Sixth graders unveiled the results of weeks of scientific research, experimentation, and data analysis for the Sixth Grade Experimental Design Fair, which took place this morning in Hajjar Auditorium. “Through hands-on experiments, students have learned to ask meaningful questions, make predictions, and test hypotheses—developing resilience and a passion for discovery along the way,” said Ms. Kara Makohon-Moore, Sixth Grade Science Teacher.
Among the topics that our curious students worked on were sound wave patterns, digital vs. traditional learning, chocolate melting points, and how the amount of baking soda in a cookie affects its height (for which the team of Paloma D. ’31, Saachi R. ’31, and Brandon V. ’31 took health conditions into consideration).
Aiden P. ’31 and Seha B. ’31, whose project on video game reaction times “started out as a joke” to find out if video games could be helpful, enlisted several classmates to test their reaction times before and after playing video games. They found that times significantly improved afterward.
To find out how the heating method affects the time it takes to heat a s’more, Amir N. ’31, Val E. ’31, and Vicky K. ’31, built a solar oven of cardboard and aluminum foil to see if this heating source would be faster than a microwave oven (it was not).
Another group, comprised of Ace W. ’31 and Cyrus M. ’31, sought to answer the question, “How do different tread patterns on basketball shoes affect athletic performance?” for which they used their own shoes and the school gym for testing (result: the most complex pattern performed the best). Hats off to all our young scientists!
