Wharton students bring local kids to Penn

Fourth- and fifth-graders from Wilson Elementary School in West Philadelphia learned about the physics of light waves Friday at a lecture delivered by Physics Professor Larry Gladney. Brought to Penn by students in Professor Michael London's Management 100 class, the children also visited the BioPond and were entertained at the Annenberg Center by a puppet show called "Fish Whiskers." The show, which addressed stereotypes and prejudices, used black light and special fluorescent puppets. Two recitation sections of London's course have chosen to work with students at Wilson. One is working with a fifth-grade class to organize a book fair, while the other group is helping a fourth-grade class put together a musical review. Management 100, formerly known as Wharton 101, is a credit course required for all Wharton freshmen. Each of the management students spends two hours a week at the elementary school working with a group of two or three students. One of the program's goals is to develop stronger relationships between the University and Wilson students. Wharton freshman Robb LeMasters said he finds the "big brother" approach to interaction beneficial. "The project can do a lot of good for the kids," he said. "When you consider what you can do in such a short amount of time, it's amazing." During their day on campus, the Wilson students were not only treated to a show at Annenberg, but also learned the physics behind the performance's light spectacle. Gladney said he wanted to the children to "know that it's okay to be excited about learning." "We had the idea that if they were going to come to the campus, we wanted to find a way to combine the arts and sciences," Gladney said. Thea Diamond, director of education for the Annenberg Center, has been working with Professor London for three years in an effort to use the theatre "for educational purposes." "This is the real thing," she said. "I think everybody benefits from doing this." Diamond's positive attitude was shared by Wilson fourth-grade teacher Eileen Gallagher. "It's a really great opportunity to gain exposure to different cultures," she said. "It's helpful to the students because they're meeting different people and they're having fun." Friday's project, although not directly related to the specific management projects, gave Wharton students the opportunity to teach the children about their own environment. "We wanted to show them the University and give them a glimpse of what we do and where we are," said Wharton and College freshman Christian Rodriguez. Wharton freshman Kate Winquist agreed. "The most important thing is not only finishing the project, but developing a relationship with the kids," she said.