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AMS sixth-graders showcase science project
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The auditorium of Austintown Middle School was busy on May 10. This year's science fair brought all of the 400 sixth-graders of the school together in one fair for the first time.
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Kevin Taylor studied balloons for his project, guessing that oxygen would leave balloons faster than helium.
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When choosing the subject for her science project, Mollie Richards (right) focused on her interests. Being a softball player, she decided to study how far different softballs would go when hit with a baseball bat..
By SARAH FOOR
Austintown Middle School sixth-graders didn’t have an ordinary science fair this year – it was more like a science extravaganza.
Instead of four smaller events like in years past, this year’s science fair featured the projects of all 400 sixth-graders in the school’s auditorium on May 10.
“I’d definitely say that this event is a big deal for us,” science teacher Rebecca Shrake shared. “It’s the first time our sixth-graders are all together, and this is the culminating science activity for the year. The students completed some very interesting projects in the last six weeks.”
Teachers helped the students match a project with their interests and they explored their subject through the scientific method.
Mollie Richards tested softballs made with different cores and recorded their distance when hit.
“I’m a softball player and I hope to continue playing in high school,” Richards explained. “I found out that a training softball has a different core and that makes it go farther. I think we should use those in games.”
Rebecca Kielbasa has played guitar for two years and decided to test two picks to find out which made her guitar strings ring longer.
“I tested a thicker and thinner pick, and hypothesized that the thicker one would help make a larger sound,” Kielbasa explained. “I was wrong – it’s the thinner pick that makes a difference. It sounds crazy, but I liked that my hypothesis was wrong. I learned a lot in the process.”
Shrake hoped the fair ignited a passion for science.
“I hope the kids see that science can be applied to everything. I want them to consider it a future career, and definitely keep their interest in the subject.”