LYND - Creative science and engineering projects lined the walls in the gymnasium Friday at Lynd School.
Jenny Flores learned how to make glow in the dark water, while Shayla Savage found out which seed grew best with various soils. Pamela Villeda explored light and reflection, while Saudia Gruhot attempted to determine why the ocean was salty.
"It's actually probably our best year yet," said organizer Martin Boucek, who teaches science and social studies at Lynd. "We pushed it later in the year here and with the beautiful weather, everything went awesome. Everyone finished and everyone is here (Friday)."
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Photo by Jenny Kirk
Lynd teacher Denise Smith asked questions to student Ana Ruiz at the 2012 Lynd Science and Engineering Fair Friday in the school gymnasium.
The science and engineering fair was open to all fifth- through eighth-graders at Lynd and students created their own experiments.
"The projects are all on their own," Boucek said. "The students get zero time in school to do this. It's all created at home."
Cecilia Hernandez had a colorful background for her display.
"I used stencils," she said.
Hernandez chose a project that measured how acidic the snow was.
"The biggest challenge was waiting for the snow to melt," she said.
Joseph Hoversten decided to test out traction on cement, ice, snow and gravel.
"The hardest part was having to make the boards weigh the same so it wouldn't affect the data or anything," Hoversten said. "That way I could measure the boards and they'd be accurate."
When Hoversten dragged the material around on the surface, he recorded the amount of force depicted on the scale.
"I found out that it has a lot more traction than I thought," he said. "The sandpaper and the hardware cloth worked pretty good on ice, surprisingly."
Rhiannon Markegard's project was called "Lava Logics." Markegard attempted to make a homemade lava lamp, which was more difficult than she anticipated.
"My lava lamp didn't work," she said. "I think it was because of the density of the water."
Markegard said she had a good time doing the experiment anyway, though it was a challenge.
"There were four steps, but it was pretty hard," Markegard said. "You have to get everything right. I had to get the specific gravity right."
When she gets the lava lamp home, Markegard plans to dump out the water and try again.
"It was a lot of work, so it would be a waste if I couldn't get it to work," she said. "I think it'll work."
While attending the event, LaDonna Rathje enjoyed learning about Carlee Goslar's project.
"Carlee did a science project on which rabbit feed is better for rabbits," Rathje said. "The yogurt treats won. She did great."
Official judges were students from Southwest Minnesota State University and from the Lyon County Sheriff's Department. For the first time in event history, judges were able to score projects using Lynd School iPads this year.
"It was all digital so we didn't kill any trees this year with that," Boucek said. "We used our iPad labs and took it a step further with our judging. It's just a huge competition, because the projects are all excellent."