Hot Springs hosts student science fair

HOT SPRINGS – Children ran from one side of the gymnasium to the other, chatting excitedly and investigating the wide variety of science experiments on display. 

The second annual Hot Springs Elementary School Science fair was held on the evening of Thursday, May 8, in the gymnasium of the elementary school in Hot Springs.

The space, usually reserved for physical activity, took on a slight change of appearance for the duration of the fair. With wrestling mats tucked against the wall, tables dominated the space usually reserved for physical activity. 

Atop these tables were a wide variety of science projects, designed and created by the students of Hot Springs. 

Featuring everything from dancing raisins, to Mentos fueled volcanoes and eggs that floated in water, the students creativity was on display. 

Jennifer Christensen, an elementary teacher at Hot Springs Elementary, was on hand, as judges and visitors circled the gym, and students presented their projects. 

According to Christensen, the students were split into two groups for the science fair. 

The junior division, consisted of kindergartners, first-graders, second-graders and third-graders, while the senior division, was made up of students from fourth and fifth grade classrooms. 

“All of the kids partner with an adult and work on the project at home,” Christensen said. 

The kids do the majority of the work, the adults simply assist them along the way, noted Christensen. 

The projects were worked on entirely at home, meaning the fair on Thursday was the first opportunity for students to see the handiwork of their peers. 

There was a great deal of excitement through the early stages of the fair, as kids would temporarily abandon their own project, to check out what their friends had been working on over the past few days. 

As the evening wore on, the children settled down, enthusiastically describing the particulars of their projects, as the judges made their rounds across the room. 

Christensen explained the fair and the project were a Title I Parent Involvement program, aimed at involving students’ families in their education. 

The federally mandated program, is an effort to improve contact and communication between educators and guardians, with the desired effect being an improved education for the community’s children.  

Additionally, as can be seen in its title, the initiative is all about getting involved with a child’s education, and with the science fair being a home based assignment, it provided an excellent opportunity for the desired involvement. 

The second annual event, was made up of 18 entries, six up from last year’s first ever science fair, where 12 entries were presented to the public. 

By the end of the evening the judges had come to a consensus and awarded the prizes to the projects they felt had won the competition. 

In the junior division, Alcyone Max took third place for the sprouting grains project, Kara Christenson placed second with her dancing raisins, and Austin and Elijah Campbell won the competition, with their presentation, A Crystal Garden. 

For the senior division, Savannah Roosma and Ariah Erny took third with a demonstration on hot air balloons, Kyle Lawson placed second with his volcano powered by Mentos and Pepsi. The winner of the division was Linsay Burgner, and her project, the unbreakable egg.