Mr. Viola is a seasoned vet teaching science at Union Middle School for the past 20 years!! In addition to teaching 8th-grade science, Mr. Viola created and teaches the extremely popular Amusement Parks and Bridges elective. In this elective, students explore structures as they relate to amusement park rides and bridges. Our students explore the forces involved in physical science by researching, building, and measuring various amusement park rides (Ferris wheels, loops, and roller coasters). Additionally, the elective focuses on the construction of bridges. After researching the background and physics behind designing bridges, Mr. Viola’s students build and test their bridges.
Never resting on his laurels, Mr. Viola has created a new elective for the 2021-2022 school year entitled Astronomy. In this new elective UMS students will explore topics about Earth’s relationship with other planets, the sun, and places outside of our solar system. Mr. Viola’s students will explore the laws and theories of Isaac Newton, Galileo, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and other influential astronomy scientists. The elective will exam the history of our planet and how it has become the current place we call home. The history of NASA, current events in space exploration, the search for life outside of Earth, and the future of space flight will also be studied. Mr. Viola’s Astronomy elective is gearing up to be just as popular as his Amusement Parks and Bridges course.
Mr. Viola is a dedicated teacher of the sciences and always exploring new ways to make science relevant and fun for our students to learn. Thank you Mr. Viola for all you do at Union Middle School.
