During the two hours I spent at the annual Hawaii Science and Engineering Fair on Wednesday, I paused at four exhibits and spent just a little more time on them. Why? Because they piqued certain aspects of my psychological, social and professional make-up, that’s why.
Regurgitating Fishies
I paused at a project that examined the contents of an endemic Hawaiian fish called the o’opu, or the Hawaiian Stream Goby, which spends its life in fresh water streams until it’s ready to spawn. Then, o’opu swim downstream to briny waters where they mate and lay their eggs.
What this young scientist did was work out a process whereby the stomach contents of the fish could be retrieved via regurgitation without harming the fish. The contents were then analyzed for the report.
Fish vomit, indeed!
My Daughter Smells!
This Junior Research 3rd-place winning project tested whether mothers can identify their daughters by smell only, positing that the offspring have odors that can be recognized immediately by their mothers.
Y’know, just as animals in the wild do – with the sound of their voices, or by sniffing a bunch of offspring that look alike. I mean, if you’ve seen one lion cub, you’ve seen them all, right?
This young scientist used new tee-shirts instead of fur, a logical substitution for natural fur, I thought, and talked about the sense of smell as well.
Yep, it was a slam-bang success. Seven out of 7 moms passed the test.
Social Networking Distracts
Parents have long suspected that when their children listen to rock and roll, their grades drop; that when they watch too much TV, their grades drop; and today, that when they spend too much time on social networking sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, My Space), their grades drop.
You know what? Mother was right.
According to a young scientist at Waipahu School, empirical data collected at a local high school supports the hypothesis that the more time students spend on social networking sites, the lower their grade-point averages will be.
It affects the boys worse than it does the girls, because, according to the young scientist’s hypothesis, females “have a greater chance of earning a higher GPA because females show a better attention rate than males.”
Well oh yeah? But that’s … wait, I forget what we were talking about. Is it time for lunch yet?
Does Texting Affect Spelling?
Finally, a question that I myself had is answered – at least in the sample of high school seniors tested by our last young scientist.
The student wanted to know if the cryptic abbreviations and quick responses required for texting by youths, as well as the type of keyboard they used, affect their spelling abilities.
Alas, the results and conclusions are going to disappoint quite a few adults, parents and teachers. The experiment showed that (1) the kind of keyboard used has no effect on spelling abilities, and (2) texting in and of itself does not negatively affect spelling.
Shux. I thot I had wun more thing to critisize stoodints with.
Tomorrow: Some projects that defy comprehension
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