Some 520 students presented nearly 400 research projects in the sixth annual Lewiston High School Science Fair on May 5.

Produced in partnership with the Bates College Center for Service-Learning, the fair showcases projects created during the school year by students in grades 9 through 12.

The projects run the gamut of scientific disciplines. Last year, 17 students were honored for their work on 13 projects.

The projects are assessed by judges from Bates and the community. On Thursday, Bates student judges started out with three contestants each in the high school gymnasium. Psychology major Kara Seaton ’05 chatted with Lewiston High School freshman Samantha Judd about which form of American Sign Language is easier to teach: manual or computer. Judd, who tested friends, concluded that it’s more effective to teach ASL manually.

Biochemistry major Patrick Cunningham ’05 spoke with LHS freshman Zack Mohamed, who studied friction by evaluating differences between the soles or “grips” of basketball shoes. Mohamed concluded that Converse Weapons have the best grips.

Moving down the long row of presentations, Cunningham later evaluated a project by freshmen Mike Paine and Kevin Rankin. They built a trebuchet, a kind of medieval catapult used to breach walls during a siege, in order to determine whether the length of the weapon’s arm affects its throwing distance. They found that it does — supporting their hypothesis. They were very pleased with the results.

The projects are eligible for medals and cash awards bestowed for best-of-fair and first-, second- and third-place prizes in each of three grade divisions — 9th, 10th and upper-class. This year, the finalists presented their projects to Bates science faculty, noted Sue Martin, assistant director of the Bates Center for Service-Learning.

In a pilot version of that process two years ago, the high school students enjoyed talking to someone from the outside who was knowledgeable about the content of their projects, Martin said. “And our faculty appreciated the opportunity to observe how high schoolers think and to meet these high-achieving, focused students.”

Winners will be honored during the high school’s annual Night of Excellence on May 31.

In addition to the partnership with the Center for Service-Learning, Bates’ role in the fair includes logistical support through a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Student Fellowship, as well as the participation of faculty, staff and students who spend an afternoon judging the projects and talking to participants. The college also supports the fair through a Bates Science Education Outreach Grant funded by the Hughes institute.

Projects are eligible for medals and cash awards bestowed for best-of-fair and first- through third-place prizes in each of three grade divisions — 9th, 10th and upper-class.

In their projects, the students investigate topics ranging from the effects of music on the heart rate to the chemicals present in tap water. Last year’s winners included students studying the relationship between caffeine and blood pressure, the aerodynamics of different fabrics and the strength of different kinds of glue.

“Science-fair projects give kids their first experience in real science,” says Mike Hutchins, head of the high school science department. The fair also addresses key indicators in the State of Maine Learning Results.
 The fair “is a wonderful opportunity for Bates to enhance the high school science curriculum and for the college’s students to learn more about the community,” says Sue Martin, assistant director of the Bates Center for Service-Learning.

Last year more than 60 Bates faculty, staff and students spent an afternoon judging projects in the science fair. The college also supports the fair through a Bates Science Education Outreach Grant funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Coordinated by former Farwell School principal Sue Martin who now works in the Bates Center for Service-Learning, the project involves on-campus science activities for 34 Longley fifth and sixth graders who will be taught by members of the Bates faculty Wednesday, Oct. 21, an ongoing mentoring program between Bates and Longley students, placement of practicum teaching students from Bates, assistance in establishing a Parent-Teacher Organization for the Longley School and development of an after-school theater program taught by Bates students.

Jessica Taisey, a Bates senior from Freeport who received a Howard Hughes Medical Foundation grant to study gender equity in the sciences among elementary-age students, is coordinating the service-learning project that will bring Longley students to Bates for hands-on laboratory activities on Oct. 21. Members of the Bates faculty who will teach the labs include John Kelsey, professor of psychology; Kathryn Low, associate professor of psychology; Joseph Pelliccia, associate professor of biology; and John Smedley, associate professor of physics.

Awarded by the National Corporation for Public Service, funding for the Bates-Longley School project comes from the University of Pennsylvania’s West Philadelphia Improvement Corps Replication Project.

The Bates College Center for Service-learning goes one step beyond encouraging traditional volunteerism by incorporating community service into academic course work. In its third year, the Center for Service-Learning has assisted hundreds of Bates College students and professors form tight bonds within the local community. More than half of the student body at Bates has engaged in a service-learning project, while a third of the faculty has included a service component in their courses.

Recent projects have included an investigation by geology and environmental studies students to determine how proposed construction of a new cross-town connecting road would impact the 300-acre Garcelon Bog in the proposed road’s path. One Bates intern for the area Chamber of Commerce helped put together a proposal that convinced Forum Francophone des Affairs Forum, a group that promotes trade between French-speaking countries and the United States, to locate its U.S. headquarters in Lewiston. A second Bates intern at the chamber provided technical assistance for a multimedia presentation to the organization, while yet a third student worked on the project as part of an independent study. Such endeavors save the city vast expenditures in resources.

Projects can be local in scope, such as a commitment to the Read America challenge, or international, where a group of geology majors, under the direction of a Bates geology professor, examined the contamination from smelting activities in the Zimapan Valley, Mexico. Service-learning is a partnership among students, faculty and community agencies, where all parties serve, learn and teach.

Those interested in attending should call Pat Gagne of the Lewiston School Department at 207-795-4103.

In 1997, the Lewiston Aspirations Partnership collaborated with Bates College to survey a random sample of Lewiston residents to determine attitudes about their schools, the future of young people and their aspirations for their own children. The survey was designed, implemented and analyzed by Bates students under the direction of Douglas Hodgkin, professor of political science, and with the support of the Bates College Center for Service Learning.