Schools

Science Propels Stanley Students' Imaginations

Electricity flowed in the school gym at the PTO-sponsored science fair.

 

Electricity propelled the science fair in ways more than one.

First grader Gregory Mouradian generated current at his table in the school gym.

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A handmade sign by a crank, wires, battery and light asked a question: Can you see electricity?

Nearby, fourth graders Miles Vollmer and Maanik George asked a related question.

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They wondered what influence some great big generators of electricity have on marine life.

Curiosity, questions and a close eye generated their own currents at the fair.

And these thought-generating currents may in time propel these young students to careers in science, technology, engineering and math, said Jaren Landen of the Stanley Parent Teacher Organization.

Science and math and engineering are skills that people need in today’s working world and will need in tomorrow’s work places, she said.

Parents and students filed from station to station at the school June 4.

So did observers in white lab coats and safety glasses.

Miles and Maanik measured ocean acidification,  the influence of carbon dioxide — a by-product from plants the generate power with fossil fuels — on shell fish.

They substituted yeast for carbon dioxide and found that all the clams, mussels and snails submerged in yeasty water lost weight over time.

They were surprised to discover that a dead snail in the control vat, with no yeast, actually gained weight over time.

Gregory manufactured energy by turning a crank, creating a current around a loop of two wires connected to a battery and motor.

“If I got a charge you would see a light which would be electricity,” he said.

You could also see the results of his power generation in another experiment of his that sent a whirling helicopter top into the air.

Yes, you can see electricity, he said.

Where will science propel Gregory’s interests.

The first grader isn’t sure.

“I think I’m going to figure it out when I’m eighteen,” he said.


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