Whatcom Middle School students get special tour of WWU

A group of students from Whatcom Middle School were joined by Greg Baker, superintendent of the Bellingham Public School District, for a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26.

The event was the celebration of a year-long collaboration between the sixth graders in Jan Westermann's class and WWU secondary education candidates in SEC 430, who each quarter design and teach four lessons to increase the literacy of the sixth graders. When asked what they would like as an year-end celebration, the sixth graders all said they wanted to see their teacher-candidates' school.

The WWU students developed an itinerary for the tour with the hopes of encouraging and inspiring the middle schoolers to see WWU as a possibility in their future.

Western Today staff

Western Washington University chemistry major Michelle Marsura pours dry ice vapor onto a table during the science experiment part of a tour of the WWU campus Thursday, May 26. A number of Whatcom Middle School students toured the university in a collabor

WWU chemistry instructor Mark Peyron, left, works with dry ice as chemistry major Michelle Marsura and Whatcom Middle School students look on during the science experiment part of a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The to

Assistant Director of Admissions Janis Farmer asks Whatcom Middle School students Aly Langer, left, and Catlyn Stevenson what they know about college inside the Viking Union Multipurpose Room during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thurs

Students from Whatcom Middle School smile as they do an exercise to get themselves turned the other way during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The tour was a collaboration with the Woodring College of Education. Photo

Students from Whatcom Middle School sign a Western T-shirt as a keepsake for the school during a tour of the campus Thursday, May 26. The tour was a collaboration with the Woodring College of Education. Photo by Daniel Berman | University Communications i

Whatcom Middle School sixth grader Trevor Moore plays the fallen Icharus during a reading of a Greek novel inside the Viking Union Multipurpose Room during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The tour was a collaboration

Students from Whatcom Middle School learn about Isamu Noguchi's Skyviewing Sculpture in Red Square during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26, as part of a collaboration with the Woodring College of Education. Photo by Dani

Students from Whatcom Middle School eat lunch at the Fairhaven College Dining Hall during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The tour was a collaboration with the Woodring College of Education. Photo by Daniel Berman | Un

Whatcom Middle School student Nathan Whetnall, 12, reacts to adjunct professor Chuck Schelle's statement "this experiment only goes wrong one out of every three times," while participating in the science experiment part of a tour of the Western Washington

Whatcom Middle School student Nathan Whetnall, 12, participates in a science experiment part of a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The dish soap on his hand exploded and turned to water when the fire reacted with the hydr

Bellingham School District Superintendent Greg Baker chats with Geneva Elementary teacher Nicole Brown inside the B Gallery during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The tour was a collaboration with the Woodring College

Whatcom Middle School sixth grader Savannah Lampman, center, relaxes alongside classmate Cody Gilder, right, inside the Viking Union Multipurpose Room during a tour of the Western Washington University campus Thursday, May 26. The tour was a collaboratio

Students from Whatcom Middle School tour the Western Washington University campus on Thursday, May 26, in a collaboration with the Woodring College of Education. Photo courtesy of Carole Morris | WWU