STUDENTS IN THEIR “ELEMENT”

By SAMANTHA CROUCH

For one night each year, students at Taft Elementary School get to show off their skills and knowledge at the highly anticipated fair.  Students from all grade levels had the opportunity to show off their science projects to the school and members of the community.  The fair exhibited everything from slime made from tide laundry detergent and glue to dry ice filling the room with smoke making the cafeteria look like a scene straight out of a horror movie.

SAM CROUCH FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY

On the day of the big event, the students seemed to be bouncing off the walls with excitement and anticipation.  A student named Ellie Saltz presented her project explaining how polar bears keep warm in the winter, complete with a bowl of ice water and a poster explaining the process.  She excitedly recalled just how she came up with the idea to create this particular project, exclaiming, “My mom was looking at ideas on her phone and asked if I wanted to do this project.  I said, ‘yes, I do, I do, I do!’”  It was very apparent that Saltz carried out this excitement throughout the project and poured it into her work.  

Another little girl named Abigail Baisley displayed multiple impressive projects.  Aside from demonstrating static electricity with just a balloon and an empty can, she also created a light run by lemons as well as a wire ballerina that spun because of a battery and magnets.  When asked what her favorite part of creating her science projects were, she expressed, “My favorite part about the science fair is making all this [the experiments] and I liked making the ballerina spin.”  The wire ballerina certainly captivated passersby as it endlessly spun around a single battery.  

As the day wore on, it became completely apparent that the students’ knowledge of science was extensive to say the least.  Complete with microscope and slides, Dylan Todaro conveyed this knowledge perfectly.  His presentation dealt with different bugs and students and parents alike were impressed.  Todaro explained his favorite part of the science fair was “getting to do all the science stuff.” 

The curiosity that the science fair sparks is truly a learning experience like no other.  A lifelong love of science is priceless, and the science fair allows it to be fun as well.  From the craft table that enticed both students and younger siblings to the research that went along with each of the students’ projects,  the science fair could be the beginning of a bright future for these young scientists.