Everyone Loves the Science Fair!

The fair was open to entries from students as young as 1st grade all the way through 12th grade. 1st and 2nd grade entries are optional and each student receives a participation ribbon. There was a great showing of participants for these grades. From motorized models of the solar system to a comparison of the amount of sugar in different cereals, the 1st and 2nd grade students are proving to be scientists in the making.

The 3rd grade participants are required as a class to submit a project and they also all receive participation ribbons. The students are asked to demonstrate the use of the Scientific Method and they did that in an innovative way. There was a project about electric conductivity of various materials and the sounds that different levels of water make in bottles.

4th and 5th grade students are considered to be in the Cloverbud competitive category. Their entries are judged by the panel of judges with a 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place trophies. There were 22 entries in this category and the topics spanned a great range of scientific and engineering areas. There were projects that had everyday applications, psychological studies of perception, and aerodynamic designs.

Middle school grades, 6th – 8th, are the Junior Cloverbud competitive group and they are also judged and receive a 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place trophies. While entries for this age group were compulsory, the level of project concepts and topics went above and beyond the average science fair entry. The presentations themselves were notable. The hand-made hydroelectric generators caught my attention as well as the colored candle presentation and leaf chromatography.

Although the Senior Cloverbud competitive category, High school grades 9th – 12th, is optional for students, there were still a number of thoughtful and creative entries. The project topics for this category seem to be relevant to this age group. The project that studied the effects of caffeine on plants was interesting and studying the amount of energy spent dribbling a basketball is relatable.

There were an impressive number of entries from each grade level. The amount of time, energy, effort and ingenuity that was invested was evident. All of the students, teachers, and parents of Ocracoke School should be proud.

Winners:

Cloverbud Competitive Category (4th & 5th Grades)

-       3rd Place – Becky Boos – Music to My Leaves

-       2nd Place – Jayden West – Taste Areas of the Tongue

-       1st Place – Russell Stevens – Do You See What I See? Optical Illusions

Junior Cloverbud Category (6th, 7th & 8th Grades)

-       3rd Place – Nayely Jiminez – Hydroelectric Generator Speed

-       2nd Place – Liam Caswell – Rate of Mold Growth on Different Breads

-       1st Place – Mac Kalna – Mystery in the Maze

Senior Cloverbud Category (9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Grades)

-       3rd Place – Dalton Kalna – Tic-Tac-Toe

-       2nd Place – Sierra Winstead & Karen Perez – Densities of Fruits and Vegetables

-       1st Place – Deana Seitz - The Un-Pop-Bubble Bubble