Stratford School Annual Science Fair

Scientists Tianna Biscone, Megan Wootten, and Grace Cameron with their project about left and right brain function.

Stratford School bustled with the activity earlier this month as third graders busily erected the science projects they had spent weeks preparing in anticipation of Stratford's 24th Annual Science Fair held on March 9.

The students worked together in small teams at home on their own time to complete the projects. Each team selected a topic from a list compiled to support the third grade curriculum by Science Consultant John W. Cronin. Popular topics included the solar system, the human body, weather, plants and animals, forces and machines, energy, and Earth Science.

"The projects are amazing displays of scientific principles researched and presented by the students, themselves," Mr. Cronin said. Students were required to do all their own work and to meet standards for neatness, legibility, and clarity.

The projects were displayed for classmates during the school day and in the evening for visitors. Students were prepared to field questions from fair attendees and to explain the key concepts their projects illustrated. To help identify the participants, all third graders wore name tags identifying themselves as scientists.

Third Grade Teacher Michael Prisco with Scientist Hailey Harder and her solar system project.

Third Grade Teacher Mary Brown with Scientist Joey Pizingrillo and his solar power project. John W. Cronin, Science Coordinator at Stratford and Stewart schools, with Scientist Danielle Franz who raised butterflies for the fair. Scientists Adam Polk and Andrew Wikowski explaining the laws of aerodyamics that help airplanes defy gravity.