Last week I’ve been a judge for the science fair at Marhsall fundamental High School. The kids were 6-8th grade (11-14 year old). No, there were no volcanoes.

There was much variety in the complexity of the projects. We went from the classics (“how does light influence plants growth”, “what is my dog’s favorite toy”, “which kitchen paper is more absorbent”) to the more innovative (“which home surface has more bacteria”, “which bridge design bears more load”). This girl checked what was the best method to treat the discoloration of her blond air after swimming.

The most courageous effort was by a group that found a way to justify six hours of video-game playing as a science project. I tried to insist to give them a special mention, but the teacher didn’t want to. Probably she didn’t want to encourage insubordinate behavior.