Science fair answers some burning questions

Which kills germs better – liquid hand soap or hand sanitizer?

Ron Benningfield

Trey Ireland, third grade student at Hodgenville Elementary School, checks how much ice is left in each of the cups which are enclosed with a different type of insulation - aluminum foil, paper towel, plastic bag or cloth towel. Ireland found the cloth to

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What brand of bubble gum retains its taste the longest?

Which toilet paper is stronger – Angel Soft or Charmin Ultra Strong?

These questions show the range of topics that elementary students covered through experiments during LaRue County Schools’ District Science Fair at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School last weekend. 

“These kids enjoy doing these projects a lot,” said Diane Akridge, Hodgenville Elementary School’s administrative manager. “By making these experiments, they learn more about science.”

Kathy Ross, ALES school administrative manager, listed several skills the students sharpen – application of Scientific Method and inquiry, public speaking as they explain their project, graphing, collecting data, understanding variables.

Their projects show the high levels of learning that elementary students are taught in today’s classroom.

“I don’t remember understanding centrifugal force (Bridget Southwood’s project) in third grade or robotics (Celeste Menard) in fifth grade,” Ross said. “In addition, the students are learning that their ideas have to be tested repeatedly in some cases, and that having their hypothesis prove to be wrong is OK. They are using the vocabulary of their experiment, too.”

Well before the annual fair, students and their families were given a rubric which showed the criteria on which they were to be judged, including display board organization and content, evidence of their experiment using the Scientific Method, and how well they should describe their project and findings to judges.

Projects were displayed at their respective schools before Saturday’s culminating event.

District winners were:

•Kindergarten – first, Brenna Southwood; second, Harper Hynes; third, Brayden Childress

•First grade – first, Biven Turner; second, Noah Grey; third, Evan Morris

•Second grade – first, Addie Cundiff; second, Nick Vazquez; third, Kaleigh Graham

•Third grade – first, Bridget Southwood; second, Trey Ireland; third, Zachary Duvall

•Fourth grade – first, Ethan Johnson; second, Mary Gearon; third (tie), Jacob Rutledge and Harrison Hynes

•Fifth grade – first, Celeste Menard; second, Cole Constant; third (tie), Andrew Lawson and Autumn Riggs.   

Other students entering projects included Brayden McCandless, Chase Milby, Alex Loyall, Elam Stillwell, Isabella Hollis, Brooks Brackett, Madison Wilmoth, Evan Morris, Alex Rutledge, Simon Coy, Chris Morton, Bethany Blair, Russell Young, Jacob Cundiff, Taylor Newton, Hunter Howell, Austin Burgess, Canyon Harned, Chase Wilson, Isaac Johnson, Alyssa White, Jacob Rutledge, Zoe Blair, Mary Gearon, Harrison Hynes, Lindsey Shelton, Tonya Atwell, Airyl Heath, Sara Estes, Jacob Beismer, Chloe Price, Breea Kirkpatrick and Kaitlyn Warnshuis.

For the readers’ information, here are the answers to the questions at the start of this article (as found through student experiments):

1. Liquid hand soap kills more bacteria than hand sanitizers.

2. Bubblicious’ flavor outlasted Fruit Sensations, Ice Breakers, Fruit Stripe and Bubble Yum. 

3. Charmin Ultra Strong, when wet, held heavier loads (pennies, golf ball) than Angel Soft, giving it the “stronger” title.