LAWRENCE: 180 students compete in science fair

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Everyone knows that dogs like to eat meat. But would dogs also eat fruits and vegetables — and, if so, which ones?
   That’s what Grayce Hughes and Katie Ossowski set out to discover. The two 4th-graders theorized that given a choice, their dogs would prefer oranges and cucumbers because of their scents.
   Surprise. In a blind test, fruits and vegetables were placed in separate bowls covered with paper towels, Duke, Boe and Lucky preferred bananas, apples and carrots to other fruits and vegetables.
   Grayce’s and Katie’s experiment was one of more than dozens of science projects submitted for judging at the annual Lawrence Science and Engineering Fair at Lawrence Intermediate School Saturday afternoon.
   ”We chose this project because we both have dogs and we thought we wanted to see what foods they would like,” Grayce said.
   ”It’s very important for dogs to eat fruits and vegetables. It’s not just meat, meat, meat,” added Katie.
   The school’s multi-purpose room was filled with exhibits ranging from the 4th-graders’ to one that explored the distance a miniature solar-paneled car would run on a sunny day, depending on the time of day. (Hint — the car ran 38 feet at noon, but only 16 feet at 2 p.m. and was dead in its tracks at 3 p.m.)
   Another student discovered that lemon and oranges work best when trying to make a battery at home, while two students found out that a shower uses less water than a bath.
   While the experiments and offerings were being assessed by volunteer judges, children and their parents watched — and sometimes participated — in science experiments put on by community members and members of the Lawrence High School STEM Academy.
   More than 180 students in grades 4-8 signed up to participate in the third annual fair, said Jessica Heller, house leader and enrichment teacher at the Lawrence Intermediate School. Some students entered alone, and others paired up.
   ”We want to encourage the students to have a passion for science, and we want to pull the community into the schools and show them the wonderful science that we do in or schools,” Ms. Heller said.
   The science and engineering fair had been limited to Lawrence Intermediate School students in its first two years, but this year it was expanded to include Lawrence Middle School students.
   Ms. Heller said she was thrilled at the “high turnout and participation” among the students. Last year, 70 students signed up to take part in the fair.
   Meanwhile, the list of winners include first-place winners Grayce Hughes and Katie Ossowski, second-place winners Kiran Hiremath and Saloni Sharma, and third-place winner Carter Hlewicki, and honorable mention winners Shriya Agarwal, Mr. Werynski’s class, Zoe Lang and Nimesh Rani and Tucker Simpson in the fourth grade.
   Fifth-grade winners were Abhyan Jaikishen, Teddy Masterson and Matthew McChesney, who won first, second and third place, respectively. Honorable mention went to Nolan Flynn, Brianna Seals and Sebastian Centeno, Neil Chopra and Ronit Deshpande, and Adeline Ripberger.
   In the sixth grade, Ryan Morris, Saumya and Shriya Shetty, Sara Hatfield and Madeline Kemo won first, second and third place. Matt Gunton and Jack Ullman, Ashwin Baskaran and Harsh Tenepalli, Natasha Kalwachwala and Kamila Karwowski, Mrs. Douglas’ class and Alexandra Manalo and Charles Ranzfil won honorable mention.
   Seventh-graders James Gow, Kiran Aiyar and Ritesh Dash and Anjali Agarwal won first, second and third place, and Mansi Chopra and Ruchika Moturi received honorable mention.
   In eighth grade, Andrew Ramey took first, Pranav Sabanayagam won second, and Rebecca Altman and Julianne Hughes won third. Honorable mention went to Gianmarco and Alessandro Medina.