Learning Life Skills Through Science Fair Projects

I always enjoy attending science fairs and talking with the student participants as they enthusiastically explain there projects. Filled with excitement, they describe step by step the intricacies of their experiments and the startling revelations that they may have discovered.

However, there is a range of projects that span student capabilities from simple to very complex. Some projects are simple and done at home or in school with some teacher guidance. Other projects are done in conjunction with a mentor from the local university or industrial lab. Judging these projects from opposite extremes takes some practice and keeping them on a level playing field.

I especially love the home made projects involving simple ideas with a new twist. The ones where students have made their own instruments to measure the changes in simple variables. I saw one such project last week where a student was measuring the lift on airplane wings of different shapes. She first created the wind power with a leaf blower. Then she constructed a metal stand to support her different wings by soldering short pieces of wire together creating a 15 inch tall structure. A paper measuring scale was the fixed to the back of the structure where a spring supported the wing piece. As the simulated wind from the leaf blower blew across the wing, it stretched the spring by a small increment which could be measured on the paper scale. In addition, changes in static and dynamic air pressure were measured on two homemade water manometers. She then measured the changes in lift and pressure for all her wing designs and graphed all the results. She also kept accurate records of her experiments in a log book and wrote a detailed report of her investigation, literature search, experimental findings with mathematical calculations and graphs. When speaking with her, she was able to explain clearly what she did and made conclusions based on her original work.

On the other hand, there are projects that seem at first glance to be beyond the capabilities of a normal high school student. These are the ones which involve a mentor from the local university or biotech laboratory. Schools are now partnering with local colleges and labs to find mentors to work with their students on science fair projects. The projects that students select are usually a side investigation suggested by the mentor related to current research in which the mentor is now engaged. The student meets with the mentor for a few days a week over several months at the mentor’s lab. The mentor shows the student how to use sophisticated lab equipment and research techniques. The student then performs various experiments and learns to describe the results using cutting edge terminology. Although the projects maybe more sophisticated than the home grown ones, they are judged on the same criteria which involve the following questions: Are there any signs of originality and creativity? Can the student explain the results in simple terms? Were there repeated trials? Did the student keep accurate records in a log book and write a detailed report? Science fair judges need to be careful when scoring these projects and keeping them on a level playing field with all other projects. Although project complexity may range from simple to sophisticated, they need to use the same criteria and not be blown away by the sophisticated cutting edge ideas or lab techniques used by mentored student.

This passed Saturday, March 21, 2009; I attended the Regional IV Science held at Somerville High School in Somerville, MA. See the link at … http://shsscience.org/regionIV/ . You can see some photos of the fair at the link … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RegScFair32109
The regional event is where science fair winners from over 40 high schools north of Boston, MA exhibit their original projects and compete for prizes and spots to enter the State Science Fair, to be held April 30-May2, 2009 at MIT in Cambridge, MA. See link at … http://www.scifair.com/ . The state fair has over 200 participants from high schools around the state and the 6 regional science fairs.

I have been associated with the science fair for over 40 years, first as a high school teacher at Medford High School, in Medford, MA, sending students to the local, regional and state fairs and then participating as a Science Fair Judge. Although I have been retired from public education for several years, I still enjoy volunteering as a Science Fair Judge for local high school fairs and the regional fair.

As a judge, I have had the opportunity to discuss with the student participants their projects in depth. Although I have to limit my individual conversation to about 10 minutes per project so I can judge several projects in the time allowed, I get a good idea of the quality of work that the student has performed. To guide the judging process, there is a score card that addresses five areas of performance: 1. Scientific Approach, 2.Original Notebook, 3. Thoroughness, 4. Ingenuity and Creativity, and 5. Advancement in Science. All projects are judged on this same criteria.

When students decide to participate in their local fair and go on to the regional and state, their individual high school teacher carefully guides them through the process of selecting an interesting topic, keeping accurate records, doing repeated experimental trials and basing their conclusions on what they actually observed in their experiments.

Before enter a fair, students need to practice their public speaking abilities and have self confidence when exhibiting their projects. Not only are they asked questions by the judges but also the general public. They must learn to exude enthusiasm in their project and what they have accomplished. They have to be knowledgeable about their subject area and be able to express their knowledge to a range of audiences.

Students who have participated in a science fair program acquire life skills that get them ready for adult lives. Working individually or as a team, students learn how to tackle problems and make appropriate plans to find solutions. They learn communication skills in both public speaking and comprehensive writing. They learn how to make keen observations and keep accurate records. They learn mathematical and graphic skills to calculate and illustrate there findings. Participating in a science fair program prepares young students for the 21st Century, ready to pursue a range of meaningful careers.

Sailing the Ocean Blue

Recently I saw a book at the public library on how to tell different ships apart from their silhouette. The book is titled “What Ship Is That? - A Field Guide to Boats and Ships” by Bobby Basnight. The book also shows the different colored flags flown by ships to let other ships know about their cargo, origin or other information. You can see some of the ship silhouettes and flags at the link …… http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Ships31009
Can you decipher the flag message above?

I also saw an announcement for the Tall Ships coming back to Boston on July 8, 2009. You can see the info at the link ….. http://www.sailboston.com/home.html

Reading the book and seeing the Tall Ships notice, reminded me of my sailing days as a boy and the unforgettable ocean voyage I experienced. You can read the story below.

Sailing the Ocean Blue
A few years after high school, my friend Jack bought a used sail boat that had been damaged in a storm. He was sure that he could repair most of the damage with a little help from his friends. It was a twenty one foot sloop with one mast that went through a small enclosed cabin space and an open cockpit with a stick tiller and a permanent keel. The repair job took the three of us (Jack, Joe and Me) about a year to fix the giant hole in the hull, get a new mast, rigging, sails and other needed accessories.

Whenever we had the time and a few extra dollars, we would buy needed supplies and make the trip from the inner city to the north shore. We lived in Chelsea, MA in the early 1960’s and kept the boat at Graves Boat Yard, in Marblehead, MA. It was about an hour drive, one way, after work or on weekends.

We finally got the boat in the water by the spring of 1964. We moored it out in Marblehead harbor and used the water taxi to get to the mooring. Although we would take the boat out for short trips to Gloucester or Manchester, we would mostly sail around just outside the harbor or remained at the mooring doing some light chores, cleaning, painting or fixing the rigging.

On sailing days, we shared the duties of raising the sails, manning the tiller or hanging over the gunwales in a hard tack to the wind. As Jack sailed on a long tack with no foresail and just the mainsail, I enjoyed sitting on the fore deck with my back pressed firmly against the mast as the wind and the waves splashed against the bow. Sometimes we would raise the spinnaker and watch it billow out into a giant pillow. The wind blowing against your face was so exhilarating.

Although our short day trips were just great, we decided to take a longer trip to a more distant harbor. Since both Jack and I had attended Maine Maritime Academy, we decided to take a trip to Castine, Maine. The distance by car is about 235 miles and a five hour drive. The distance by boat is also about 200 miles and could take about 20-30 hours with a good 10 mph tail wind.

We made plans for our week long ocean voyage, bought food and provisions and a few changes of clothes. Using current sea charts, we plotted our course along the coast and tried to stay less than 10 miles from land and free of any rocks or sand bars or shipping lanes. We also had a binacle compass mounted near the tiller so we could track our course and bearing.

Although we did not have a communications radio, I used a portable radio with a bar antenna to help with navigation. By rotating the radio, you could null out the radio signal and find its compass direction to the radio station. Using triangulation, I could plot my location on the charts from two or three AM- radio stations that were along the coast from Marblehead to Castine. Sounds crude but it did work

We stored some food in a cooler with ice and the rest in some boxes. We bought frozen TV dinners for a week and planned to cook them in a collapsible oven mounted on a propane stove. The stove was fastened to the mast inside the galley cabin so it was protected from the wind. The enclosed galley had small windows on both sides and only about four foot head room. It also had about six feet of floor space for two people to sleep in sleeping bags while the third could sleep out in the open cockpit.

On the morning of our departure, we checked the weather report which forecasted light winds and some morning fog. We left the harbor in the fog and hoped that it would clear shortly. Although the visibility was only about 5 miles in fog, we made good time out of the harbor and tracked a course slightly NNE. However, the wind died after about 5 hours sailing and we pulled down the sails and switched to an outboard motor that pushed us along slowly at about 5 mph. That was fine for a few hours until we came upon a large area of floating sargasso seaweed. This went on for miles and kept getting caught in the outboard propeller. Luckily the wind picked up again, so we raised the sails and pulled out the outboard motor.

It was now time to cook some dinner so I popped a few TV dinners into the oven inside the cabin and lit the propane burner. While dinner was cooking in the cabin, I went out into the cockpit to enjoy the view with the other two. After a few minutes, there was a giant explosion and a ball of fire wooshed out of the cabin at the three of us sitting at the stern of the open cockpit. Joe quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and pointed it inside the cabin and was able to put out the fire in just a few seconds.

Luckily, the only thing that burned was the propane gas that had filled the cabin. There must have been a leak in the stove which allowed the propane gas to fill the cabin. The fire ball and the force of the explosion just went directly out the open cabin door without causing any permanent damage. We all looked at each other in astonishment and counted our blessing that nothing else burned and we were still alive. With the excitement over, we had bologna sandwiches and water for dinner and continued sailing. No turning back now.

The wind picked up again and we sailed through night. Since we could only see a few miles ahead, we used the compass to stay on course. The helmsman would scan the red lighted compass, keep the sails full and maintain the tiller. We took four hour shifts, two out in the cockpit sailing and keeping watch for floating debris while the third slept inside the cabin.

The next morning the fog rolled in again and cut the visibility to only a few miles. Although we were maintaining a good compass course, we had no idea how much we were drifting sideways since we couldn’t see any land to orient ourselves. However, a ship appeared way off to the port side about 5 miles away. It looked like a fishing trawler, so we decided to hail it and get directions by lighting a distress flare and honking a load air horn. As the boat got closer, we realize it was hundred foot oil tanker rather than a small fishing boat. Too late now.

The tanker finally stopped about two miles off to our starboard and we headed for it. As we approached, a crewman on the tanker was rapidly taking pictures. He probably thought that we had sailed across the ocean in our small boat.

As we got closer, the ten foot swells caused our small sail boat to bounce up and down along side the tanker so we tossed over some bumpers to protect the boat sides. Seeing our outboard, the oil tanker crew man asked if we needed gas. We said yes but also needed directions and that we were on our way to Castine, Maine. He invited us up to the bridge to help us with the navigation. Since the swells were still tossing the boat around, I stayed onboard to keep it away from scrapping the tanker sides.

However, Joe and Jack went on board and up to the tanker bridge. The captain used his Loran Navigation equipment to fix our present location and plotted a course for us to Boothbay Harbor which was only about 10 miles to our west. He said that the fog was still very thick and it would be safer for us to wait it out in Boothbay. You can see our original and secondary course on the map link ….. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/CastineMap31009

Using our compass and the charted course given us, we sailed through the fog to the first harbor buoy and then directly to Boothbay Yacht Club. Evidently, the tanker called ahead and some yacht club members were waiting for us and let us tie up right at their dock. They also let us use the club facilities where we showered and shaved. We also called home to let our families know we were Ok.

After getting cleaned up, we walked around the harbor area and found a small pizza shop and had something to eat. We also arranged with the pizza shop owner to use his oven to cook the rest of our fifteen TV dinners so we could eat for a few days. Since the fog was predicted to continue for a few more days, we decide to sail back to Marblehead and try again with better weather conditions. We left early the next morning and sailed back to Marblehead in about ten hours. Although we didn’t reach our planned destination, we certainly had a sea story to tell our future children.

Comments are welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net