A pitch for science in Lakewood Ranch

Giada Herra, a Gilbert W. McNeal third-grader, doesn’t play baseball or softball, but she might be more interested after a Grand Slam Science event March 21 involving the national pastime at the school.

She learned baseball involves a lot more than hitting and pitching. It’s also about geometry and physics.

“I like the way (baseball) teaches us stuff, and it’s fun,” Herra said. “I do gymnastics, but this kind of makes me want to play softball.”

Her friend, Mackenzie Pandell, another third-grader, does play softball, and she couldn’t wait to get to the diamond to try out some of the lessons she learned at Grand Slam Science.

The Manatee Education Foundation teamed with the Pittsburgh Pirates to produce a traveling science show that made a stop at McNeal,

“I like the way (baseball) teaches us stuff, and it’s fun.”

— Giada Herra

one of three in the county to host the event. Grand Slam Science also visited Samoset Elementary and Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary.

The show is meant to raise students’ interest in science by featuring something they know well, in this case, baseball.

While the show didn’t mimic the actual game, it utilized various aspects of the game to demonstrate how it relates to science. There were stations set up with different games to interact with, such as students throwing a ball into a net to gauge its speed with a radar gun.

Third-grader Cole Vogel plays first base and pitches in youth baseball league play. He fired a ball into the net and smiled when “56 mph” came up on the radar gun.

“They’re having fun, and it’s pretty competitive,” said Ellen Honig, a volunteer at the show. “There was a student in the last class who got somewhere in the 60s.”

Of course, reaching those higher speeds is all about physics.

Another popular station involved students aiming four thrown balls at cups and finding out the percentage of success.

Carter Bagshaw took his throws and made half. He was thrilled to find that he was made 50 percent.

“I like batting the most,” Bagshaw said. “But I guess I’m OK at throwing, too.”

Rudy Keezer, a Manatee County curriculum specialist for science, said one of the more popular stations was the batting exhibit. The bat had a Bluetooth device that communicates with an iPad to measure bat speed.

“They like the technology,” Keezer said of the students. “It makes it more fun for them. Every kid wants to know how fast he can swing a bat.”