Science-minded students explore their world

Meneley Elementary School fifth-grader Allison Dodd, 11, said she had a friend who wanted her plants to grow faster.

"My friend was watering plants, and they took forever to grow," Allison said. "I wanted to see if something else would make them grow."

That something else was Monster Energy Drink. Allison undertook a five-day experiment during which she fed three potted bulbs a tablespoon of Monster each day, while feeding three other plants a tablespoon of water each day for comparison.

"I laid them out on the windowsill," Allison said.

But she slowly learned that what quickens mental activity in humans doesn't transfer so well to plant life.

"The Monster did not make the plants grow. They grew an inch, and then they died," she said. "I think it's all the sugar and caffeine and chemicals in Monster that poisoned the plants. The ones that got water grew a lot."

Allison's Monster vs. Water experiment was one of 200 projects that fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders produced for Meneley Elementary's annual science fair on Feb. 25.

"At least two-thirds of the students came up with the questions on their own," said Meneley teacher and event organizer Cathy Hackler. "They were really encouraged to come up with questions they could solve with the inquiry process ... The results were very intriguing."

Fifth-grader Sidney Miller, 10, said she was eating cereal one morning and noticed iron listed as an ingredient on the back of the cereal box.

"I didn't know it had iron in it, and thought it would make a fun experiment," she said.

In her Mining for Iron project, Sidney crushed up three different cereals: Fruit Loops, Cheerios and Frosted Mini-Wheats. She used a magnet to extract iron particles from each bowl. She said the metallic element appeared as a fine black powder, which she deposited on separate napkins for analysis.

"Frosted Mini-Wheats had way more iron than the other two," Sidney said.

Classmate Dean Cummins said his liking of oranges led him to study different modes of dehydration.

Slicing up the citrus fruit, he placed one piece in the refrigerator, another in a sealed plastic bag, and left one in the open air.

"I wanted to see which one would dry the fastest," he said.

Three weeks later, the orange piece left outside was dehydrated.

"The one in the bag got moldy, but didn't dry out," Dean said. "The one in the fridge dried kind of fast, in about four weeks."

When asked how his project would affect his handling of oranges in the future, the 10-year-old said, "I'm not going to slice them in half. I'm going to keep them whole and keep them in the fridge."

On Tuesday, Minden Elementary School kindergarten-sixth-grade students displayed 150 projects in the school's library for their annual science fair.

"I think some of the students are coming up with different ideas, projects that haven't been done before," said MES teacher and fair organizer Lauren Spires.

Spires said 30 members of the community volunteered to judge the projects.

"We couldn't do it without them. Interviewing the students is a huge component," she said. "Some of the students haven't had an opportunity to go one-on-one with an adult, and they're nervous and excited. Afterwards, they say they loved the interviews."

Sixth-grader Chandler Howe, 12, spent more than two weeks studying recycling practices of 13 different locations and events at Lake Tahoe for her project, How "Green" is Lake Tahoe?

Her hypothesis was, "If provided with appropriate containers, then people will recycle."

However, Chandler's field study and extensive logging produced different results.

"I think it was interesting to find out that some people recycle, and some people don't," she said. "I think I would estimate 25 percent of people recycle when given appropriate containers."

Chandler said when the data was totaled, with the help of a family friend who works for South Tahoe Refuse Co., she found that 39 percent of recycling container contents were trash items, and that 19 of trash contents were recyclable items.

"I think people probably want to help the environment, but maybe we can put bigger signs on the recycling containers," Chandler said.

Fifth-grader Sierra Henrikson, 11, tested three different sodas, Dr. Pepper, Fresca and Pepsi, for her experiment aptly named Fizzology.

"I just thought about when you go to get a soda, and there's one left, and you drop it on the floor," she said. "It gets fizzy inside, and you have to wait half an hour until it cools down."

Sierra decided to test differing levels of fizziness by shaking each can of soda four times. After the shaking, she poured each soda in a glass with a ruler attached to the side.

Repeating the procedure two more times, Sierra noted that Fresca's fizz rose 2 inches at its apex, Pepsi 3.5 inches, and Dr. Pepper reached 5.5 inches.

"Dr. Pepper had the most fizz in it," she said. "I think it has more caffeine."

Fortunately, Sierra's favorite soda, Fresca, was the least fizziest of the three.

"Dr. Pepper is my second favorite," she said.

(1st place projects will be entered in the Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair, March 25-27, at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno)

fourth grade

1st-Brady McGlaughlin-The Chicken Cup

1st-Ann Keasling-Meteors and Craters

1st-Austin Aiken-Alternative Energy

2nd-Richard Higgins-The Milk Test

2nd-Nick Greenwood-Length CO2 Car Can Travel

2nd-Sarah Grove-Cookie Caper

2nd-Olivia Tahti-Gum's Gone

3rd-Jack Overton-Flashlight Shadows

3rd-Kyla Hinnant-Molding a Potato

3rd-Seth Garcia-Oil/Friction

fifth grade

1st-Jared Swensen-Burning Burning Burning

1st-Hayden Desborough-Wait Drink Wait Check

1st-Ben Hallinan-Long and Short of It

1st-Breanna Ross-Dee-Grow to the Music

2nd-Taryn Allmett-Fabric Water

2nd-Jasa Villanueva-Veggie Gas

2nd-Connor Brown-Mold Madness

2nd-Grace Brooks-Plants Love Light

2nd-Trevor Edis-Thicker the Better

2nd-Nick Watkins-Toothy Brushy

2nd-Lindsey Swart-Go Green

3rd-Noah Shek-Soil Science

3rd-Hunter Simpson-Rainbow Waters

3rd-Bela Lentz-Hand and Foot

sixth grade

1st-Alex Dolan-Hair vs Fur

1st-Sydney Cotton, Amber Johnson-Fire Gone Wild

1st-Breyauna Ahrens-Veucasovic Fabric Static

1st-Sam McCormick-When the Levee Breaks

1st-Cassie Hergenrader-Paper Plate Make or Break

2nd-Jonah Hedlund-Burning Wood

2nd-Sean McLean-Chalk Dissolves

2nd-Jordyn Voss-Hot and Cold Tennis

2nd-Colin Brooks-Pedal Power

2nd-Maguire Dunn-Insulators

2nd-Dalton Miller-Melt-o-Mania

3rd-Paige Parmeter, Eva Marquez, Eliza Figueroa-Sinking in Quicksand

3rd-Logan Brummer-Miniature Rocket Propulsion

3rd-Tyeesa Jim-Dissolving Sugar

(Placement, student first name, last name, grade level, project name)

1 Christian Eckert 6 Sound Check

2 Ali Cronin 6 The Onion of My Eye

3 Cappy Gilbert 6 Current Curiosity

Honorable Mention Chandler Howe 6 How "Green" Is Lake Tahoe?

Honorable Mention Zach Ingry 6 Take Two and Call Me in The Morning

Honorable Mention Lindsey Holt 6 Plip-Plop Fizz

Honorable Mention Jake Nagy 6 Hot or Cold?

Honorable Mention Dylan Galliett 6 Plumper Worms

1 Brynn Rothfusz 5 Powerful Pillows

2 Madelyn Landerfelt 5 Germ-Onimo!

3 Matt McTee 5 One Big Bubble

Honorable Mention Olivia Swearingen 5 Water Waster

Honorable Mention Emily Muller 5 Simmer Simmer Boil

Honorable Mention Cori Nalder 5 Salt Crystals

Honorable Mention Taylor Stokes 5 Tooth Tarnish

1 Carly Howe 4 Slow and Steady Wins the Race

2 Jonathan Ruppel 4 Conductivity of Liquids

3 Evy Bertolone-Smith 4 Burning Time

Desmond Hinnant 4

Honorable Mention Marissa Flanders 4 Centrifugal Force

Honorable Mention Zach Holt 4 Magnatism

Honorable Mention Emily Steiner 4 Dog's Sense of Smell

1 Ben Steiner 3 Colors and Light

Clayton Ogles 3

2 Kyra Whybrew 3 Crystalizer

3 Bradley Haack 3 Bacteria Battle

Honorable Mention Maddie Langhoff 3 Balloon Fun

Honorable Mention Angel Neal 3 Eggsperiment

Honorable Mention Franklyn Chambers 3 Paper Towel Absorbancy

Honorable Mention Riana Testa 3 Lava Lamps

Honorable Mention Mrs. Howe's Class 2 No Food...No Problem

Honorable Mention Lauren Hillbrick 2 The Cleanest Clean

Honorable Mention Allie Rowden 2 Mustard Mayhem

Honorable Mention Kaden Kridler 2 The Teeth Experiment

Honorable Mention Brayden Worthington 1 Floating Eggs

Honorable Mention Carson Hill Kindergarten Going the Distance

Honorable Mention Mrs. Neilanders morning and afternoon Kindergarten class We're Getting Warmer