By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
At Woods Road Elementary School’s Science Fair, a school-desk-size space is enough for students to explore anything from circuit boards to sound to wind energy to surface tension.
The students have an area the size of a school desk for their presentations, Sonja Richardson, the parent heading the Home and School Association’s Science Fair Committee, said. Students pick the topics for their exhibits, sometimes focusing on areas they covered in school. Students focus on subjects from outside class, too, Ms. Richardson said.
”They’ve come up with a lot of cool stuff over the years, but it’s very much what they’re interested in,” Ms. Richardson said. “We always have a lot of volcanoes and weather-related exhibits because they learn about it in school. But we’ve also had composting, and senses. They tend to do things they have a little familiarity with but we also have a lot of original topics.”
The Home and School Association hosts the fair annually, and allows all students in the school to participate. The fair draws 70 to 80 presenters, Ms. Richardson said, with some returning year after year.
”We’ve done it a lot, and it’s really fun to do,” Michelle Morrone, a fourth grader, said. “You get to see all these other projects and amaze everybody else.”
”All the science we use, that makes me really like it,” Jonathan, her brother, added.
Students receive buttons, a participation certificate and ribbon, and T-shirts for presenting at the fair. This year, fourth graders Rachel Richardson, Alex Dimitrov-Kuhl, Michelle Morrone, Renske Nijvelt and Emily Conlon received special recognition for participating for four years.
The Science Fair follows an event that has parents present science-themed exhibits in the fall, Ms. Richardson said. Both events target a key idea, Ms. Richardson said.
”Science is not scary,” Ms. Richardson said, smiling. “It’s in everything we do. You make a cake and it’s chemistry. You throw a ball and it’s physics. It doesn’t have to be hard. It doesn’t have to be scary. It’s fun.”

