Onion Powered iPods & Sanitary Dog Smooches

Did you ever wonder whether an onion and an electrolyte liquid might provide enough energy to run your iPod? Did you ever wonder whether it was safer to kiss a dog than a human? Did you ever wonder what type of music might best make your flowers grow or how color affects your sense of taste?

Well, our students did. These were amongst the ninety projects reflecting a breathtaking combination of creativity, ingenuity, wit, and the scientific method, submitted by our students in 4th through 8th grade for this year's annual Science Fair.

Each and every project began with a "problem" which our students set out to explore through a developmentally appropriate experiment of their design, aided and guided by Mrs. Dana Parker, our Lower School Science teacher, and Mrs. Linda George, our Middle School Science Teacher. The boards which our students presented noted the student's original hypothesis as to what he or she expected the results of the experiment to be, followed by a description of the materials and procedure used in its execution, the data collected, and the conclusions drawn. From basic taste tests to complex DNA extraction, and from tests of the local environment to a test of the hallowed "5 Second Rule," the projects demonstrated the value of applied science at its best.

Special thanks to all of our "celebrity" judges who gave of their time to evaluate our students' work, to our science teachers, and to Mrs. Gersten for organizing the event. It is the students themselves, though, who deserve the greatest commendation for a job very well done.