Arlee students use science to test ideas
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ARLEE — Is smiling contagious? Colt Crawford, 12, devised an experiment with Sam Phillips, 12, to find out. They shared the results at the Arlee Sixth Grade Science Fair on Tuesday.
“Yes, smiling is contagious,” Colt said.
The team discovered the answer to their question during an experiment at the grocery store. They smiled at random people. Twelve of the fifteen people selected for the experiment smiled back.
“Smiling actually changes your brain cells,” he said. “The more you smile the more you’re going to break the brain’s tendency for negativity.”
This is the second year for the science fair.
“The students were able to pick their own projects, ” said sixth grade teacher April Gabler. “It’s amazing to watch the students find something they are interested in and make their ideas come alive.”
Rylee Belcourt, 11, and Sara Schall, 11, experimented with water temperature. Micheal Brown, 11, used science to discover the best angle for throwing a basketball. Jonas Paul, 11, wanted to know how video games affected the mind.
“I’m a gamer and I wanted to know if I should be playing less,” he said. He looked at several sources and concluded: “Over five hours can create addiction. It ruins relationships with friends, family and school work, but under two hours is okay.”
Mia Arlee, 12, researched the effects of force on cell phones. After 877 planned drops, she discovered that a durable case prevents damage. Max Hendrickson, 11, studied the effects of invasive species on native fish populations.
“If the invasive species keep going, we won’t have any native fish left,” he said. “Catching the invasive species and taking them back to where they came from will help or deep frying them might work, too.”
Max enjoyed working on his science fair project.
“I’m interested in being a fish biologist when I grow up,” he said. “It’s important for me to do well so I will be able to pay the bills for my parents someday.”
