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WEEK of JANUARY 26, 2004 |
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| It Slices, It Dices, It’s Nuclear Propelled! by Michael Sellers Admit it—you’ve been looking for a way to relax in your office, but there just isn’t a comfortable way to recline in a wooden chair. Well, help is on the way with “The Lazy Bum,” just one of dozens of science projects on display this past week in the Upper Gym as part of the annual Middle School Science Fair.
Designed by sixth graders Mac Kelly and Dylan Conroy, “The Lazy Bum” (photo 1) is a slightly different take on an idea first developed by Thomas A. Edison. With articulating wooden arms mounted on the back of the chair, the person sitting can easily lean back and be fully supported for complete relaxation. But this wasn’t the only invention designed to relieve the burdens of a busy life. Sixth graders Asha Paul, Eliana Merle and Chelsea Alexis displayed what may be the world’s first motorized wastebasket (photo 2), called “Lay-Z Garbage.” Using the accompanying remote control, the wastebasket easily zipped across the gym floor, proving there’s no need to go to the trash anymore—now the trash can come to you! Canine conveniences were also a high priority, as evidenced by the “Dog-O-Matic” (photo 3), an automatic watering system designed by sixth graders Zion Ewers and Omar Camara. Simply connect the hose to your water cooler and fill the dog’s water dish—without ever bending over! A clever combination of a dish drying rack and mini-fans made for the unique “Automatic Dish-Rack Dryer” (photo 4), invented by fifth grader Olivia Jacobs. Never again will you have an interminable wait for those wet dishes to dry. Eighth graders were fully represented, with projects ranging from the creation of funnel clouds (using sealed boxes, smoke and fans), to Jeremy Bloom’s impressive display on the theory of nuclear pulsed propulsion. Liam MacIndoe presented an eco-friendly home (photo 5), proving that it is indeed possible to have a “green” house. One of the more fascinating displays was entitled, “It Will Lift You Off Your Feet,” by Matt Gentile and Kevin Reilly. Using magnets mounted to a large popsicle stick and a track lined with magnets of an opposite charge, they demonstrated how the power of magnets repelling one another can be used to levitate an object—in this case, a miniature means of transport. Finally, Evan Fishman presented a scale model of a tsunami (photo 6), explaining how the giant wave is formed, its destructive power, and frequency. Parents toured dozens of other displays during special visiting hours and marveled at projects that included a magnetic dock for fire-fighting boats, a demonstration of a wind turbine, and a rotating clothes closet. “What creative minds,” said one parent as she inspected an exhibit that featured an extending hand. “I could use one of these in my kitchen! |
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