White Oak Elementary holds first science fair

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers PICK UP STICKS- White Oak Elementary School first graders try lifting objects with different length grabbing sticks as part of a fellow student's science project at the school's science fair. From left are Noah Rouimi, 6; Tonin Toy, 6, and Hayden Thai, 7. Students typically compete in science fairs when they are in seventh grade, but White Oak Elementary School in Westlake Village decided to test young scientific minds earlier than usual and held its first science fair on May 8.

By all accounts, the scientific experiments conducted by students in kindergarten through fifth grade rivaled the complexity and ingenuity of middle school students.

Nicholas AmentaShin, a firstgrader, presented his project on patterns. "They can come on both sides," Nicholas said. "They start on one side and end up on the other."

Nicholas' mother, Gina Amenta-Shin, was responsible for coordinating the science fair at the school. A professor at California Lutheran University, Amenta-Shin said the program was developed because there has been a decline of American students graduating from universities with degrees in physical sciences, math and engineering.

"Through the science fair we hope to encourage girls and boys to take an interest in science and explore concepts in fun and exciting ways," Amenta-Shin said.

Fourth-graders Hannah Teague and Hannah Wildermuth presented "Salt Crystals." The girls measured how well Epsom salt and sea salt grew in different environments. They tested how the crystals grew with varying amounts of air. Hannah Teague revealed that salt crystals grew best in medium-sized jars.

First-grade student Christina Kilkeary learned that baking soda and vinegar mixed together explodes. The experiment was showcased through her Mount Lava volcano.

Electricity was tested by fifthgrade students David Alday, Caleb Apthorp and fourth-grader Stone Halpern.

"It was totally fun to see how water and other liquids were conducted through electricity," Caleb said. He also enjoyed watching how liquids bubble after a jolt of electricity. "Saltwater makes it go extremely fast," Caleb said.

The students were taught to explain the problem, create a hypothesis, develop a procedure to test their hypothesis, document results and explain their conclusions.

Kindergartner Drew Nora created a "Fun Operations Game" using the popular board game where the object is to extract plastic pieces from holes in the cardboard "patient." Drew's experiment tested which instruments grabbed the pieces best. "Scissors were the easiest," Drew said.

Students handled failure in true scientific fashion. Fifth-graders Bella Teague and Maisy Wildermuth found that growing grass in eggshells didn't work as well as they had expected. The girls planted grass seed in egg shells and watered them with four types of water. The first experiment failed because the seeds were not viable. After cleaning out the shells and trying the experiment again, the grass still didn't grow.

"It didn't work," said Maisy. "I didn't want to come (to the fair), but that's part of the experiment. A bunch of famous inventors had experiments that didn't work out." Bella and Maisy concluded they needed more time to grow grass in eggshells.

Regarding the reasoning behind having a science fair in elementary school, AmentaShin said, "I believe the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has reduced effective instruction and student learning because it causes states to lower achievement goals and motivates teachers to 'teach to the test.' The one size fits all NCLB program does not promote higher order thinking skills.

"I am concerned that annual testing requirements in math and reading have led primary teachers to increase the amount of time they spend teaching these two staples at the expense of other subjects, such as science, history, art or physical education."

Several visiting scientists helped with the program. Patty Sue Hudson, a science teacher from Lindero Canyon Middle School, and Lisa Nuzback, a science teacher at Sequoia Middle School in Newbury Park, talked to children about the scientific process. Other visiting scientists included Brian Leitch from Baxter BioScience; Jennifer Malean, a chemist from Amgen; Roger Thai, a dentist with the California Health and Longevity Institute; and Gwen Reed, an environmental scientist.

Ann Troutman, a science teacher at White Oak, and Fay Laurence, a parent at the school, were also instrumental in teaching children scientific methods.