The 2016 East Windsor Regional School District’s Elementary Science Fair was held on February 25, 2016 at the Melvin H. Kreps Middle School. Approximately 100 science projects representing four elementary schools were submitted, judged, and available for public viewing.
The science fair is an academic competition designed to challenge students to apply science process skills and content knowledge in order to investigate scientific questions of their own choosing. Participants also experience the importance of practicing science ethics and responsibility on a personal level. Each participant is required to have an adult sponsor, complete a research protocol and include a science abstract with their project submission.
Students earning awards at all levels recently represented the East Windsor Regional School district at the Mercer County Science and Engineering Fair.
At the local level, Perry L. Drew fourth grade student Aishwarya Billakurthi earned the top spot for her project titled “ Which Is Quicker ? Peppermint dissolving in oil or water?” Potential applications of this experiment are mainly for others to learn which solution is best to use when making something with peppermints.
Following some research, Ms. Billakurthi hypothesized that since sugar dissolves in water and peppermints are made from sugar, therefore, the peppermint should dissolve in the water more quickly. She then placed individual peppermints in both oil and water and recorded their dissolution times. In the end, Ms. Billakurthi determined that her hypothesis was wrong based on a factual error. Further research revealed that the reason the peppermints did not dissolve in water is that they only have 11 grams of sugar.
The second place prize was awarded to PLD fifth-grader Nistha Sheth for her project titled, “ Which Is The Most Potent Antacid?” Acidity is a common health disorder, experienced by many people worldwide. It is a result of many factors such as eating and drinking habits, stress, smoking, etc. Symptoms of acidity include a burning sensation in the stomach or diaphragm following a meal. Antacids provide a quick relief from acidity of the stomach, which inspired her to explore which antacid was the most potent, and therefore could provide the quickest, and most comprehensive relief. For her work in this area, Ms. Sheth, was also awarded an “Honorable Mention“ at the Mercer County Science Fair.
Third place was awarded to PLD fifth-grader Keerthi Kannan for her project “Why Aren’t All Medicine Pills ?” By modeling a single insulin protein with jello pieces, Ms. Kannan tested what happens to these proteins when placed directly into plain water. This allowed her to model an environment similar to injecting insulin into the blood. Next, she placed the jello (insulin) into water with proteases, an environment similar to swallowing an insulin pill. Applications for this experiment include researching what conditions are necessary for medications such as insulin to be ingested rather than injected.
In addition to the grand-prize winners, several students received an honorable mention from the judges. They include:
– Abigail Carter: “It’s In The Bag” Perry L. Drew, fourth grade.
– Nicolas Damiano: “Which Decomposing Food Will Produce the Most Biogas?” Perry L. Drew, fourth grade.
– Max Letourneau: “How Does The Amount of Light Affect Plant Growth?” Ethel McKnight, fourth grade.
– Ben Ng: “Patriots or Deflatriots?” Perry L. Drew, fourth grade.
– Ruhi Patel: “Soda vs. Plant,” Perry L. Drew, fourth grade.
– Dominique Robinson: “Don’t Burst My Bubble,” Perry L. Drew, fourth grade.
– Jason Vagrin: “The Bouba Kiki Effect,” Ethel McKnight, fifth grade.
Max Letourneau took the award for Outstanding Achievement for General Science in the Elementary Division at the 2016 Mercer Science and Engineering Club.
All of the students who placed in the ERWSD Science Fair were recognized by the Board of Education at the April 11, 2016 meeting.
