Science Fair

Several of the teachers down in Koutiala put together a science fair for all the kids in the area. It was so much fun! We're so thankful for all the work they put into it.

The boys had a great time working on their projects. I'll be honest, so did I. They came up with their ideas all on their own and really did a wonderful job. This is the morning before they were heading out to present their work.

Dawson's question was whether different background noises affected the speed and accuracy of written work. Each participant had to do four trials, copying a paragraph in silence, with music without words, with music with words, and with someone reading out loud. The results were actually inconclusive (thanks to only 5 participants- there aren't a lot of native english speakers around. :) ) but it had a lot of potential. :) It was a really neat idea.

Kenan from the very beginning wanted to know how temperature affected decomposition of something. He mentioned to us (a little too late) that he had wanted to bury the food, which would have been really cool, but that part was missed on me until a week from the science fair. So he had apples outside, in the classroom, and in the freezer. One funny note, one of the apples from outside got taken by some animal late into the study. Thankfully, it waited until day 13 or so! :)

Silas wanted to see how sight affects taste. Participants were given 5 different juices. The first trial they were shown and told what they were drinking. Trial 2 they were blindfolded and given a drink. Trial 3 they were shown a juice that may or may not be what they were drinking. His results were pretty clear that sight does help taste. I was actually surprised how many were missed blindfolded. I didn't think it would be that clear. I guess it did help that the juices were Malian juices and the flavors were slightly off. :) You've got to work with what you've got.

All the kids did a great job. The projects were really impressive. Dawson ended up winning 1st place for grades 6-8. I was really proud of him.

Here's hoping there's another science fair to come!