals the students to pull a trip cord and release their rockets. An altitude tracker tells the kids how high their designs soar.
"We used a two-liter bottle in our first design; it only went eight meters. We used a smaller bottle for our second design, but it leaned to one side and wouldn't fly straight," said Heather Wood, who was paired up with classmate Vickie Vi for the project. The girls' third attempt, a slender rocket sporting psychedelic colors, earned them first place for best design.
Local educators say early exposure to engineering is essential if students are to master the math and science skills needed to excel in engineering - and on their MCAS exams. But most students would rather focus on building rockets or mastering kick shots so they can win bragging rights at the dinner table.
Chris Martin, a member of the after-school billiards club at Bromfield, a public school that serves students in grades 6 to 12, hopes to best his older brother, Jameson, at the local pool hall. The younger Martin brother has long played the game for fun. He used to hit the ball and "watch random things happen."
But now, after a few lessons with Pastor, the game makes a lot more sense.
"I always knew that geometry and physics were involved, but now I see how it all works," said Martin, 17, a senior at Bromfield who plans to major in mechanical or aerospace engineering in college. "I enjoy learning how to manipulate the ball, instead of standing back and hoping it goes in."
Educators interested in attending the Dec. 5 meeting to learn more about how billiards can complement math and science instruction are asked to e-mail Pastor at Roy@billiardacademy.com. The meeting is scheduled to run from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Bromfield School, 14 Massachusetts Ave. in Harvard.
