iScience Showcases Middle School Science Projects

The Middle School Science Fair took on a name change and a new format this year. iScience, held on the evening of Feb. 5 in the Science Education & Research Facility, saw participation from all Middle School students, who sought to create experiments around measurable questions.

 

This time around, the projects were completed during class and were connected to the units they were already studying: geology and botany in sixth grade; biomes, ecology and energy in seventh grade; and physics in eighth grade.

 

“It’s more exciting, it’s more interactive and it’s more in keeping with what we do in the Middle School,” said Morgan Bailey, Middle School curriculum coordinator and teacher. “The idea is the process. So it doesn’t work. That’s OK. What can you do? Change it and try again.”

 

Sixth-grader Khalfani Muhammed-Coney put that concept into practice with the roadblocks he encountered while working on his project, which involved growing seeds upside down in a bag.

 

“It actually didn’t turn out right,” he said. “We predicted the water was going to go down to the bottom of the bag, but it worked because the water soaked in the paper towel and the seeds grew sideways. The best part was working with my friends to figure out ways to make the plants grow.”

 

During iScience, students presented their experiments and findings to attendees and were on hand to answer questions.

 

In one sixth-grade experiment, students made a shake table, widely used in seismic research to simulate the impact of earthquakes. After much trial and error, students tested structures made out of marshmallows and straws to examine the different kinds of support systems for buildings.

 

In a seventh-grade project, students tested tsunami waves against different “buildings” represented by various geometric shapes made from plywood and propped by clay. The ability to withstand the tidal wave was measured by using a protractor that recorded the angle of tilt of the geometric shape as the surge of the wave hit.  

 

Another group of students determined whether tea or water was better in helping plants grow taller, among other exciting experiments.