SCIENTISTS IN TRAINING
It's not just for high schoolers. These three middle school science fair participants are making waves
We've all heard the announcements and the accolades- Edgewood high school students win big at science fair. But before you win the first-place prize, you need to put in the work. Many high school students at science fair have participated since middle school, and there are middle school science fair students making waves in their categories right now. Here are three middle school students who are showing that science fair is for middle schoolers, too.
Today, there are many different types of sea turtles, and more and more of them are becoming endangered. They often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, and when they consume the plastic, the sea turtles become internally damaged and it can make them very sick and it is life-threatening. It can eventually lead to slowing mating and that is why Anjala Joseph, 7, has made a science project aiming to help save sea turtles from eating plastic- specifically plastic bags. She has created a plastic bag that is functional for humans to use, and edible to sea turtles as well. This bag would not have the same components as a plastic bag you would just get from Walmart.
“Plastic bags often end up in the ocean, and [turtles] think it looks like jellyfish; which is what they eat, and when they eat it, the plastic gets stuck in them and suffocates them," says Joseph.
To avoid this deadly problem, Joseph created more eco-friendly plastic bags using materials like banana, rice paper, and seaweed. She conducted many trials to perfect her model's strength and practicality.
“I also had to test the durability of the bag," said Joseph. "I put weights on the prototype and compared it to the durability of a normal plastic bag.”
At the end, the junior researcher found that rice paper was the material that combined durability and practicality with eco-friendliness.
The judges were impressed by her project, and she placed fifth in the environmental engineering category.
"I was glad that I placed fifth, but I felt that I could have done better if I had attempted more," said Jopseh. "Then again, there were a lot of really good projects in my category."
There's no doubt that this amazing junior scientist will continue to improve her projects and expand her knowledge in the science fairs ahead of her.
Another impressive middle school science fair project affects a experience that we all know well: taking tests. There are a lot of conflicting theories about the components necessary for a perfect test-taking environment. Mary Penny, 8, sought to determine the effect of classical music on creating this environment. In this project, Penny conducted an experiment with one of Mrs. Reninger’s classes. The students took one quiz with classical music playing and another without.
“Whenever I am doing homework I’ll often listen to music to help me concentrate," said Penny. "I wanted to know if music affects students academically, and not just me personally.”
At the end, Penny found that classical music didn’t have much effect on the performance of students taking tests. This experiment could show teachers and students how to make an environment that contributes to calm, focused test-taking.
Penny ended up placing fourth in her category, which was behavioral and social studies.
"I felt proud of myself and all the work I put into my project," said Penny.
Twisha Bhattacharya, 8, created a project directed to counteract the side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For example, if you take NSAIDS, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, there often are detrimental side effects.
“The side effects can include a variety of things, such as peptic ulcers, acid reflux, and (what you most may be familiar with) is vomiting,” said Bhattacharya.
Bhattacharya wanted to investigate some methods to counteract these common results of pain medication. Her project was designed to help people who rely on these medications, finding a way for them to pain medication without having to worry about troublesome side effects.
Bhattacharya created a model of a human stomach, inserting neutralizers and reducers to test if she could get rid of the side effects of common painkillers. Her results were promising.
"[The neutralizers/reducers] did mitigate the effects of NSAID by reducing the solubility time," Bhattacharya said.
In her biomedicine category, Bhattacharya proved her project's merits, placing fourth. She hopes that in the future, the evidence she gathered can be used to produce medicines that improve quality of life for those suffering from chronic pain.
There are many different science fair projects here at Edgewood, and they are all really well thought out, tested, and conducted.
Science fair stands to add a lot to a high school experience: not only does it offer an opportunity to increase your scientific knowledge and experience, you can also familiarize yourself with high-level competition and even make lifelong friends. If you're in middle school, there's never been a better time to get acquainted with science fair. Sticking with this competition into high school- and maybe even beyond- can be life-changing.
This is Fiona’s first year on staff and second year at Edgewood. She loves baking desserts and playing tennis. As a writer on the team, she hopes to learn new skills and explore her writing style.