Educational Excellence Since 1912
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Educating students in PreSchool through Grade 12

The Imagination of Science Sparks Curious Minds

It all starts with a question. What is this? How does this work? What is the hypothesis to the problem? Students in Grades 4-6 investigated those questions and turned them into answers as they put their scientific knowledge on display at the Lower School Science Fair.

Hosted in the Lender Refectory, students placed their colorfully designed poster boards with their findings in their own stations across several tables. Parents and guests walked around to each station asking the students to explain their projects and research findings.

“Students worked both in the classroom and at home to complete the process,” said Lower School science teacher Steve Jewett. “There are many ties to technology for communicating their findings. Students enjoyed finding a project of their choice and taking ownership of their authentic science testing.”

According to Mr. Jewett, the projects were broken down into two types. Students in Grades 4 and 5 researched project ideas on websites such as Science Buddies and Education.com. Following their research, a few students chose a project that connected two concepts and presented a demonstration with an explanation of the concept using scientific terms while others followed an experimental question and tested their theory, collected data, and made a final conclusion.

For his project, fourth-grade student Max Borelli compared the amount of air in two different types of bath soaps using a bowl of water while fifth-grade student Claire Losee explained how the use of alternative energy can power cars with a homemade solar car and video demonstration.

Students in Grade 6 had a different task at hand as the project was a bit more formalized. Using the different scientific methods learned in class, students chose a question, formed a hypothesis, and tested the hypothesis and reported their findings for the final report. Students were tasked with providing background information on their chosen topic, the materials used, the procedures, graphing table, data analysis, and the conclusion.

For her project, sixth-grader Sophia Hart asked the question: are fingerprint patterns inherited? Her research included gathering the fingerprints of several family members to investigate if people with the same genetics have similar patterns. Her conclusion stated relatives do have similar patterns. She noted that she was inspired by her love of forensics for the project and said she wants to be a detective one day.

“I am continually impressed with the research and dedication by all of the students towards their projects,” said Lower School science teacher Steve Jewett. “I am glad we can continue this tradition of scientific excellence and showcase the efforts the students make both in the classroom and beyond.”
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Hamden Hall Country Day School is a nurturing and inclusive community with a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence by understanding each child and fostering their individual growth.