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Photograph courtesy of Ken Witzke
Claire Witzke, 6, shows off her science project, titled 'Weighing Drinks,' at the Ponderosa Elementary School Science Fair. Witzke weighed milk, orange juice, apple juice, soda and water to see which one weighed the most. Apple juice turned out to be the heavyweight of the group.
Ponderosa students have fun at their science fair
By Amy Jenkins
Which liquid would make a plant grow the fastest--water, orange juice, soda, beer or apple juice?
Water is the only one that would even allow a plant to grow. This was a surprise to Mark Witzke, who thought the vitamins in both orange and apple juice would make a plant grow fast. Witzke, a fourth-grader at Ponderosa Elementary School, asked this question in his science project, titled, "Juice your Plants?"
On Feb. 7, 280 students in kindergarten through fifth grade participated in the school science fair. This was the first year participation in the fair was required by students in third through fifth grade, third-grade teacher Denise Leograndis explains.
"They learn that science is fun and that they are perfectly capable of putting something together to share with the school community," Leograndis says. "I taught them that the project is not just a demonstration but an experiment, and we want them to learn the scientific method."
And although younger students are not required to participate, several did projects with the help of their parents. Furthermore, many families came to the fair who did not have a student participant, just to check out the projects, says co-coordinator Debbie Schultz. All of Schultz and Kathy Wasowski's efforts since October were paid off with 30 more projects than last year's fair, Wasowski says. The increase was a surprise because enrollment is down this year, to 557 students, PTA President Luz Wenger says.
Porche Stone and Apryl Taylor combined their talents to produce a project about Morse code and the power of electricity. Taylor was responsible for finding out how Morse code works, and Stone was in charge of understanding how tin, copper and batteries are used to conduct electricity, says Chris, Apryl's mother. With a knob to press that caused the light bulb to light, and an explanation of Morse code posted on the board, the project was very hands-on.
The fair was not a competition, but each participant received a ribbon and teachers chose top projects to advance to the district fair that will be held at Peterson Middle School on April 16. Witzke's project, "Juice your plants?" was among those chosen for the district fair.
Since there was no competition, parents were encouraged to work on the project with their child, Principal Polly McBride says. "What I like is the excitement about science, not about competition," she says. "It's about a chance to display their work and talk about science with classmates and teachers."
Chris Taylor admits she helped with her daughter's project. Once the two girls picked out the colors and font they wanted for the poster board, Chris says she typed it up on the computer. Also, her father helped get the wires and connect them to the batteries. But the help stopped there and the girls said they learned valuable lessons. Porche said one thing she learned is that a battery can be used to produce light.
"We are very proud of both the girls and they worked very hard and it shows," says Deborah Douglas, Porche's mother.
Other projects included, "Which cheese will mold first?" between ricotta, cheddar, mozzarella and Monterey jack cheese; "What kind of soil is best for water retention?"; "Will a rotten banana create CO2 and blow up a balloon?"; and "Which do dogs like most, no broccoli, cooked broccoli or raw broccoli?" After testing several dogs, the conclusion was that dogs prefer cooked broccoli. And no science fair, including this one, would be complete without an erupting volcano.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
