Young Scholars' Lemonade Stand Brings in Money for Joplin Tornado Victims

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Lisa Plassmeyer, from left, and her economics students at the Young Scholars program, Jacob ?McDowell, Peter Herman, Ross Shirey, Ella Kisor, Amanda Thomsen and Sam Turner, raised ??$205 to donate to victims of the Joplin tornado.?

Participants in the Young Scholars summer program sponsored by the University of Arkansas displayed their work June 29, with one group of children who studied economics selling lemonade to visitors, bringing the total of money they raised for victims of the Joplin tornado to $205.

Marcia Imbeau, associate professor of special education in the College of Education and Health Professions, directs the program offered every other summer in conjunction with the Fayetteville School District to provide training for teachers who work with gifted and talented students. Area teachers working on a special education master's degree in gifted and talented education design courses for students in second through fifth grades and teach the 10-day program. This year, the program took place at Butterfield Elementary School.

Students in Lisa Plassmeyer's economics course learned about such concepts as pricing, cost of production and profit margins. During a discussion about profit, Plassmeyer said, they decided to donate the proceeds from a lemonade stand to the victims of the tornado that devastated parts of Joplin, Mo., on May 21, killing 153 people to date.

The children raised nearly $175 in less than two hours outside a local Wal-Mart during one day of the program, said Plassmeyer, who teaches in the Rogers School District. The Fayetteville Boys & Girls Club sponsored the group.

Other classes offered to the children were the science behind vision, cryptography, plate tectonics, economics, forensics, geometry, art and the wilderness, and symbolism and art. The elementary students enjoy opportunities to explore advanced-level content using higher-level thinking skills and active participation, according to Imbeau.

The children's families and members of the media attended the June 29 open house for the students to show what they worked on during the program.