Science Fair

PUPILS AT MOUNT Airy Elementary had an opportunity to show off their talents at the school's Science Fair last month.Co-chairs Valerie Gilman and Dana Buswell and hostess Tammy Lyons helped the children find tables to set up their displays and answered questions.Projects included everything from hands-on demonstrations with static electricity to displays of animals and plants, human anatomy/physiology and techniques for treating water.Those attending the event April 21 also had the opportunity to throw water balloons outside as part of one pupil's project on distance and kinetics.

FROM simple hand-drawn charts and pictures to elaborate, high-tech presentations incorporating computers and television equipment, Mount Airy Elementary School's Family Science Fair Night was deemed a success by all who attended.Seventy-five children and their parents participated by exhibiting a scientific display, a collection or an experiment. Also on show were three class exhibits and several displays by Mount Airy Middle School students, who re-created experiments they had done as sixth-graders.

IT IS always a pleasure to report that teachers are appreciated.Hammond High School's science and chemistry teacher, Kenneth Zachman, has received recognition from the Central Maryland Chapter of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association.The $1,000 award, which recognizes teaching methods, is to be used, with Zachman's input, for Hammond High.A veteran of 21 years at Hammond, Zachman was selected Teacher of the Month by the student body in November.For January, Hammond students voted two teachers as Teacher of the Month: Gay Petrlik and Melissa Davis.

TODAY'S TOPIC FOR young people is: How to Do a School Science Fair Project.So your school is having a science fair! Great! The science fair has long been a favorite educational tool in the American school system, and for a good reason: Your teachers hate you.Ha ha! No, seriously, although a science fair can seem like a big pain, it can help you understand important scientific principles, such as Newton's First Law of Inertia, which states: "A body at rest will remain at rest until 8: 45 p.m. the night before the science fair project is due, at which point the body will come rushing to the body's parents, who are already in their pajamas, and shout, 'I JUST REMEMBERED THE SCIENCE FAIR IS TOMORROW AND WE GOTTA GO TO THE STORE RIGHT NOW!

CLAMORING FOR autographs, youngsters crowded around Olympic athletes in Swansfield Elementary School's gym last week.The fact that the "athletes" were third- and fifth-graders dressed as their favorite Olympians did not dampen the fans' enthusiasm.Each athlete had a display of biographical information, photos, sports equipment and medals.Fifth-grader Alex Brown even had signed photographs from U.S. gymnast Bart Conner.Represented in several versions was Tara Lipinski, the teen-age figure skater and gold medal winner.

FOR TWO hours Thursday evening, Linthicum Elementary School was crowded with students pulling their parents by the hand from place to place, presenting their academic accomplishments.A lot was happening at once. The school's computer laboratory opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Science fair projects, representing the work of more than 200 students, were on display in the media center. And every classroom was open for visitors to view student achievements on display as part of an academic fair.

A junior from Wilde Lake High School captured the grand prize in the physical science division of the Baltimore Regional Science Fair last weekend at Towson State University.Sabyasachi Guharay, 17, won two scholarships worth $150 and an invitation to the International Science and Engineering Fair in Louisville, Ky., to be held May 10-16.Guharay's winning entry -- "A mathematical model to study correlations across the three domains of life" -- used several mathematical and computational techniques to determine common patterns in genetic sequences.

Sabyasachi Guharay was one of the top finishers last week at the prestigious International Science and Engineering Fair in Louisville, Ky.The 17-year-old junior at Columbia's Wilde Lake High School -- who won a grand prize at the Baltimore Regional Science Fair in March -- won the fourth grand prize in computer science at the international competition for his work studying patterns in genetic sequences."

Armed with a trombone and an oscilloscope, Crystal Halcomb and Jessica Sims came prepared for their first science fair.The 14-year-old ninth-graders from Oakland Mills High School were among about 80 Howard County high school students participating in the county's eighth annual Mathematics, Science and Technology Fair held at River Hill High School on Thursday and Friday.Crystal and Jessica were eager to talk about their project -- "Analyzing Trombone Soundwaves" -- if not actually play the trombone.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of Belle Grove Elementary School's 1997 Science Fair. The kindergarten winners are: first place, Matthew Huntzberry for "The Fishing Game; second place, Steven Zogg for "Airplanes"; third place, Kelsie Lilly for "Kitchen Magic."

The scientists of tomorrow, most of them young girls, made sturdy towers from newspaper, wore cardboard DNA strands in their hair and built toothbrush robots. "It really shows you can put a motor on anything," said Ainsley Sierzega, 12, of Williamsport, watching her brush race across the floor. Music blared in the background at the Sally Ride Science Festival, which traveled to Towson University for the third consecutive year Saturday. A few danced but most of the 500 participants focused on the latest scientific techniques for tie-dying T-shirts, mixing slime and building a matrix.

The U.S. government does not have the authority to dictate what a student studies. Any federal education law that dictates curricula, no matter what its intent, will have the double dishonor of being unconstitutional and a failure. Problems with math and science education are neither a lack of availability nor a lack of requirement; local school districts require more math and science education in earlier grades than ever before. Teryn Norris and Jesse Jenkins of Breakthrough Generation wrote on this page recently that a federal National Energy Education Act is needed to promote education in math and science to modernize our energy infrastructure.

Sixteen-year-old Serena Fasano, a junior at Glenelg High School, has been awarded a patent for a protein that she discovered - one that may someday help fight one of the world's deadliest diseases. "It's phenomenal," said Kendall Morton, the science team leader at Glenelg. "I'm very happy for her." Fasano will get to name the protein, she said, but she is not allowed to call it Serena, or to name it after her friends, as some have half-seriously requested. Instead, it will need a scientific name indicating it is a probiotic - a good protein.

Essay contest deadline is Friday The Howard County Commission for Women is sponsoring an essay contest for Howard County students in grades six through 12 to promote the theme, "Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams." The subject of the essay should be a contemporary of historical American woman, her ability to bring communities together and encourage dreams and achievement in spite of challenges. The deadline for submissions is Friday. Winners will be invited to read their essays at the Women's Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 7:30 p.m. March 16 in the Banneker Room of the George Howard Building, 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City.

Arc is starting `Sibshops' program "Sibshops," a program designed for children ages 8 to 18 who have a brother or sister with special health or developmental needs, will be held at the Arc of Howard County on Saturday, and March 18, April 22 and May 20. The cost is $30 for four sessions, which celebrate the contributions made by siblings of children with special needs. The program is co-sponsored by Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, Abilities Network and The Arc of Howard County. The Arc is at 11735 Homewood Road, Ellicott City.

Math, science fair set for Feb. 24, 25 The Howard County school system will hold its 2006 Mathematics, Science and Technology Fair on Feb. 24 and 25 at Long Reach High School in Columbia. The fair showcases the school system's science programs. Judging for middle school projects will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 24; and for high school projects, from 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 25. A public open house is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Feb. 25 and will be followed by an awards ceremony, to be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the school auditorium.

An Arnold teenager, while revisiting the question of cell phone safety, has devised a way to protect law enforcement officials from harmful radiation. Broadneck High School sophomore Danna Thomas, 15, will take her science project, studying the effects of microwave radio frequency radiation emitted by cell phones and traffic radar devices on fruit flies, to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair this week in Phoenix. She'll join 1,400 high school finalists from around the world, who will compete for thousands of dollars in scholarships, prizes and trips to scientific conferences.

Glenelg High School students won more awards than their competitors at Howard County public schools' Mathematics, Science and Technology Fair, held Friday and Saturday at Long Reach High School, said science teacher Deano R. Smith, who accompanied the Glenelg contingent to the fair. The Glenelg students placed first or second in all but one of the fair's 10 categories for high school students; won four honorable mentions; and received 14 of the 20 awards sponsored by professional societies, Smith said.

Science fair set for this weekend at Long Reach High The annual Howard County Mathematics, Science and Technology Fair for middle and high school students, sponsored in cooperation with Shimadzu Scientific Laboratories, will be held Friday and Saturday at Long Reach High School, 6101 Old Dobbin Lane, Columbia. Judging for middle school projects will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday; for high school projects, from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. An open house is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and the awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. in the school auditorium.

The pupil: Sam Balcom, 12 School: Burleigh Manor Middle Achievement: Sam won an honorable mention at the Howard County Mathematics, Science and Technology Fair in the spring. He and science partner Ravi Vaswani went on to win several awards at the Baltimore Science Fair, including first place for biological science and an honorable mention for "Use of Teamwork in a Science Fair." Their project was titled "The Effect of Hot and Cold Foods on Oral Body Temperature in Adults." The project is a semifinalist in the national Discovery Channel Young Scientists Challenge; of 1,751 entries, 40 finalists will be announced this month.