Blog

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Ruby Bridges Elementary fifth-graders recently journeyed to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to conduct science experiments in conjunction with the lab’s Berkeley Lab Adventure Zone in Elementary Science (BLAZES) program. Each student, wearing a white lab coat, participated in hands-on activities titled Finding Elements on the Periodic Table, What Conducts Electricity and When Do Substances Change from One State of Matter to Another.

Students were attentive and engaged as they first hypothesized and then tested various materials to see which objects conduct electricity, what happens when a small piece of dry ice is dropped into a flask with 150 ml of water, what happens when a balloon is immersed in liquid nitrogen, and which metal conducts heat the fastest. They were not shy about asking questions and interacting with Berkeley Lab engineers and scientists. Truly these at-promise students are our hope for the future! And it was great to see fifth-grade teacher Heather Figueroa flanked by inquisitive parent chaperones.

Children Rising is honored to be one of Berkeley Lab’s community partners, offering visits to the lab to 16 Oakland classes, plus bus transportation!

I’m happy to announce that Kerry Gough has joined Children Rising’s Board of Directors. A retired civil rights attorney, Kerry’s interest in civil rights began when, as a young soldier, he blew the whistle on the Army’s collaboration with racist Monterey Peninsula landlords who refused to rent to African American armed forces personnel. That experience sparked his passion for civil rights, which led to a summer as a civil rights worker in Mississippi in 1965, employment by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on assignment to southeastern Mississippi, and 42 years as a civil rights attorney in Oakland.

Upon his retirement on April 15, 2008, Kerry joined forces with Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, and less than a month later, went to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo for a two-week exploration into how victims of sexual assault could be assisted legally. This led to a six-week stint in Goma the following year and eventually to the establishment of some legal clinics staffed by third-year Congolese law students supervised by Congolese attorneys.
Kerry received his Juris Doctorate degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, U.C. Berkeley, in 1966. His community service background includes a stint on the Global Strategies Board of Directors; President of the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County; President of Allied Fellowship Service, a half-way house for ex-offenders; and advisory board member for Project Sentinel, a nonprofit that investigates, mediates and litigates housing discrimination cases.

Welcome aboard, Kerry Gough!

For the children,
Randy