Seventh grade students at Memorial Junior High had the opportunity to demonstrate classroom learning, as well as creativity at the Second Annual Science Fair on Thursday, April 16th in the new gym. Parents, teachers and students attended the event, which showcased 270 science project displays covering a wide variety of topics. Each display centered around the testing of a specific hypothesis and included the seven steps of the scientific method, pictures of the student performing the experiment, as well as a chart or graph documenting the results. Students were encouraged to be creative in the process of selecting their hypothesis. Some notable examples of student hypotheses included whether a person’s age affected the amount of bacteria in their mouth, as well as if pine needles could be used as a natural plant growth inhibitor or weed killer.
During the days preceding the Science Fair, a group of twenty-eight judges including teachers, administrators and Superintendent Linda N. Reid, evaluated an assigned group of student displays based on a rubric created by the seventh grade science teachers. Students were evaluated based on the accuracy of each step of the scientific method, creativity, documentation of data using a graph or chart, as well as proper citation of their research using the MLA citation format. The evaluation will account for 20 of the 200 total project points. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards will be given to the top projects, while a ribbon will be awarded for each science class.
SEL Schools wants to recognize the seventh grade students at Memorial for their hard work and creativity at this year’s Science Fair, as well as thank all of the teachers and staff members who helped to make it a success!