The classrooms of Dawes School were filled with students learning about plants, mammals and physics. It was Saturday morning.

Family Science Saturday, an annual event sponsored by the Math/Science Enrichment Committee of the Dawes PTA, was held this weekend at Dawes School, 440 Dodge Ave., for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Most of the school’s students attended.

“Family Science Saturday is an activity designed to get kids interested in math and science and to expose them a little more to those areas,” event coordinator Lisa Adams said. “It’s also a chance for parents to get involved in the school and to meet each other.”

Adams said most Family Science Saturday workshops are organized and run by parents and older siblings who have an interest in math, science or a related area.

Rich Emerich, a Dawes parent gave a workshop, “The Sound of Music,” which featured a local violin maker and interactive display of stringed instruments. He said he chose to conduct a workshop because he enjoys sharing his expertise and passion for science with his children’s classmates.

“I’m a musician and I have a science background,” Emerich said, “so I decided to bring the two together today for the kids.”

Though Janet Graff’s three children no longer attend Dawes, she still chose to participate in the event by helping to lead a workshop on soap making.

“It’s fun for the kids,” Graff said. “And these (parents) are my friends.”

In addition to parent volunteers, the event featured presentations from several community members — including Sarah Dugan, a Northwestern doctoral candidate in optics. She used color filters and Jell-O cubes to conduct a workshop about the properties of light.

“I enjoy interacting with the kids because it gets me out of the lab and excited again about what I’m doing,” Dugan said.

And the presenters weren’t the only ones excited about the activities.

“We took these papers and ripped them up and then put them in water, and then we blended them and put them in a frame with a screen thing!” exclaimed Sam, 6, as he described a paper-making activity. “It was cool!”

“My favorite part was mushing it all up!” added Austin, 7.

Principal Karen Bradley, who is in her first year at Dawes, said she was impressed by the overall success of the day’s activities.

“It’s a wonderful event,” Bradley said. “It’s really nice to see the parents pull this all together, and I’m glad to see so many kids turn out.”