Student Science Fair Projects Impress the Experts

Science came alive for Lawrence Township public school students and their families during the 2012 Science and Engineering Fair held at Lawrence Intermediate School last Saturday (Feb. 25). The event, which was open to Grades 4 through 8, featured 117 science projects created by more than 150 students (some worked in pairs or as entire classes).

There was a variety of projects. Fourth-grade winners Grayce Hughes and Katie Ossowski conducted a behavior science project that involved working with eight dogs to determine which fruit or vegetable they prefer. The result: carrots and bananas. In reality “they went to the closest one,” Ossowski said. Other budding scientists also studied their dogs, hamsters and other pets.

Some of the students worked with food – like growing mold on bread, illuminating a light bulb with a lemon, or studying the DNA of strawberries. Others worked with plants to determine the best way to grow seeds or compare house plants to Venus Flytraps.

There were also projects about alternative energy and the environment, including the invasiveness of bamboo in our state.

Seven-year-old Hayden Clark’s favorite project was entitled “Roller Coaster Physics” because “it turns around.” In addition to the three-panel board, this project included a working model of a roller coaster that could be touched in order to see it in action.

Fifth-grader Charlotte Bohra’s project was called “Do Heavier Objects Fall Faster?” Her board included pictures of her dropping different weight balls in her house. Charlotte said she “had lots of fun” working on the science fair project.

Each of the participants was allotted a 25-minute time slot to demonstrate their project to a panel of three judges assigned to each grade level. Among those judges was Bob Merritt, associate professor of organic and medicinal chemistry at Kean University’s NJ Center for Science, Technology & Mathematics.

Merritt was impressed by the caliber of the projects and the event, saying “These were projects that the students had done outside of class, not for a grade. It was clear that they had been well-prepared by their teachers, particularly in their understanding and implementation of the scientific method.”

Merritt was one of three judges assigned to evaluate the seventh-grade projects. “One project certainly stood out,” he said. “One of the students had worked during the previous summer with a professor at a local university. The project was aimed at trying to understand a complicated cellular process. The student used the very same tools that university researchers use. Furthermore, it was clear that the student truly understood the biology and chemistry behind the experiments. This particular student clearly had a unique opportunity to work in a university laboratory, but it was clear that all of the students were passionate about their work and had great potential futures in science.”

The success of the event can, in part, be attributed to the mentoring the Lawrence Intermediate School and Lawrence Middle School students received from older students from Lawrence High School, LHS Mentor Coordinator Molly Klimak and  Matt Davis, leader of the Science and Technology Career Academy at Lawrence High School. Klimak coordinated the mentors as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award. Through her efforts, 20 mentors from the Science and Technology academy worked virtually with 30 students on their projects.

Klimak said she “thought it would be a good idea so they could bounce ideas off [of the LHS mentors] and help keep them [the intermediate and middle school students] on track.” When asked about the event, she added, “I am thrilled! All of the mentors had a positive experience. The only downside was that it was virtual.” She said the hope is that next year the high school students will be able to meet with the LIS and LMS students in person.

Paul Lobben, one of three parent coordinators for the event, said “this was truly a community science fair with 12 local communities, organizations, colleges and universities providing 26 hands-on demonstration and experiments that ranged from laser, light and physics, to water quality, pollution and ecology. There was slime and germs you could touch, ice cream you could taste, stream critters you could see, sparks you could hear, and elephant toothpaste you could smell. The volunteers reached many, many students stimulating their minds and senses. “

Main sponsors for the Science and Engineering Fair were the Lawrence Township public school district; the PTOs of Lawrence Intermediate School, Lawrence Middle School and Lawrence High School; and Rider University. Other sponsors include American Chemical Society; AmeriCorps and the Delaware River Basin Commission; AmeriCorps and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed; The College of New Jersey; Lawrence High School Science and Technology Academy; Lawrence Intermediate School Robotics Club; Mercer County Community College; Mercer County Park Naturalist; Princeton Plasma Physics Lab; and Rutgers University.

The winners were as follows:

Lawrence Township Public Schools Science and Engineering Fair

Feb. 25, 2012

Fourth Grade

First Place

Grayce Hughes & Katie Ossowski

Dog Food

Second Place

Kiran Hiremath & Saloni Sharma

Bubbles

Third Place

Carter Hlewicki

Flow, Flow, Flow Your Volt

Honorable Mention

Shriya Agarwal

Yeast-What does it like to Eat?

Honorable Mention

Mr. Werynski’s Class

Paddle Power

Honorable Mention

Zoe Lang

The Brain

Honorable Mention

Nimesh Rani & Tucker Simpson

Sugar, Salt and Boiling Water

Fifth Grade

First Place

Abhyan Jaikishen

The Nose Knows

Second Place

Teddy Masterson

Strength of Bridges

Third Place

Matthew McChesney

Paper Airplanes Variables

Honorable Mention

Nolan Flynn

Bernoulli’s Principle

Honorable Mention

Brianna Seals & Sebastian Centeno

Orbeez Growth vs. Liquid

Honorable Mention

Neil Chopra & Ronit Deshpande

Ice Cubes & Melting

Honorable Mention

Adeline Ripberger

Trebuchet

Sixth Grade

First Place

Ryan Morris

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Second Place

Saumya & Shriya Shetty

Genetics

Third Place

Sara Hatfield & Madeline Kemo

Dogs and Dominant Paws

Honorable Mention

Matt Gunton & Jack Ullman

Music & Concentration

Honorable Mention

Ashwin Baskaran & Harsh Tenepalli

Surface Tension

Honorable Mention

Natasha Kalwachwala & Kamila Karwowski

Ocean Currents & Climate Change

Honorable Mention

Mrs. Douglas’ Class

Picky Eaters-Bird Feeders

Honorable Mention

Alexandra Manalo & Charles Ranzfil

Static Electricity

Seventh Grade

First Place

James Gow

Dectin

Second Place

Kiran Aiyar & Ritesh Dash

Bridges: So Straightforward

Third Place

Anjali Agarwal

pH of Drinks and Food

Honorable Mention

Mansi Chopra & Ruchika Moturi

Liquid vs. M&M coating

Eighth Grade

First Place

Andrew Ramey

Putt Putt Boats

Second Place

Pranav Sabanayagam

Carbon Dioxide Recycling

Third Place

Rebecca Altman & Julianne Hughes

Molding Bread

Honorable Mention

Gianmarco & Alessandro Medina

The Electromagnet Penalty