Sixth and Seventh Graders Dive Deep Into Science Projects of Their Choice

Sixth and seventh graders dove deeper into their science research projects this week, hopping into the science labs in person to check on their wide variety of experiments. The annual research project is back after a hiatus due to the pandemic last spring, and students are enjoying tinkering, observing, and learning from their self-chosen experiments.

“There are so many great projects happening, and many of them are attempts at solving real-world problems, which I always love,” Middle School Science Teacher Tara Verenna said. “We have kids looking at different ways to grow food, to solve food insecurity. We have kids looking at how habitats of the darkling beetle are impacted by climate change and how to be proactive with stopping climate change.”

Many projects are pandemic-focused, such as one on bacteria and how different surfaces and light affect bacterial proliferation. Another timely project is looking at emotional perception and how face masks may affect how people view fellow humans.

“It's also fun seeing OES teachers involved,” Verenna said. “I have teachers coming in and doing fingerprints for a group looking at whether ethnicity impacts your fingerprint. We’ve had teachers take stretch tests and all different kinds of stuff. I love seeing the kids making those different connections with their teachers in ways that they haven't in a while.”

The science research project allows sixth and seventh graders to hone their science skills and get to know the scientific method, all leading up to the eighth grade inquiry project. Student scientists learn how to receive feedback from teachers and are “so proud to speak about their projects,” Verenna said.