Janine Marnien
Taylor Ebert loves solar-powered cars, so much so that he
voluntarily participated in a science fair at Lincoln Elementary
School just so he could build one.
Taylor built his car so it could draw power from the sun, from a
bright light or from a battery. For Thursday's science fair, he
attached wires to a battery and then clamped it on his car to make it
run.
"My grandpa works at JPL and I like space a lot," Taylor said.
"And I like the way these cars work."
About 75 other students joined Taylor and voluntarily participated
in the fair. Held by the Parent-Teacher Assn. and the school, the
event is noncompetitive and meant to give students another
opportunity to learn about science.
"Science is something that isn't as emphasized in the class any
more," PTA Executive Vice President Kim Arnold said.
State standards place the focus on reading, writing and
mathematics, teacher Alison Curtiss said. Finding time to offer
science lessons can sometimes be difficult.
"Something like this is absolutely wonderful because it allows the
students to study things that are of interest to them," she said.
Students, with some help from their parents, came up with a
variety of projects. There were no guidelines set by the PTA, so
students could present their project in any way they chose. Some made
model volcanoes, others performed experiments on electricity. Jillian
Kauffman wanted to measure the weight of water. With some help from
her father, she built a tank with a hollow cylinder at one end. Water
was pumped through the cylinder and when the pressure built up,
exited through holes.
"It's fun because I get to learn a little bit," she said. "I don't
do much science in class."
