Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 11, 1991 TAG: 9103110111
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Today's students are still making science projects. But if science fairs held this week in Roanoke and Roanoke County are any indication, the themes of those projects reflect a much more socially, ecologically and environmentally conscious student body.
For example, when Mujtaba Khan and his family moved to Roanoke after leaving Pakistan, he began hearing and reading a lot about the hazards of acid rain, caused by coal burning, and nuclear energy. So, when it came time for his science project at Ruffner Middle School, the eighth-grader decided to investigate safe energy.
With some background research and the help of a solar panel to power a small fan, he reached his conclusion.
"It [solar power] is the safest form of energy; it just costs a lot," said Khan, 15, standing in front of his project Thursday in the gym at the school administration building.
Khan's was one of 120 projects from the city's middle, junior and high schools. Judges chose 20 projects Thursday to compete in the regional science fair for Western Virginia in April. Twenty out of Roanoke County's 88 projects also were chosen on Saturday to compete.
Many projects in the city and county took serious looks at some touchy issues. Acid rain, AIDS, breast cancer, the effects of caffeine, the investment value of the Virginia Lottery and radiation from televisions were topics of just a few of the projects. Other projects were more consumer-oriented, measuring such things as the best zip-close storage bags, the crunchiest cereal in milk and the most absorbent paper towels.
"Is Margarine Killing You?" was the question one Roanoke student posed, finding that margarine with corn oil is healthier but more expensive than with soybean oil.
Sarah Life, a 10th-grader at Northside High School, also had more than homework on her mind when she began work on her project, "Hamburgers lead to Heartache."
Life works at Lewis-Gale Hospital as a candy striper. She had heard nurses and doctors talk of atherosclerosis, which develops when saturated fats clog arteries. Also, two of her grandparents died of heart disease.
So, she decided to measure how much fat is in hamburgers served at local fast-food joints, as well as those sold in supermarkets and at Northside.
While her cafeteria burgers didn't fare too well, one local fast-food place failed miserably. "I haven't eaten hamburgers since," she said Saturday at the Arnold R. Burton Technology Center.
Fat from the worst burger filled two test tubes, which she had hanging from her display. All other test burgers filled all or parts of one tube. She was surprised because all of her friends liked the burgers from the restaurant that did the worst. But she learned why: "Usually, if they taste the best, they have the most grease in them."
Another county student took tap-water samples from various spots in the Roanoke area, including Cave Spring High School. His results showed that, due to aging pipes, there were heavy metals and/or lead in some of the drinking water, even at his own school.
Frank Moricle, a former teacher and science supervisor in the county for 20 years, coordinated the fair. He said science fairs started gaining real interest only about five years ago, following a hiatus of 10 years. He credits classes for gifted students and more high-tech equipment in the schools for the growing quality and quantity of science fair projects. "It's really evolved," he said.
Roanoke biology teacher Linda Stover said students have become more inquisitive about current issues. So when it comes time for a project, they don't have to be urged. They want to find answers to their questions, she said.
"They're curious about something and they just develop it. It's those [projects] that are the really spectacular ones," she said.
by CNB