Last Updated on March 19, 2024 3:19 pm
Six Blowing Rock School sixth grade students competed virtually in the Region 7 Science Fair and Student Academy of Sciences competitions. Their hard work and dedication paid off by piquing their interest in research and allowing them to exhibit successful flexibility.
All of BRS sixth grade teacher and Science Fair Chairperson Allyson McFalls’ students were required to compete in the school-level competition and students who placed at that level earned the opportunity to advance to the regional level.
For the regional competition, each student completed an independent research project. Some of them worked in teams, but they were all able to choose their topic. As a class, they worked through how to design a strong research question.
“They did the majority of the work on their own,” McFalls said. “We had weekly meetings where they had an opportunity to ask me questions and get clarification to make sure they were on the right track.”
Regionals were originally planned to be held in-person, but due to inclement weather in January, they were held virtually instead.
For their regional presentation, students shared the slide deck they created containing all of their research. After they gave the presentation, judges asked them a couple of questions and offered them feedback to help them prepare for the state competition.
Grey D., Luci E., Emory K., Genevieve G., Jeremiah J. and Graison S. competed in the regional competition. Grey, Jeremiah and Graison qualified for the North Carolina Student Academy of Sciences at the NC School of Science and Math in Durham on March 22. Luci, Genevieve and Graison qualified for the State Science Fair competition on March 23 at North Carolina State University.
Each student had an element of background research that they focused on to prepare for the regional competition.
Graison’s research involved comparing natural filtration systems. Luci and Genevieve measured the amount of bacterial colonies in rainwater. Emory researched how vocal tone affects a dog’s reaction. Grey and Jeremiah explored whether it is better to get a chemical charge from something that is a liquid or a solid.
When asked what they love the most about science, students were excited to share the topics that interest them.
Graison likes figuring out what different types of natural materials filter out of water.
Luci has always enjoyed Chemistry. Through her and Genevive’s research, she found it fun to learn that rainwater is not as clean as people think it is. They discovered that it was almost dirtier than lake water is. Genevieve enjoys learning about space and different planets, as well as rocket ships and how they work. She also enjoys dissections.
The six students enthusiastically shared how they watched a cow eye dissection video in class, which they found to be both gross and cool.
Emory likes learning about the Earth, animals and nature. Grey really likes electronics and loves playing video games. He finds it interesting how electronics are able to work due to power sources such as batteries and electricity. Although Jeremiah has always liked science, he had not discovered something he really liked until this year. He enjoys working with batteries to see how they work.
“My favorite thing to do in Science is to look at something, tear it apart and see how it works,” Jeremiah said.
The students collectively expressed that this opportunity to compete at the regional level has been a great experience.
“That is my goal with presenting the opportunity to you guys,” McFalls said to the group. “To do a project like this is to give you that opportunity for a personal investment and to be able to ask the question that you are really curious about and then see it through.”
Back Row from Left: Grey D., Jeremiah J., Graison S., Allyson McFalls
Front Row from Left: Emory K., Luci E., Genevieve G.
