Science Studies: Chocolates to Wildflowers

What makes a paper airplane fly better? What burns quicker: pine, oak or cedar? What microwave popcorn can be served the quickest?

These burning questions and a host of others captivated the minds of Woodland School's fifth-graders, as the students participated in the school's first science fair.

The studies, which must apply the scientific method and include a hypothesis, experiment and conclusions, were unveiled last week at the school.

"They (the projects) actually came out better than we thought they would," Woodland REACH teacher Stacey Modugno said. "You could tell they put a lot of thought into this." 

Modugno said the projects got a big boost from Science teacher Mary Pat Brown, who stressed the importance of following the scientific method—and the students'  parents, although, "In the end, it was the kids' work," she noted.

Enjoy a few samples of the experiments undertaken this week—we'll be updating each day with a new interview.

And if you're curious to see what other projects intrigue Warren students, check out Mt. Horeb School's Science Fair on April 15.