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It took some research on the Internet and a little glycerin for seventh-grader Daniel Howard to breathe life into his science fair project.
That’s not all he’s breathing. Daniel, a student at the 7th and 8th Grade Center, blows huge bubbles through a straw to show how glycerin makes bubbles stronger and bigger. He hopes the demonstration helps strengthen his project.
Students from across northeast Oklahoma are getting projects ready for their school science fairs next month and for the Muskogee Regional Science Fair March 4 and 5. The 2007 fair attracted 257 entries
Susan Perry, 7th and 8th Grade Center science teacher, said science fair preparation is an “all-year thing.”
“We start talking about the scientific method and around October is when we start with it hard,” she said. “We hand out our project packets.”
She said one thing she stresses with her students is to experiment several times.
“A lot of kids do the experiment one time,” she said. “You’ve got to test it more than once. The more data you collect, the stronger the conclusion will be.”
She said she also encourages her kids to use the metric system.
Hilldale science students have a more immediate deadline. About 14 Hilldale Middle School students will present their science projects using Power Point or overhead projector at the Junior Academy of Science Feb. 8.
Students enter the same projects for the science fair and the science academy, but present them in different ways.
“You’re able to give your presentations differently from regionals,” said Hilldale Middle School science teacher Amber Helwick. “At the Junior Academy, you get up and talk about your project and the judges also read your research paper.”
Students also do not set up displays or do demonstrations at the Junior Academy like they do at the science fair.
Fellow teacher Linda Smith said the Academy helps students know how to present their projects. Presentation is just as important as the project itself, she said. “If you’re not confident about the project you did and aren’t able to discuss it, the judges are going to wonder if someone else did it.”
Hilldale eighth-grader Abbie Faith said the Academy helps her prepare for the regional fair.
“It prepares you to know what questions the judges will ask and you’re better able to present it at regional,” she said.
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