Science fairs stir the curiosities|[3/6/06]

Published 12:00 am Monday, March 6, 2006

Hannah Register now knows that her cat, Lizzy, likes Meow Mix the best.

Heather Hayes found out it’s almost always quickest to go inside a fast food restaurant rather than use the drive-through service.

Franklin Wilson realized Coke made him have more urine output than water, Gatorade or cranberry juice.

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Grace Bufkin found out her mother doesn’t necessarily recognize her by her smell.

Many discoveries have been made by elementary students in Vicksburg during the past several months, and more than 300 of them were displayed Thursday and Friday during the District Science Fair at Vicksburg Auditorium.

Most of the school science fairs were held during January and February, said Martha Roberts, science fair director for the Vicksburg Warren School District.

Porters Chapel Academy held its school science fair Wednesday, and winners will compete in the regional fair at the school Tuesday.

&#8220The district fair was originally designed to prepare students for the regional fair, which is in Jackson,” Roberts said. &#8220This gives them an opportunity to talk with the judges.”

Each student waited patiently for the judges to come by and score projects. Some read while others listened to iPods. Some, like Hannah Register, did homework to pass the time.

&#8220I wanted to do something that I would like to do, and I like cats a lot,” said the 11-year-old.

After setting out three identical bowls filled with 8 ounces each of Meow Mix, Tasty Blend and Friskies – all brands of dry cat food – the Beechwood fifth-grader found that Lizzy figured out on her own which bowl was filled with Meow Mix, her favorite.

&#8220I switched the bowls around so she wouldn’t get used to placement,” she said. &#8220I thought she would like Friskies because it looked the tastiest to me. But she liked Meow Mix because, I guess, it tasted the best.”

Eating fast food is common at Heather Hayes’ house, and now she knows the quickest way to get it.

&#8220My mom would go through the drive-thru while I would go inside. We’d order the same thing. Seven out of nine times going inside was faster. I thought the drive-through would be faster,” said Heather, a sixth-grader at Bowmar Elementary.

She tested her project at McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King.

&#8220We always have a lot of food to order. Going inside can save up to 10 minutes,” said Heather, 11.

&#8220Mama, I gotta go” was the title of Franklin Wilson’s project, which tested the amount of urine output from four different liquids.

&#8220I thought water would make you go to the bathroom the most, but I was wrong,” said Franklin, a fifth-grader at South Park Elementary.

He drank a liter of Coke, Gatorade, water and cranberry juice and then tested the amount of urine and the pH of each sample. Coke caused the most urine output.

&#8220I guess it’s because of the caffeine,” said Franklin, 10.

And, out of five mothers, Grace Bufkin’s was the only one not to guess her daughter’s smell on the first try.

&#8220I thought that was funny. She was the only one who didn’t get it right,” said Grace, 8.

Grace and four friends wore the identical white T-shirts for five nights in a row. Then Grace put each shirt in a plastic bag and had the each mother smell the shirts to guess which had been worn by her daughter.

&#8220We found this idea in a book. It sounded fun,” said Grace, a third-grader at Dana Road.

All five mothers eliminated three of the shirts immediately, and every mom but Grace’s picked the right one on the first try.

&#8220It really was a fun project,” said Grace’s mom, Perian Bufkin. &#8220We were under pressure to identify our children, and I was the only one who failed!”.

Not every science fair entry was a project. Some were models of the solar system or parts of the human body, like Tom Clendenin’s.

&#8220I made a model of the eye last year, so this year I decided to do the tongue,” said Tom, a third-grader at St. Francis Xavier Elementary.

Using foam shaped like an oversized tongue covered with a red towel, the 9-year-old used different colored ping-pong balls and suction cups from bath mats to identify the taste buds.

&#8220It was fun to do,” he said.

In the end, about 70 students were recognized as award-winners each day.

There were 190 entries in Class II (grades 4-6) and 112 in Class I (grades 1-3.) Participants were from the district’s seven elementary schools, two intermediate schools and St. Francis Xavier Elementary School.

All participants in the district fair qualify to advance to the regional science fair March 23 at Jackson State University.