Seven Champion Middle School students were recognized by the district Board of Education at their meeting on Monday, January 22, 2024, for placing in the Top 3 in the 6th grade Science Fair! Winners were all recognized at the beginning of the meeting for their outstanding efforts.
Every year, 6th grade Science Teacher Mr. Paul Cornelius organizes the fair. Students are tasked with working together to research various topics and ideas and then select one for the fair. Students conduct experiments, document results, and then present their findings to teachers, guests, and their fellow peers at the science fair. The winners are chosen based on their incorporation of the scientific method like keeping all other variables the same and testing multiple times, visible effort, and having a creative and original topic. “It is a great opportunity to give the students hands-on learning,” Cornelius explains. “They are solving everyday problems by conducting their experiment, and really get to understand how the scientific process works. Even though it is a long project, students are proud of their work and enjoy presenting their findings.”
We asked our winners to share their thoughts on their project and how they felt when they found out they’d won a prize. Here’s what they had to say:
1st Place: Rilyn Dunn and Abigail Downs - Perfect Pressure: “To get our idea, we looked at other science fair boards and many resources. We like riding bikes so we put our own spin on our topic. We were really surprised and excited to know we won 1st place!"
2nd Place: Violet Baxter - Can Mealworms Eat Plastic?: "We went somewhere with bugs and the idea of testing something with mealworms came to mind as an original project. I felt proud, and excited to know I placed 2nd!"
2nd Place: Piper Feathers - Are You Wet or Set?: "I spent a lot of time talking with my family over what would be a good science topic to test, and I thought testing diapers would be something useful for families with babies. I was really anxious to find out who the winners were before they were announced, so I'm glad I came in 2nd!"
2nd Place: Grace Pate - Rising Cakes: "I like to bake, so that's where my idea of "Rising Cakes" came from. It felt really good to know I placed 2nd. I was surprised!”
3rd Place: Leonidas Karousis - Best Propeller Size: "I love anything with motion, physics, buoyancy, space, and water, so I thought testing propeller size would be a cool topic. I was excited and proud of myself to find out I won 3rd place!"
3rd Place: Peyton Thompson - Which Cleans Best?: "I was washing my hands one day when we first started talking about the science fair and thought it would be a great idea. It felt good to find out I finished 3rd place and I was surprised!"
Congratulations to our winners and all of our sixth-grade science fair participants!