Photograph by Isabel Hall
The kids on Orcas Island are super smart–so much so that it can be a little unnerving. It is really awkward when a 6 year old can do multiplication faster than you. To prove this, we went undercover at the Funhouse science fair to scope out the future competition, and boy, did we find some awesome stuff.
There were some stellar projects in every category– we had our socks blown off by almost every one. We should have expected it because of the cash prizes, but still. Despite the overall spectacular-ness, there were definitely some stand outs.
First highlight: One kid in the elementary school category brought multiple tubs of oobleck and a hammer which was extremely enjoyable to watch. The third place project in the middle school category had actually baby chicks and was a study of their development; a pretty important thing out here in islands. Fun fact: Chicks are waterproof. The very stylish first place winner in the elementary category brought actual coral and artificially bleached the coral with UV light. I am so glad I will graduate by the time she is in our category because that will be pretty hard to top.
While the younger groups did amazing, I am not afraid to toot the high schooler’s horn. We saw some pretty cool experiments from the high school too: make-up from fruit, “Does music change your heart rate?,” and an anti-gambling statistics experiment. The biggest project out of the High School was Lamai Hons’ clean energy project. He went over tons of clean energy methods and debated over which would be the most applicable to Orcas Island. He had a fantastic display and even a tiny solar panel that he had programmed to sense light and follow it. It is clear to see why he got first place and the $500 prize.
I know plenty of people reading this are in the age group that is able to join in the science fair. As amazing as all the projects were, there were only five from the high school. This year, at least, the Funhouse provided plenty of poster boards for contestants and had plenty of workdays at the Funhouse where people could use the art supplies there. It would be lovely to see even more exciting projects joining the fair next year. Keep in mind that there is no harm in trying.