Parent Teacher Magazine Gaston County School March 2014 | Page 6

GCS students display research skills at Science and Engineering Fair Gaston County Schools in partnership with the Schiele Museum and local businesses conducted the sixth annual Gaston Regional Science and Engineering Fair on Wednesday, January 22. The Science and Engineering Fair included 53 invigorating exhibits and projects created by 76 of Gaston County’s best and brightest elementary, middle and high school students. “Collectively, our projects this year are definitely of a much higher caliber and have attained a serious approach to research and scientific process,” said GCS science curriculum facilitator Tammy Mims, who coordinates the Gaston Regional Science and Engineering Fair. “Our teachers and project mentors do a wonderful job of supporting our students and providing them with encouragement and resources.” The Gaston Regional Science and Engineering Fair is divided into four categories: physical science, life science, earth science, and technology and engineering. Students are judged on scientific method, research, resources, and the types of evidence provided to support the results. For the first time, elementary students had an opportunity to participate in this year’s science fair. Jordan Abernathy, a fourth grade student at Belmont Central, created a project that identified foods that are healthy for diabetics to eat. She gathered 20 food and drink samples, including soft drinks and fresh fruit, and tested each one to determine how much sugar each contains. “I have family members who are diabetic,” said Abernathy, who placed as the overall winner in the elementary category. “However, my project concluded that some diet foods do have a higher sugar or glucose level than regular foods and some have lower glucose levels.” Joseph Buckner, an eighth grade student at Cramerton Middle School, tested the temperature’s effect on the rebound or bounce of a golf ball. Buckner, a member of his school’s golf team, said his project revealed results that will benefit him, his teammates and coach. “I discovered that my golf ball would not travel as far in colder temperatures as it would during the spring or summer where temperatures are warmer,” described Buckner, who had a great first Emmaus Vander