SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Maria Busick, a new Biology science teacher at Silver Creek High School who makes science a fun experimental class.

Marisa Busick  intertwines her passion, love, and nature for science in  her classroom. Now in her fourth year of teaching, Busick makes learning fun with hands-on activities and lessons inspired by the world around us.

Besides having her students do hands-on activities, and labs, Busick adds she asks students their interests and what they hope to learn more about.

“More often than not, I can easily connect what they want to learn to the standards I’m supposed to teach them. I love science and love teaching it. I like to think that my class is fun because I’m having so much fun,” said Busick.

Among her favorite studies is the heat and Cheerios experiment. In this lab, students learned about energy and combustion by burning cereal under a can of water. “During combustion, the chemical energy in food transforms into thermal energy and light energy,” Busick explained. Students then used their results to determine energy in the cereal that they burned out.

Busick’s excitement for teaching goes beyond the classroom. She participates in programs such as TeamOCEAN, which has the purpose to teach the public about marine life in Monterey Bay. “We undergo kayak training and must show that we can do self-rescues and rescue others in need,” she said. “We also learn about the ocean, currents, tides, regulations, wildlife from local experts.”

She also participates in one other program, BeachCOMBERS, and collects information about dead marine birds and marine mammals to protect marine ecosystems. Busick also works with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, maintaining trails and supporting conservation efforts.

“I spend much of my free time in nature,” she said. “I love water sports and spend as much time in the ocean as I can. I kayak, surf, SUP, do open ocean swimming, and freediving. I also have a few volunteer programs that I participate in.” 

So far during her time at Silver Creek, Busick says she loves the  people the most. “The students here are amazing. So is the staff. The school culture here is great.” 

Regardless of the place and time, in or outside of class, Busick’s passion for science inspires her students to explore and be excellent learners. Her love for the act of teaching and the nature scene continues to motivate the next generation of young minds on a daily basis.