science fair

Littleton Middle School Students Earn First, Second, Third Place Awards at State Science and Engineering Fair

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Littleton Public Schools
Dr. Kelly R. Clenchy, Superintendent
33 Shattuck Street,
Littleton, MA 01460

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Littleton Middle School Students Earn First, Second, Third Place Awards at State Science and Engineering Fair

LITTLETON — Superintendent Kelly Clenchy is pleased to announce that several Littleton Middle School students earned first, second and third place awards at the Massachusetts Middle School State Science and Engineering Fair this weekend. 

The fair was held at Worcester Tech High School on Saturday, May 11. Six Littleton Middle School students competed in the fair with five science and engineering projects. 

Madeline Shea, an eighth grade student, received a first place award at the fair for her engineering project. Shea designed a device to measure the amounts of ozone and particulate pollutants in the air, and she also learned how to code and created three prototype devices for her project.

Brandon LaVoie, an eighth grade student, was awarded a second place award at the fair with his hovercraft project. LaVoie built a hovercraft and tested the effect of ground temperature on the lift and speed of the machine.

For her project on the effect of UV light in the degradation of watercolor pigments, eighth grade student Katherine McDonagh won a second place award. She built a UV light chamber for her project to expose selections of watercolor pigment to UV light. She then used Photoshop to measure red-green-blue color values in pigments that both had been exposed to the light and had not.

Aparna Deokar, an eighth grade student, placed third at the fair for a civil engineering project. Deokar tested her hypothesis to see if bioconcrete could be made with a fungal material instead of bacteria, which is added to fill any cracks that may form in the concrete. She made a control concrete block, a block with fungal mycellium and a block with non-activated mycellium. Deokar then used a compression machine to create cracks in the concrete blocks and measured the sizes of the cracks over time. 

“The depth of knowledge and understanding of science and engineering concepts that these students exhibited with these projects is remarkable,” said Valerie Finnerty, an eighth grade science teacher at Littleton Middle School. “Each one of them found rich topics, researched extensively and conducted their work with close attention to detail. It is so exciting to see them recognized for their hard work.”

Shea, LaVoie, McDonagh and Deokar are eligible due to their success at state and regional science and engineering fairs to enter the Broadcom Masters program, a national competition for students who earn top scores in regional and state science and engineering fairs.

“It is thrilling to see our students using their big-picture understanding of science and engineering to conduct such high-level, challenging research,” Superintendent Clenchy said. “Congratulations to each of these students. Your hard work and knowledge of these topics is exceptional.”

Earlier this month on Friday, May 3, seventh grade students Hannah Jonsson and Julianna Magin also placed third at a regional Middle School Science and Engineering fair in Lowell with their project, titled “OJ All the Way.” Jonsson and Magin compared the amount of vitamin C in frozen, fresh and concentrated orange juice.

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Avon Middle School Students Take Part in First Annual Science Fair

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Avon Public Schools
Paul Zinni, Superintendent
1 Patrick Clark Drive
Avon, MA 02322

For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Avon Middle School Students Take Part in First Annual Science Fair

AVON — Superintendent Paul Zinni is pleased to announce that the Avon Middle-High School’s first annual science fair earlier this month was a success.

On Thursday, April 12, over 60 seventh grade students took part in the science fair.

The fair winners and the titles of their projects were:

  • First Place – Lydia Meressi – Solar Powered Cell Phone Charger
  • Second Place – TJ Weatherby – Mass and Speed of Toys and Cars
  • Third Place – Chloe Snow – Can Cats Learn Dog Tricks?
  • Honorable Mention – Skye Nieves – The Effects of Temperature on Batteries
  • Honorable Mention – Cole Sweet – Free Throw Shots: Underhand or Overhand?

Students began their projects in January by selecting topics that interested them. In addition to utilizing scientific and engineering processes, the students also gained skills in project planning, project management, research, record keeping and communication.

During the fair, their projects were on full display inside two classrooms, where friends, parents and the school community could see their work. Students set up tri-fold poster boards explaining their projects and brought supplemental materials for the judges to see.

The projects covered a wide range of topics, including the effect of color on memory, the drag produced on remote control cars on different surfaces and engineering a working solar powered phone charger.

Local scientists and engineers volunteered their time to judge the event. Judges included representatives from Underwriters Laboratory, Brown University, the Avon Public Library and AccuRounds — an Avon-based machine manufacturing company.

“As a department, we are always trying to foster a sense of how important science is to the kids,” said Avon middle school science teacher Patricia McGaffigan.  “Being lucky enough to have our students connect with scientists and engineers to discuss their own work was an incredible learning experience. Every adult that interacted with the students was so encouraging and interested. It was a real confidence builder for many students. I hope they retain that confidence as they think about what their futures hold.”

Each winner was presented with a certificate and a medal while the first-place winner also received a trophy.

 

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Hull Fourth Graders Display Experiments At Annual Science Fair

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Hull Public Schools
Kathleen I. Tyrell, Superintendent
180 Harborview Road
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Hull Fourth Graders Display Experiments At Annual Science Fair

HULL — Lillian M. Jacobs Elementary School Principal Christine Cappadona is pleased to announce that the fourth grade class hosted its annual science fair last week. 

On Wednesday, June 14, students displayed an array of science projects in the Jacobs Elementary School cafeteria. The school’s entire student body, along with many parents, attended the fair and learned from the individual projects.

“The science fair is something fourth graders look forward to because it gives them a chance to have a lot of fun while they learn something new,” Principal Cappadona said. “It was great to see the imaginative projects from each student and we are thrilled that so many members of the community came to the fair to see the students’ hard work.”

Students capitalized on the opportunity to have fun and be creative while learning about a science subject of their choosing. Students explored topics like a plant’s ability to transport water and the effect that temperature has on air pressure, while another project provided a practical analysis that determined which kind of bubble gum creates the biggest bubbles.

Students’ exhibits featured props such as loop-the-loops, mousetrap cars, Rube Goldberg-style coin-flipping and bell-ringing machines. 

 

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