County science fair set for Feb. 6: Burlington hosts school fair for fifth grade
Published 7:00 am Friday, November 22, 2019
- Burlington Elementary School fifth grader Ryder Pratt tested the strength of different brands of fishing line in his science fair project. (The Tribune | Heath Harrison)
BURLINGTON — The Lawrence County Science Fair will take place on Feb. 6 at Ironton Middle School and elementary and middle schools are hosting their individual fairs to determine who qualifies for the county event.
The fair, which is open to fifth through eighth graders, is organized by the Lawrence County Educational Services Center and is open to all districts in the county.
On Tuesday, Burlington Elementary School hosted their science fair for fifth graders.
Jeff Heinl, the school’s science teacher, said the school used to hold the fair later in the year, but moved it to earlier, in order to allow students to go to county.
“If they get a 90 percent or higher on the project, they can go to the county level,” he said.
Projects covered things such as how plastic harms the environment, which brand of popcorn pops best, how candy is made and which kind of paper towel is the strongest.
“We had 68 projects,” Heinl said. “It was mandatory and each student had to do one.”
Ryder Pratt’s project studied which brand of fishing line was the strongest.
Tying a weight to each, he test three kinds at 10 pounds and 14 pounds. He found that Sufix was strongest, stretching at the maximum weight, while the others broke immediately.
Gracie Perkes’ project was “Sugar vs. Teeth.”
“I’m looking at which soda pop affects teeth,” she said. “Mountain Dew has 19 tablespoons of sugar and Pepsi has 10 tablespoons.”
She tested two types, Pepsi and Mountain Dew with borax over a week to see which causes decay fastest.
She said she was surprised at how quickly the sugar did the job.
Madsion Viglianco was studying how much energy it takes to power a light bulb.
“I used two 6-volt batteries with two wires connected with alligator clips,” she said.
She hypothesized that it would be enough to power the bulb.
“And it was,” she said.
Josh Egbert was studying hurricanes.
“I hoped to learn how much damage they can cause and they form and spawn,” he said.
In addition to his research, he created simulated effects of the weather patterns involved by using water, food coloring and soap, one in a bowl and two with bottles that he shook up.
“I really didn’t expect it to start swirling so fast,” he said of the effect in the bottles after he shook them.
Heinl said students had to present their projects three times each to judges from the community, he said.
A parents night took place in the evening, where awards were handed out.
Students who qualified for county were Rowyn Allen, Kasedy Black, McKenzie Williams, Wyatt Frederick, Zoe Osborne, Adyson Copley, Bailey Sloan and Malia Balandra.
Osborne was the grand prize winner for the fair for her project, “Germ Wars.”
Burlington Elementary School Science fair winners by category:
Astronomy
1st– Aidan King — Precious Planets
2nd– Cashton Westmoreland — Our Galaxy
3rd– Izabella Devaney — Does Water Float in Space?
Botany
1st– Ezra Young — Under What Conditions Do Potatoes Sprout Faster?
Chemistry
1st– Rowyn Allen — Eggs in Vinegar
2nd– Shaelynn Moore — How an Eggs Floats in Salt
3rd– Makayla Clark — Penny Cleaning
Honorable mention — Hailey Ellis- What Happens When You Soak an Egg in Vinegar for Three Days; Olivia Watts- Slime
Consumer Science
1st– Kasedy Black — Which Paper Towel is the Strongest?
2nd– McKenzie Williams — Which Cleaner Removes Ink Stains?
3rd– Jaycee Flook — Fighting Mouth Bacteria
HM- Rhianna Duna — Which Brand of Popcorn Makes More Kernels?
Earth/Environmental
1st– Jasleen Ortiz — Plastic Pollution and Waste Management
2nd– Laynie Flook — The Earth Likes to Dance
3rd– McKayla Porter — How Plastic Is Destroying the Environment
HM- Trinity Coleman — How Does Pollution Hurt Animals?
General Science
1st– Elijah Payne — The Computer: How it Works
2nd– Madison Wiseman — How the Cookie Crumbles
3rd– Sarah Langham — How to Make Candy
Energy
1st– Wyatt Frederick — Does Temperature of a Battery Effect How It Works?
2nd– Madison Viglianco — How to Light A Bulb
3rd– Bethany Maynard — Potato Clock
Health Science
1st– Zoe Osborne — Germ Wars
2nd– Adyson Copley — Where Should You Keep Your Toothbrush? ; Bailey Sloan- Which is Cleaner, A Dog’s Mouth or Human?
3rd– Gracie Perkey — Re-Think Before you Drink
HM- Karmen Stevens — How Do Sugary Drinks Affect Your Teeth?
Human Biology
1st– Malia Balandra — Smell’s Kitchen: Probing the Effects of Smell on Taste
2nd– Shayla Cardwell — How Muscles Work
Weather
1st– Joshua Egbert — Hit Me Like a Hurricane
2nd– Brody Maynard — Tornado in a Bottle
Physics
1st– Ethan Laslo — Baseball Bat Comparison
2nd– Ethan Hunt — Does Warm Water Freeze Faster Than Cold Water?
3rd– Kennedy Vance — Bombs Away! A Simple Catapult
HM- Hunter Chinn — Did Tom Brady Cheat?
Zoology
1st– Chloe Scarberry — Great White Sharks
2nd– Elysa Jackson — Sand Cats
3rd– Micah Workman — The Life Cycle of a Heartworm
HM- Kylah Blue — All About Red Pandas