LANGLEY — Teachers see it all the time. So do parents.

It’s that special, magical moment when a light goes on in a child’s mind and they, well, just “get it.”

That’s the rationale behind Pacific Science Center’s big white vans. The vans travel to schools throughout the state to bring the wonders of science and math to children.

“Getting the kids excited about learning, about science, is what we do,” said operations coordinator Allison Puckett. “Science is fun and we want the kids to feel that.”

And they do. On Monday, the center’s “Blood and Guts” exhibition van was at Langley’s Elementary School, part of the center’s Science On Wheels educational outreach program.

The visit included a school assembly, classroom lessons and various hands-on exhibits and activities for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders.

In the school’s community room — transformed into a body parts workshop of sorts — students explored the human skeleton and learned about the body’s largest organ, the skin.

They learned about physiology using a model skeleton and other fun props that helped them understand the skeletal system, follow the path of a red blood cell through the circulatory system, and see how messages travel through the nervous system.

Students solved the puzzle of how all the organs fit inside the body with a model of the human torso. They also studied a piece of a real human brain.

Third-grader Bronte Audette and fourth-grader Zach Soto carefully assembled the parts that fit together like a glove.

“This is way cool,” Zach said as he put a spleen into place.

By exploring the hands-on exhibit area, students can learn at their own pace and make discoveries about how their bodies work.

Each year a total of five science vans bring science lessons to schools throughout Washington state.

The program was started in 1974 as a response to the energy crisis — if schools couldn’t coordinate field trips to the Science Center, the Science Center decided to bring science to the schools.

Last year, the Science On Wheels program reached more than 131,715 students, teachers and adults.

At the Elementary School Monday, Lochan Roberts, Joel Worster and Lucy Clements checked the Vision Disk, a device that determines how the eyes react to light, dark and movement.

Meanwhile, Lucas Lieberman, Cameron Asay and Hunter Newman examined a finger maze that helps scientists figure out how the brain works.

“You have to follow the path backwards while using the mirror,” Lucas explained. “It’s harder than it looks.”

The students checked mystery scents and fabrics with different textures to see how information is collected and processed by the brain.

Lying on the floor in the middle was a human skeleton replica that invited hands-on assembly by inquiring minds. Nearby, X-rays taught more about the shape, movement and function of bones and the kids could see how useful they are in making diagnoses.

The students were able to look through microscopes to distinguish between different types of cells and learn how and why each functions.

“There’s a lot here, a lot to learn about,” fifth-grader Elijah Nichols said as he examined a heart-rate monitor.

There was laughter and the kids were clearly having fun but beyond that, there was something else.

There were “lights” going on all over the room.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-53000 or sports@south

whidbeyrecord.com.