After months of preparing, our sixth-grade students were able to show off their scientific independent research projects at our first annual Sixth-Grade Science Expo on Friday, February 27th.
The expo project encouraged our students to research topics of science and engineering that most interest them in a guided, step-by-step process. Students recorded their methodologies, research notes, trial outcomes, and logged their progress in an engineering design journal that fosters the engineering design cycle, an iterative process used to help students organize ways to solve problems.
Here are some direct reflections from some our students about their science expo experience:
"The science expo was fun. Everyone had good questions for me and my partner, and the scientists had good feedback for our project."
"The sixth-grade science expo was a new and fun experience for me."
"The science expo was an electrified experience that helped me and my partner prepare for high school and college projects."
"My partner and I got to learn about science in a cool and unique way. I am really happy that my mom got to be there as a judge. It was a great experience and I am glad I have been a part of it."
"My science expo experience last night was amazing. It was very nice being able to explain our experiment to the scientists. It felt like my experiment paid off when I was reading the words off of the tri-fold. Everyone seemed interested in what I was doing. Scientists asked me questions which helped me understand my science project better than I originally did. I felt very nervous at first, but as the night progressed, I felt more confident. I had a total of five adults come to look at my board. It was an awesome experience and I would love to do it again."
A big thank you to our visiting scientists, engineers, professors, and doctors who served on-site as judges, listening to our student presentations and providing invaluable feedback based on their vast knowledge in the STEM field. Along with Moravian Academy parents (Dr. Kamaal Anas, Sarah Baki, Bill Best, Dr. Anu Gandotra, Dr. Ganesh Skandan, and Dr. Darren Traub) and faculty members from all three of our school divisions (George Andriko, JoAnne Daniels, Dr. Gabby Dee, Paul Messman, Brad Pomeroy, and Wendy Sheetz '85), two alumni Dr. Christopher Banach ‘08 and Suzanne Peppel ‘88 also graciously agreed to participate in the event after receiving outreach from students on Moravian Connect, which helps connect our current students with alumni mentors in various career fields. We are extremely grateful to all of our visiting judges and look forward to future partnerships.
Questions explored by our students included:
Read this article and other content in the Spring 2020 Moravian Academy Journal.