Over 120 experiments on display at GCA science fair

A total of 122 experiments were on display at the Grace Christian Academy campus yesterday in celebration of the school’s third Science Fair.

Elementary students displayed 58 projects, while the junior high division had 34. There were about 30 from the high school division.

Leah Dalusung, science fair coordinator for elementary and high school, said the students have working on their projects since January.

Dalusung said it is their goal to develop the students’ critical thinking skills by making them actualize the scientific method: identifying the problem, doing the experiment, coming up with a hypothesis, and reaching a conclusion.

The school holds the event every two years.

Yesterday’s competition will have top three winners in each of the five contest categories: biology, health, chemistry, physics, and earth and science.

Entries were judged based on scientific method, scientific knowledge, presentation, thoroughness, creativity and God’s creation.

Today, about 60 students will be awarded first to third honors during the school’s celebration of parents and teachers’ conference.

Dalusung said that compared to previous entries, students entered more interesting and challenging topics this year.

“Because they had more time for research this year, we’ve seen a lot of more interesting projects from our students. Our objective is for them to be able to answer questions scientifically,” she told Saipan Tribune, adding that through this activity, students were also able to develop camaraderie, unity, cooperation, and teamwork among themselves as they have to work as a group and individually.

Sixth grader Michelle Kim showed this reporter how she and her group began working on their entry, an electric buzzer. “We did a lot of research and practice for this,” she told Saipan Tribune, adding that it is their objective to impress the judges during the project’s actual demonstration.

Yesterday’s competition was a first for Kim.

Eight graders Tim Dela Rosa, Edward Kim and Justin Cho amazed the judges with their creative entry on solar-powered desalination.

They said they wanted to build a model on how to use solar power instead of electricity to purify water on the islands. The group found that salt water can be changed into purified water in nine hours using solar power.

“This experiment will benefit the islands because it is surrounded by salt water. We can also help people save money and provide fresh water to everyone who does the experiment,” the students said.

Other entries in the high school division included Pollution Air, Smart Senses, Brain Efficiency, Growth of Microorganism, Stress, Which Gender Has Better Peripheral Vision, Catching Breath, Effects of Music on Blood Pressure, Color Memory, and Snow Flake Drink.