Tower-Soudan Elementary Science Fair

There were enough volcanoes erupting at the Tower-Soudan School last week to shut down an airport- but luckily, they were only spewing fizzy mixtures of baking soda and vinegar.

It was the annual elementary science fair, and as would be expected with young scientists- if it fizzed, oozed or popped, it was on display.

Sixth-grade teacher Jacque Horvat said she was seeing more sophisticated science experiments this year, something she attributed to the school’s new elementary science curriculum, which features hands-on learning at all grade levels. If you wanted to learn how a simple motor worked, you could check out Mike Carlson’s display. If you were wondering how fast your bread would grow mold, Autumn was comparing whole wheat to white bread (whole wheat lost). Steve could tell you all about how different straw diameters affected the speed of his homemade balloon cars. And Isabel showed how oil affected birds’ feathers. Kyle built his own air-powered rocket (soda bottle sized), and Sierra compared goat’s milk to cow’s milk, offering free samples to willing tasters, along with goat-milking lessons.

Students displayed their experiments throughout the school hallways, with the messier experiments moved outdoors. Parents and community members toured the exhibits, and trophies were awarded to the top entries.

“Smallest Experiment”~ Aaron

“Biggest Experiment”~ Destany

“Messiest Experiment”~ Ethan

“Most Colorful”~ Audrey

“Mr. Science 2010”~ Steve

“Ms. Science 2010”~ Kalyssa

“Biggest Wow Factor”~ Ethan

“Most Electrifying”~ Michael