Alamance-Burlington students put science skills to the test at fair

Some of the projects at the Alamance-Burlington School System’s 2011 Science Fair were about traditional subjects – things like kinetic energy and oil spills. Others were on less technical-sounding topics, such as dirty diapers, chewing gum and nail polish. The event was Wednesday at Graham Middle School. Caleb Fitch and Kolin Moore, fifth-grade students at E.M. Holt Elementary School, took the air restrictors out of three Nerf guns to test the idea that it would make the guns shoot farther “We thought that taking it out would increase the range,” Fitch said, something that was reinforced when they asked for other opinions. “A lot of people on the Internet were saying it would increase the range,” Moore said. “We found that it actually decreased the range.” They fired each gun 10 times each with and without the air restrictor and averaged the results. With two of the three guns, removing the air restrictor decreased the range. Sarah Jeffries and Karra Richmond, fifth-grade students at Andrews Elementary, tested laundry detergents to see which one did best removing stains. They soaked white cloths in a blueberry juice-based drink and found that Tide was the most effective in removing the color. Grady Hildebrand, a fifth-grade student at Elon Elementary School, researched different types of bridges and constructed four models using balsa wood. He discovered the beam bridge – the kind commonly used as part of highway overpasses – was able to hold the most weight. His beam-bridge model held 55 pounds before breaking. The science fair is divided into two portions. Several dozen elementary school students were at the fair in the early morning to show their projects to judges. Later in the morning, middle and high school students arrived for their turns. Students qualified for the science fair by winning events at their schools. People with knowledge in different areas of science judge the projects. They include graduates students at schools such as Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, retired educators and employees of science-related companies such as Carolina Biological.