Elementary Science Fair Awards

Each year students get to participate in the annual Science Fair. Awards are presented for first, second and third place as well as an "Excellence" award which is awarded for winning all 5 highlight awards.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Franklin

Winners and participants for Grade 1

Winners and participants for Grade 2

Winners and participants for Grade 3

Winners and participants for Grade 4

Jefferson

Excellence Award Winners

2nd Grade, “The Electromagnet”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
“I discovered that if you use a larger battery the magnetic force will be stronger. Therefore, it will pick up more paper clips.
I wonder if this would work with any type of battery, big or small. For example, would it work with a watch battery or a car battery?”

2nd Grade, “Car Seat Alarm in Prius”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
“Is the car seat belt alarm in my mommy’s Prius silly or smart? The seat belt alarm is both silly and smart. It is silly because it thought there was a passenger and it is smart because it uses weights to think there is a passenger. The alarm beeped at 22 pounds of weight.
I wonder how you can tell the car a person is not sitting in the front seat.”

1st Grade, “Investigating Toothepaste”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
“Can my family all use natural homemade toothpaste instead of store bought? It was easy to make homemade toothpaste. It looked a little like my store toothpaste. It did not taste like my toothpaste. The homemade toothpaste did not taste as good. I mixed peppermint extract instead of vanilla. It tasted better! “
I wonder how I can make the homemade toothpaste taste better.

4th Grade, “Windmills”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
“What shape vanes help a windmill lift a weight? I think the circle vanes will work better. I discovered that rectangle vanes are best for a windmill.
I wonder why rectangle vanes work best?”

2nd Grade, “Save Fuel! Make a car that runs on magnets”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
Will the invisible force of the magnet effectively move a car? How much magnetic force will be required to move the car? My hypothesis was: using a certain number of magnets should create a magnetic pull or push to roll the car.
I discovered that the magnetic force can actually cause movement of the car and a right amount of magnetic force is needed for the car to move. My hypothesis was correct.
I wonder if scientists can actually make the magnetic car real. I wonder how strong the Earth’s magnetic field is.

2nd Grade, “The Force of Wind”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
Which item blows the ping pong ball the farthest? I think the straw will blow the ping pong ball the farthest. I discovered that for the tube with the biggest hole – the air goes in all directions around the ping pong ball. The tube with the smallest hole – the air gets directed at the ping pong ball.

3rd Grade, “Star Census”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
How many stars can I see in the sky at night (using a homemade telescope)? I found that some starts are hard to count because of light pollution and some airplanes look like stars. We could see 120 stars in the sky. I wonder how many stars we would see without light pollution and what would happen if we counted stars during a different phase of the moon.

1st Grade, “Cleaning Pennies”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
What things in my house will clean dirty pennies the best? I think soap will clean dirty pennies the best. I discovered that lemon juice and Tabasco sauce cleaned the pennies the best. My hypothesis was wrong. I wonder why soap didn’t work?

1st Grade, “How Many Quarters Does it Take to Make a Homemade Balloon Weight?”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
How many quarters does it take to make a homemade balloon weight? I tested 5 quarters at a time in recycled plastic bags. I discovered it takes 0 quarters to make a balloon weight for a mylar balloon and 15 quarters to make a balloon weight for a latex balloon

.

2nd Grade, “Got Organic?”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
Why does organic milk last so much longer than regular milk? I discovered that organic milk lasts longer than regular milk because producers use a different process to preserve it. The process is called Ultra High Temperature.

4th Grade, “Going, Going, Gone Bananas”, Excellence Award Winner, Jefferson School
What is the best way to keep your bananas fresh? A take-out food container, Extend Fresh bag, or plain paper bag? The take-out food container was the best. A plain paper bag works well, too. The Extend Fresh bag was the worst.