Strange things were happening all week long in the homes of local middle school students. Peculiar things.
Dog saliva was collected in Petri dishes. Leaf blowers were transformed into space-age machinery. There were even fruits used to power light bulbs.
This could only mean one thing: It was time for the annual Cortez Middle School Science Fair.
More than 200 students filled the schools gymnasium with their presentations last Thursday, Jan. 19, as volunteer judges from all corners of the community visited with the young scientists, scoring them on their experiments.
While many presentations grew fungi and had funny smells, others took an approach effecting other senses to test their hypothesis.
Rowdy Veach used different kinds of music to see how it affected blood pressure.
I did it on my mom, sister and brother, he explained. I took their blood pressure first and then played rock, country, easy listening, jazz and pop.
His hypothesis was that softer music would sooth even the rowdiest subject, but he found that blood pressure was determined by many more variables.
I learned that depending on the person and what they like listening to is what their blood pressure will be like. It depends on their mood and personality, he said.
Veach said he likes science because he simply enjoys the study of things.
Across the busy gymnasium, Madison Archuleta was displaying her agglomeration of dog saliva that was steadily growing bacteria as it stewed in various soft drinks and juices.
They smell horrible, she said.
She wanted to see which would grow and which wouldnt, but she found that they all grew rapidly overnight. She said she got the slimy spit for her Bow Wow Bacteria project from her own two dogs and from one of her teachers pets.
Paige Baileys Fruit Battery project hypothesized that lemons would give off more electrical voltage than other fruits, but she learned that limes actually give off the most of her experiment test group.
She squeezed the fruits and then stuck a nail and penny in them, connected a voltage meter and then hooked up a light bulb and it lit up.
I like all the different things you can learn about energy, she said.
Preparing for high school
Montezuma-Cortez High School senior Freeland Wedner helped judge the sixth-grade science fair projects. He said that middle school is an important time to build scientific knowledge to bring to the high school level.
Science is a broad field that encompasses a lot of things. An education students get in middle school will determine how well they do in high school. Its really important, Wedner said.
Science teacher Cathy Cowan said that there are a lot of fields open in science, and a number of science scholarships as well.
Science can solve a lot of problems. If we can get the kids thinking and looking at that, then maybe we can get some of those solved, like pollution, or more energy efficient vehicles, she said.
Its problem solving skills. I talk to my students a lot in my class about the process and how it can be used in any problem you come up with. You make a hypothesis, test it and see if it works. Not getting along with someone, try this and see if it works, or try that and see if that works, she said.
Hopefully theyll be able to use their science and their thinking skills in all areas of their lives.
Its a lot of work and a lot of fun, said science teacher Gary Livick. Livick said he took over the science fair about five years ago, and it has been growing steadily ever since.
Its the idea of thinking critically and breaking problems down. As science teachers, its the most important thing we do. The (scientific) method is more important than how many electrons are around carbon. You ask a question, break it down into its parts and figure out how to gather data to help answer that question, Livick said.
Process is king, and we try to emphasize that process, he said.
He said that the community steps up for the fair, and it couldnt happen without the volunteers.
Weve got scientists, geologists, people from the park service, the hospital. Without their support this couldnt work, Livick said.
Three winners are picked from various categories, like biology, microbiology, engineering and others, and three grand prize winners are decided out of all.
Back in the gymnasium, students kept near their experiments. Dayton Davies mans his post, a leaf blower modified with PVC pipe and duct tape mounted on a wooden box with Plexiglas on the bottom and red flames painted on the side.
Davies made his hoover-craft out of a 200 mile-per-hour leaf blower.
I wanted to try it on my sister, but...
Davies said he liked science because he is good at math, and there is lots of math in science. He also said he liked going around and seeing everyones projects.
Livick said the teachers discourage the cliché volcanoes and encourage new, creative ideas and projects. Its a project its project based. Weve got a hoover craft, I mean, come on!
Sixty finalists from the fair will be selected to go on to the San Juan Basin Regional Science Fair, March 1, at the La Plata County Fairgrounds in Durango. Reach Brandon Mathis at brandonm@cortezjournal.com
