The Sun
      Sunnyvale's Newspaper

      Photograph by Robert Scheer

      Connie Mar congratulates her son, William, a fourth-grader at Sunnyvale's Ponderosa Elementary School, who won first place in the Overall category at the fourth annual Environmental Science Fair, held last week at the Sunnyvale Community Center.

      Finding Answers

      Students test their hypotheses at science fair

      By PATRICIA M. GRAY

      Ever wonder why some plants in your garden do better than others? William James Mar may have the answer.

      "My hypothesis is plants need water to survive," said William, a fourth-grader at Ponderosa Elementary School in Sunnyvale. "However, plants cannot survive in a low ph [environment], like [one created by] high levels of acid rain."

      William, who is "9 going on 10," has discovered an important fundamental in environmental science. "The results of my experiment," he said, "is the dry plant died, as did the plant sprayed with acid rain. The plant sprayed with water remains healthy."

      William made acid rain from a mixture of vinegar and water--and won first place overall at the fourth annual Environmental Science Fair, held at the Sunnyvale Community Center last Saturday.

      The fair featured 41 environmental projects created by 70 fourth- through seventh-grade Santa Clara County students. "It's an opportunity for kids to get involved in the environment and learn about it--how they can be a part of the solution to environmental problems," said Pam Morrison, from the City of Sunnyvale's Environmental Division.

      The fair is the only one of its kind in California that focuses solely on the environment.

      Jennifer Schmah won first place in the Environmental Impact category; Sankar Sankaran, a seventh-grader at Hyde Junior High School, won first place in the Water Treatment category; first place in the Household Hazardous Waste Reduction/Water Reclamation category went to Piedmont Middle School seventh-grader Brian Schulman; the seventh-grade team from Miller Junior High School, Monica Tung, Susan Hwang and Jackie Lin, took first place in the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle category; and Chris Thomas, a seventh-grader from South Valley Junior High won the Endangered Species category.

      Silvia Cuellar, a fourth-grader at Ellis Elementary School, won third place in the Household Hazardous Waste Reduction/Water Reclamation category.

      "I found out that water can be efficiently used by reclaiming [it] all the time," Cuellar said.

      "I learned that we can use water in a better way," she said. "You can save the water because we all need water for us and animals."

      Silvia built a miniature dam with an electrical generator and three water pumps, with the help of her father.

      "We want all kids to feel that they are winners because they were there," Morrison said.

      Students and classes entered a variety of projects, which ranged from the negative effects oil spills have on the environment to how storm-drain pollution affects wildlife and local communities.

      Some students geared their projects toward their daily lives.

      "[My project] is on how could your family reuse or recycle the things you throw away," said Nigil Wonnacott, a seventh-grader from Sunnyvale Middle School. "I'm making a trash can with four compartments: one has trash, aluminum, plastic, and the other one is glass. So it's easier to recycle."

      Nigil hopes to make recycling easier for everyone, but especially those living in apartments without a lot of space.

      Parents thought the fair was an important learning tool for children.

      "I'm concerned about kids in the world being aware of the environmental problems," said Patty Kurdi, Cassy's mother and home teacher. "I got enthusiastic about [the fair], then she got enthusiastic."

      The City of Sunnyvale Environmental Education Program sponsored the fair. "Prizes were donated by the judges," Morrison said.

      Judges included representatives from Lockheed Martin, TRW, BEAC, Our City Forest, the Children's Discovery Museum, the City of Palo Alto, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, the City of Sunnyvale Recycling Center and the Santa Clara County Valley Water District.

      Participants agreed that the science fair was a good learning experience.

      "I think the science fair is good because people can show what they like to do," Nigil said.

      "I feel kind of great, because [the fair] gives me the experience to learn," William said. "Because I've learned about acid rain and [its]effects."

      This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 23, 1997.
      ©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.