Guest post contributed by Kira Hunkele (’18)
Every year, ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY (IPA) has an annual science fair for grades 6-8. Even though the preparation for science fair is long and tiring, the outcome can be very rewarding for students.
The science fair at IPA was started by Anne Staggemeier, science fair coordinator and Head of the Science Department in 2006, but is now organized by Alyssa Kuffel who is the current Head of the Science Department. This year, twelve students from grades 6-8 have been chosen to represent IPA at the 2018 Hawaii State Science & Engineering Fair (HSSEF).
Evan Biel ‘24, Holly LeDoux ‘24, Aiko Yamashiroya ‘24, and Madison Murakami ‘24, are four of the twelve students to be selected.
The four students Biel, LeDoux, Yamashiroya, and Murakami each chose different topics for their projects that they were passionate about.
LeDoux chose to do her project on gymnastics because it is something she loves. She tested different foam mats to find out which one absorbed the most kinetic energy.
Biel decided to do his project on which genre of music is best for focusing on homework.
“Since I listen to music a lot and I never know which music to listen to while doing homework, I [wanted] to see which music is [better],” said Biel. He tested five genres of music; Classic, Pop, Rap, Country, and no music at all.
Yamashiroya and Murakami decided to do their project on a very popular myth, the five second rule. Their main goal was proving if food was still edible after being dropped on the ground and left there for more than five seconds.
“Maddie and I chose our project because we heard about it [and] it’s kind of like a popular myth, so we wanted to prove if it was true or not,” said Yamashiroya.
After having their project approved by their teacher, [the students] spent long hours coming up with topics, researching their projects, gathering data/results, and designing their poster boards.
“Since the results were a bit varied, and the project was done by different colleges, I’d say it took me a minimum of five months because I had to get feedback from a lot of people,” said Biel.
Science fair is a special moment for teachers because they get to see how dedicated and proud each student is about their projects. These four students are very excited and nervous to be going to HSSEF for the first time but are looking forward to experience what it is like to have a stronger competition.
“I felt honored to be chosen to go to districts in sixth grade but I am nervous about states because my project might not be as good as others,” said Biel.
Although science fair can be challenging and exhausting, Biel, LeDoux, Yamashiroya, and Murakami are able to explore scientific concepts and theories outside of the classroom. They also get to see a different side to their teacher, Kuffel.
“Going to states [last year] was a lot of fun, we have a lot of really great memories from that because you spend three days with the kids and they get to hang out with you outside of a school setting,” said Kuffel.
She is especially delighted and proud of all the hard work and dedication her students put into their projects this year.
“I was really happy for them because we have a lot more kids going this year than last year, and it really feels like a big progression for all the students, so I am just very happy,” said Kuffel.
