Stimulating Imagination and Curiosity in the Minds of Young Scientists

Taylor Gymnasium was abuzz with innate curiosity and scientific knowledge in the form of questions; most notably, what makes the fluffiest slime, can you make batteries out of lemons, and how does lip balm react in varying conditions as Grades 4-6 students showcased their research findings at the Lower School Science Fair.

 

The hour-long culminating event welcomed parents and guests for a night of all things science. Across the space were tables filled with colorful and informative three-fold display boards, which detailed the topic, research, analysis, and conclusion of each student project. The young scientists gleefully stood next to their posters explaining their topic of choice, answering any questions, and some even had the opportunity to be hands-on in showcasing their experiments.

 

“The Science Fair gives students the opportunity to express their passions and academic work in ways they might not usually get to in the classroom,” said Lower School science teacher Emily Davies. “The best part was seeing how excited and engaged they were as they shared their projects. It was clear how much they loved what they were working on. I hope other students were able to get inspired by their classmates and see how diverse the subject of science truly is.”

 

For her project titled Colorful Lemon Explosion, fifth grader Helena Delmic researched and explored the scientific notion of chemical reactions using a lemon as the source. For the experiment, she cut a lemon in half, scooped out half, added food coloring to the residual lemon juice, added baking soda on top, and mixed it with a butter knife. She hypothesized that a chemical reaction will occur as baking soda is a base that contains hydroxide ions and lemons are acidic, thus neutralizing each other when mixed. The reaction releases carbon dioxide gas, which rises up to form bubbles. Her hypothesis tested correctly.

 

Other project included Eggshell Geodes by fourth grader Giuliana Mello, The Tooth Decay with Egg Shells by fourth grader Anthony James “AJ” Kosior, Bouncy Egg and Osmosis demonstration by fifth grader Rania Shahzad, How to Make Popping Boba experiment by fifth grader Leila Assis, and The Singing Glass demonstration by sixth grader Daniil Ziganshin.

 

Davies noted that the preparation for the science fair began a few months back with the help of Head Media Specialist Stacey Schwartz. Miss Schwartz curated a Choice Board full of topic ideas in the various areas of science as a jumping block for students. Furthermore, Mrs. Davies advised students to think of something they are deeply interested in because that will allow their creativity to flourish. As the students narrowed down their ideas, they shared their first and second topic choices with Mrs. Davies for her final approval.

 

While all students had to follow a designated rubric and guidelines, each grade had a few different requirements. Students in Grades 4 and 5 focused more on research-based projects with a demonstration component. Students in Grade 6 were tasked with conducting an experiment by means of the scientific methods. They chose a question, formed and tested a hypothesis through testing, and reported the data and analysis in a lab report.