In Meg Van Dykes science classes at ONeill Middle School, its all about learning to thinkand actlike bona fide scientists, which means hands-on, real-world experiments and research.

We try to get get the students outside collecting data like real scientists, she said.

Thanks to a series of grants Van Dyke has applied for and won over the past few years, that data collection is happening with some pretty neat technology.

Most recently, Van Dyke learned that she netted a $5,000 grant for ONeill from the Kinder Morgan Foundation, an energy transportation, storage and distribution company that is based in Texas but has offices locally. Dave Vattimo, an ONeill parent and Kinder Morgan employee, brought the grant to her attention and volunteered to be her sponsor.

With part of a $10,000 grant Van Dyke won from BP a few years ago, ONeill launched its Energy Kids Club and Compact Flourescent Light bulb fundraiser program; the school also purchased two Vernier Lab Quest hand-held scientific computing devices.

A grant from the District 58 Education Foundation enabled the school to purchase several sets of experimental probes to measure conditions such as temperature, pH and motion, which hook into the Vernier devices and allow the students to collect, manipulate and graph the data in real time, Van Dyke said.

The $5,000 Kinder Morgan grant will enable ONeill to purchase about 10 more Vernier devices and several additional sets of probeswhich will come in handy when the seventh grade students trek down to Barth Pond on 55th Street later this month to collect samples and data for World Water Monitoring Day.

This year well have all the technology to do a really nice job, she said.

ONeill Principal Matt Durbala said he truly appreciates Van Dykes efforts and ingenuity in finding and applying for grants that help enhance the students educational experiences.

Meg really goes the extra mile to find new ways to bring the science curriculum to life for our students, he said.