Titans of Science

Fresh off President Obama’s State of the Union remarks about making science a bigger priority in the public education system, more than 300 students gathered at on Wednesday to showcase their works of science and to compete for a place in the regional science fair scheduled for March in Arlington.

With more than 220 projects presented, the students tried their best to impress the judges with research in a variety of categories, from botany and chemistry to environmental sciences, mathematics and computers.

“We’ve had some students here that have been selected to go on to present their project at the state and international levels, so we have some great projects,” said Melissa Hamilton, ACPS curriculum specialist for science and one of the coordinators for this year’s science fair.

Hamilton encourages teachers and parents to steer students toward projects they can relate to. Her theory is that if a student researches a subject they are already interested in, then the project will become more meaningful than a project completely disconnected from their lives.

“If a student is interested in video games, then have them do a project on video games,” she said. “They could maybe research the different sounds that are used in video games, or lights in video games, or reaction times caused by video games. I think the projects that are the most successful are the ones that they can relate to.”

One student who put Hamilton’s theory to the test is sophomore Catherine Beall. As a first-time science fair participant last year, Beall won in the category of psychology. She teamed up with fellow sophomore Hannah Drexler this year to conduct research on a subject that has the potential to affect their every day lives.

“We both exercise a lot, so we wanted to see what gives you the most energy,” Beall said. “We compared almonds, electrolyte chews and energy bars. We thought it would be something interesting because we can relate to it.”

The research wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be, Drexler said. 

“We definitely weren’t expecting to have a lot of trouble of the experiment, but we did run into some issues,” Drexler said.  “We ended up learning a lot about different types of food, and just learning in general.”

And while parents of contestants are allowed to offer unlimited encouragement to their children, a line does have to be drawn on how much they can actually assist in the research.

Loraine West, who had two children competing the fair, said she helped her children mostly with the management of their projects.

“It’s more just being sure they are on track, sort of meeting the deadlines at school,” West said. “The next key part is making sure they have the materials they need. I try to track down whatever they need that is related to their project. Then there may be a little more involvement when they trying to finish it up and get their board together.”

Regardless of the outcome, West sees value in her children participating in this event. 

“I think even if they don’t go into the science field, it teaches them how to formulate an idea and a hypothesis, work it all the way through to the end where they have to write up results and document it. I think that’s applicable to both the sciences and non-sciences. It’s a very good exercise for them to go through. They learn a lot.”

Students who took part in Wednesday's fair were to find out the results of how they placed by Friday, Hamilton said.

“This is a chance for students to ask their own questions, do their own investigation and find out their own answers,” Hamilton said.  “I think it can spark a lot of interest and creativity in science when they realize, ‘Wow, I just did a whole project on this subject and I got an award for it.’”