From 'Music Moves the Heart' to 'The Hand Drying Debate': Winning Projects at Brookhaven Lab's 2018 Elementary School Science Fair
May 10, 2018
UPTON, NY — More than 470 science projects from 110 Suffolk County schools were entered into the 2018 Elementary School Science Fair. The Fair, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and coordinated by the Lab’s Office of Educational Programs, was held at the Laboratory on May 5. Brookhaven scientists, engineers, and technical staff, as well as teachers from local elementary schools, judged the projects.
In addition to the first place winners (listed below), selected students received honorable mention for projects that ranged from “The Science of Snow Globes” to “The Personality of a Social Media Junkie.” A list of students who received honorable mention can be found on the Lab’s Office of Educational Programs website.
The first place winners, by grade level, are:
- Gianna Kelly, kindergarten, Park View Elementary School, Kings Park School District, “Does a Crayon Sink or Float?”
- Marah Palank, first grade, Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School, Rocky Point School District, “The Porridge Problem”
- Natalie Chakaberia, second grade, Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School, Rocky Point School District, “Think About Ink”
- Elizabeth Sultan, third grade, Westhampton Beach Elementary School, Westhampton Beach School District, “Music Moves the Heart”
- Arianna Flores, fourth grade, Nokomis Elementary School, Sachem School District, “Nanosilver Affect on Pond Life”
- Nicholas Prosa, fifth grade, Merrimac School, Sachem School District, “The Hand Drying Debate”
- Fatema Raman, sixth grade, Bay Shore Middle School, Bay Shore School District, “Do Organic Ingredients Affect the Time to Bake?”
Nicholas Prosa, the fifth-grade winner and a five-time science fair participant from Merrimac School (Sachem School District), said he plays a lot of golf and always wondered if his hands were really clean when he washed them after he played. “I came up with my project idea because I was curious to see if a lot of bacteria stayed on my hands even after I washed them,” he said. “Someday, I hope to be a scientist or maybe a professional golfer, or maybe I can do both!” he added.
The second-grade winner, Natalie Chakaberia from Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School in Rocky Point, said she came up with her project idea after reading Harry Potter books. “I really want to figure out how to make correcting ink and, to do that, I’m planning to become an inventor when I grow up,” she said.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
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2018-12864 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
