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The Districtwide Science Fair named for Terri Peters,
a long-time teacher and elementary principal in the district, has
grown from about 300 exhibits when it began 6 years ago to over 2,000
exhibits this year!
"The Science Fair is a huge undertaking, but I think it's an
important event for the kids and the community," noted RHS physics
teacher Gregory Wallace, who was the coordinator.
Outside
in the hallway, the Science Club conducted a 50-50 raffle. They helped
set up and take down the displays. On one of the gym
walls was a huge periodic table.
The level of sophistication, investigation and presentation of the
exhibits seemed to have improved since the fair’s inception
six years ago. Viewing the exhibits at the fair was also a great learning
event and a lot of fun for those who came to see what the student's
had investigated.
There were exhibits from almost every student in the school and the
theme revolved around the use of the Scientific Method. Everyone received
a certificate of participation and presented their experiments to
the members of their class.
The Rube Goldberg (Physics) entries at the high school were as entertaining
as they were ingenious. The winning device moved a ball past an Easter
Bunny, from the nest under a stuffed chicken, down a tube and into
a basket that then dunked an egg into a bucket of dye--instant Easter
egg. The creators of this device took home the purple first place
ribbon in this category (Physics-Rube Goldberg).
Other exhibits tested diapers (Huggies won), polled people of various
ages on which type of M&Ms they prefered (plain or peanut--peanut
won), studied the effect of road salt on plant life (kills it from
the roots up), checked to see which type of wood absorbs more water
(does your door stick?--you should have a door made of Mahogany),
determined that Optimum Onliine moved most slowly around 4:00 P.M.,
and showed how far outside your home the signal for your wireless
router projects.
The experiments this year filled the gym, flowed out into the hallway,
and filled the cafeteria as well, but more importantly, the scientific
method seems to have made its way into the very bloodstream of the
students in the district, whose enthusiasm for the study of science
seems to have been raised a little higher.
Everyone that entered the science fair this year was deemed to be
a winner; however, a few from each school were given the distinction
of receiving special recognition.
Click HERE for a listing of the
students who received special recognition for their effort. |
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