Park Street School Students Celebrate Science!

Special to the Times

On Wednesday and Thursday, February 15 and 16, 2023, Park Street School (PSS) Elementary School students (Kindergarten – Grade 6) presented engaging Science topics to parents, faculty and staff, peers and other PSS students during our dynamic 2022-2023 Science Fair exhibition.

Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 Exhibits: Wednesday morning, February 15: 8:30-10:30 a.m.

From displaying handcrafted 3-D larger-than-life models of unusual insects from around the world in second grade to an engaging exploration of the Rainforest, its animals and their habitats, from creative, thought-provoking posters of vertebrate animals in third grade to a robust study of the solar system, its planets, and space travel in first grade, Park Street School’s youngest students brought Science to life on Wednesday, February 15. Visitors were treated to quizzes by budding entomologists in second grade about insect facts, learned knowledge of the solar system through games and presentations by first grade experts and were guided through the Rainforest by local Kindergarten explorers, who shared the knowledge they have acquired. “What Am I?” posters were on display for visitors to guess the vertebrates their third grade experts were describing. (And, yes, the students kept track of what guesses were made of their back-boned creatures!) QR codes on each desk led to visitors hearing a presentation by the third graders on what their animals were, and what their favorite things about them were.

Grades 4-6 Exhibits: Thursday morning, February 16: 8:00-8:30 a.m. and 9:30-10:00 a.m.

For Grades 5-6 on Thursday, February 16, students produced individual science experiments, and research papers, which were displayed and presented to parents and visitors. The topics investigated by Grade 5 and 6 students included questions such as, “Balance and Exercise: Do Specific Exercises Help Dancers Improve Their Weak Side Balance?”; “pH and Drinking Water: Does the pH of Water Influence Water’s Taste?”; “I Love Ice Cream, But It Doesn’t Love Me: A Study of the Ability of Probiotics to Reduce Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance”; “Softball Bats and Hitting Distance: Do Composite Bats Produce Greater Hit Distance?” and “Stealthy Aircraft: How Does Body Shape Affect Light Reflectance?”

Grade 4 students presented work on product testing done in teams, researching and testing consumer household items such as cereal, hand soap, ice cream, and garbage bags. During the morning and afternoon exhibit times, all students were stationed at their exhibits, ready to engage and interact with parents, staff and faculty, peers and younger students.

Announcement and Presentation of Grade 5 and 6 Winners:

On Thursday afternoon, February 16 at 1:30 p.m., the names of the winners in Grades 5 and 6 were announced. These middle school students’ individual projects were assessed by judges external to the school, prior to Thursday. The judges’ scores were tallied to produce five awards, First Place through Fifth Place. The winners presented their five projects on stage to parents and visitors. Interspersed between each of the winning presentations were innovative live advertising “commercials,” written, designed and produced by fourth grade students based on their product testing. The awards were presented to the following students: First Place: Grade 6 Caleb Kim; Second Place: Grade 6 Claire Booker; Third Place: Reed Fullerton; Fourth Place: Kieran Tella; and Fifth Place: Emmeline Jabro. Congratulations to ALL our budding scientists!

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