Science Fair

 Somehow I forgot to update my blog for the past 6 weeks so I'm going to try to make up for it a bit. Here's one of the things that kept me so busy I didn't have time to blog. It is always a labor of love to do science fair projects but I'm always glad we do them (after the fact, when we've had time to breathe again!)

As a sixth grader Lexi was required to participate as part of her science grade, though she would have wanted to do it even if it was optional.  Zac chose to do it even though 4th graders are not required to do so.  They both came up with their own project ideas and worked very hard to complete their experiments and make their presentation boards.  We didn't win anything this year but we thought the projects turned out great.

Lexi chose to experiment with 5 different nail polish brands to see what lasted the longest.  She used Revlon, Sally Hansen (Extreme Wear), L'oreal, Pure Ice and L.A. Colors.  She discovered that Revlon is the best brand to use but the Sally Hansen did pretty darn good too. So if you saw me anytime during the month prior to the science fair and wondered why I had a different color of nail polish on each fingernail, like an 11 year old girl, that is why! I got to be one of her test subjects.  The things we moms are called upon to do!

 Zac decided to learn about aerodynamics and the four forces of flight (thrust, lift, drag and weight.) He got books from the library and practiced making different designs of paper airplanes.  He is constantly making paper airplanes anyway, so we decided to use his interests as a project! We took 5 of the planes to the college gym to test how far they would fly.  The gym was a great place to do it because we didn't have any wind interference. We were a little surprised by the plane that won, the Space Bomber. It has a really wide wingspan which was probably the key to it's superior flying power.

Both kids did a really great job and I think they all learned a few things as well.  I'm glad our school encourages science fair participation. Some schools in the area don't do anything extra like this and I think it's an important part of their learning.  Now we're off to find ideas for next year!